my ex-friend is my new boss, employer sending rides for us in the snow, and more by Alison Green on February 22, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My hostile ex-friend is my new boss My ex-friend convinced me back in the beginning of 2020 to take a job in the same office as her where we would be peers. Unfortunately, we’ve had a falling out since then and are no longer friends, […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – February 20-21, 2021 by Alison Green on February 20, 2021 This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: The Nature of Fragile Things, by Susan Meissner. A young Irish immigrant, miserable in early 20th century New York, answers an ad from a San Francisco man […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on February 19, 2021 It’s your Friday good news, with more accounts of success even in this weird time. 1. I can’t thank you and your readers enough! I was working in a job for almost a decade that gave me valuable experience in the working world, and more than decent pay and benefits, but was otherwise awful for […] Read the full article →
open thread – February 19-20, 2021 by Alison Green on February 19, 2021 It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything work-related that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. * […] Read the full article →
my boss won’t manage a terrible employee, my coworker scream-yawns, and more by Alison Green on February 19, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss won’t do anything about a colleague’s terrible work, which I rely on I am the head of a subsection of my department and am responsible for supervising and delegating work to one other employee. Although I am responsible for whether or not he […] Read the full article →
interviewers want to know how I’ve been spending my time out of work … during the pandemic by Alison Green on February 18, 2021 A reader writes: I was laid off in May 2020 (along with so many others, of course). My industry isn’t directly affected in the way the restaurant industry is, but it is indirectly affected, and of course more unemployed people just means more competition. I’ve been applying to hundreds and hundreds of jobs, interviewing like […] Read the full article →
is applying for jobs a numbers game? by Alison Green on February 18, 2021 A reader writes: I’ve been job searching for what feels like forever but in reality is probably about six months. I’m getting conflicting advice about how to approach my job search and I’m not sure how to sort through it. I’ve read that it’s smart to apply for as many jobs as you can because […] Read the full article →
the hot sauce contest, soup-gate, and other work contests gone awry by Alison Green on February 18, 2021 “We had a hot sauce eating contest at work years ago that ended with the crowd demanding that the contestants stop before they got hurt (and passing the hat to come up with a second prize) and then one contestant threw up in the bushes on the way to his bus and the other was […] Read the full article →
board member brings a gun to meetings (but he’s a cop), coworker leaves early every day, and more by Alison Green on February 18, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Board member brings a gun to meetings (but he’s a cop) One of the members of the board I report to is a police officer, and he comes to meetings in his full uniform, weapons included. He has also been called on to leave to […] Read the full article →
how should I handle joking around during mental health discussions with my team? by Alison Green on February 17, 2021 A reader writes: Over the last few years, our company has promoted safety as an agenda topic to start every meeting. Over the last year, mental health has been added as a focus. We have many resources available to employees and have created a series of “awareness” presentations with topics including suicide, depression, stress, meditation, […] Read the full article →