should I stay at a job I don’t like if it could lead to a big pay-off in a few years? by Alison Green on August 31, 2021 A reader writes: I’m facing a major decision that I thought I was solid about but now I’m not so sure. I went to school later in life and graduated in 2014 as an accountant at the age of 32. I’ve been working in my field ever since progressing from bookkeeping at a small manufacturing […] Read the full article →
my coworker won’t volunteer for any of our work by Alison Green on August 31, 2021 A reader writes: I work on a team of three – Fergus, me, and our manager, Lucinda. Fergus and I both have the same role. I have been with the company for about six years, and Fergus joined just before Covid hit and we all switched to working from home. We both mostly work on […] Read the full article →
my boss told me not to give greeting cards to older men because it could seem sexual by Alison Green on August 31, 2021 A reader writes: This happened back in April, but I’m talking about it now because a coworker brought attention to it. I’m a female junior employee in my early twenties who just graduated with my bachelor’s last year. My manager at my office job is in his fifties. This past April, I gave Easter cards […] Read the full article →
riding a motorcycle to work, is my chronic sneezing distracting my coworkers, and more by Alison Green on August 31, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Riding a motorcycle to work This is a low-stakes hypothetical, but I’d like to get your input. I work as a developmental therapist, and my job is to go to people’s homes and encourage toddlers’ development (the toddlers are all less than three years old, […] Read the full article →
update: my employee gave me an “it’s her or me” ultimatum by Alison Green on August 30, 2021 Remember the manager last week whose employee given her an “it’s her or me” ultimatum? I wrote that it seemed like that employee had it in for her coworker and wasn’t trustworthy and that the manager was pretty badly mishandling the situation. She got a lot of criticism from both me and the commenters, but […] Read the full article →
inside the weird world of out-of-office messages by Alison Green on August 30, 2021 With many people squeezing in vacation time before the summer ends, this is the season of out-of-office messages – most of them comprised of similarly bland boilerplate (“I am off work until the 7th and will answer your message upon my return”) but some of them decidedly more interesting. In a sea of generic out-of-office […] Read the full article →
my company wants me to investigate what expensive medical treatments employees are having and why by Alison Green on August 30, 2021 A reader writes: I took a job a few months ago doing benefits for a new company and recently have started to feel uneasy about one of my job duties. For now this particular duty has been delegated to my manager (who has experience in benefits but only started at this company a week before […] Read the full article →
candidate read all their answers from a script, I don’t want to talk to people while they’re driving, and more by Alison Green on August 30, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Candidate read all their interview answers from a script Last month I had a video interview with a candidate that caught me off guard. It was a second round interview — they had already completed a phone screen with HR — and I was tasked […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – August 28-29, 2021 by Alison Green on August 28, 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: You Should Have Known, by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Grace Sachs is the author of a book telling women the signs of problems in their partners were […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on August 27, 2021 It’s your Friday good news! 1. I’ve been waiting to share this good news for over 6 months! The very small company I was working for is one I could have submitted a novel about, full of red flags that I didn’t fully see at the time: the owner says we’re all a family, that we’re […] Read the full article →