September 2022

is sitting on a couch for video calls unprofessional?

A reader writes: I have been working remotely since the start of the pandemic, and love working from my couch. I have always done all my meetings and other virtual calls from the couch as well, and no one has ever mentioned it as a problem. But I am about to start freelancing, and I’m […]

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my boss took away part of my job and I feel humiliated

A reader writes: Almost eight months ago, I accepted a job on the leadership team of a moderate sized company. This job was a step up in responsibility, because it would allow me to lead a larger team. I supervise three managers, who in turn supervise other junior staff. Today my boss, the CEO, informed […]

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I accidentally started a rumor about a coworker

A reader writes: I work for a large company. My department is four teams of six people, each under a manager who reports to a vice president. I have been working here for 10 years and my annual reports are all good, but I’ve been itching to move up the chain. A manager is retiring […]

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fantasy football offensiveness, asking about my boss’s personal situation, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Offensiveness in the fantasy football league I need to gauge if I’m overreacting. It’s fantasy football season, and as an HR professional I’m studiously ignoring the emails about joining “work” leagues (due to gambling being illegal). One of our new managers has joined this league […]

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Labor Day open thread

It’s Labor Day! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything work-related that you want to talk about. If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. * If you submitted a question […]

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weekend open thread – September 3-4, 2022

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: Peter Darling, by Austin Chant. A transgender re-telling of Peter Pan, in which Peter returns to Neverland as an adult and forges a surprising connection with […]

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it’s your Friday good news

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I have worked in the same role for 3 years, on a two-person team: just me and my supervisor. Our working relationship was decent at first, but during the summer of 2020 my boss started treating me terribly, likely due to the stress we were all under working in […]

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open thread – September 2-3, 2022

It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions 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 take your questions to […]

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