October 2022

how many interviews are too many?

A reader writes: I’ve seen a lot of questions on your site about interviewees who feel that the interview process is too lengthy or burdensome, which got me thinking about my practices as a hiring manager and how many interviews will scare off strong candidates. This 2016 letter writer from the archives was subjected to […]

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my employee wants a demotion

A reader writes: My employee is a truly exceptional worker. Let’s say he’s a product builder, and about a year ago, he completed an advanced program in prototyping, which was great; we didn’t have a prototyper in the company, and it was a career path for him that offered some great possibilities. I went to […]

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can I go braless as a medical accommodation?

A reader writes: You’ve written about how, rightly or wrongly, most employers still expect employees with obvious breasts to wear bras (or at least not to make it obvious that they’re not wearing one). My question is, could going braless — or getting an exemption to the dress code more generally — ever be a […]

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weekend open thread – October 8-9, 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: How to Fall Out of Love Madly, by Jana Casale. Three 30something women try to navigate friendship, roommates, family, work, and love, while grappling with Bad […]

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it’s your Friday good news

It’s your Friday good news! 1.  “I’ve been reading your column for years. Your column made me realize that my job/company was, while not the worst, fairly unreasonable. My boss was nice but ineffectual… she didn’t set goals with me, made me take more & more job duties after other people left (By the time […]

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open thread – October 7-8, 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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should I have more of a sense of humor at work?

A reader writes: As a leader myself, I’ve been watching how other leaders interact with each other at my organization. They can joke around with each other, tease each other, and just generally interact with each other in that kind of lighthearted way. I’ve never been good at casually joking with people, but it’s gotten […]

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