March 2023

new manager keeps pushing hard for me to be his friend

A reader writes: I have a situation that is annoying me with a new manager at our sister company, George. He was hired with no notice into the role that I had been promised would be my career progression within the company. I have spent the last five months training him on the basics and […]

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friend doesn’t believe in different dress codes for different situations, applying for a job where my landlord works, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My friend doesn’t believe there are different dress codes for different situations I have a younger friend who works for a well-known leisure apparel company at their headquarters. Many of the employees still work from home the majority of the time and when they are […]

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can I bring a blender to work?

A reader writes: I have recently started an in-person job after searching for months. I really want to keep it, but I’m so used to working remotely that my in-person skills are rusty. It doesn’t help that I might be autistic and have a difficult time reading the room/taking social cues. Any advice you can […]

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office kitchen wars are back

With many companies bringing people back to the office at least part-time, office kitchens wars are back! Today at Slate, I wrote about workplace kitchen aggravations — the take-out food from months ago left rotting in the fridge, the politics of who gets stuck cleaning up after others (and who doesn’t), the brazen thefts of […]

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my younger coworker keeps making ageist comments to me

A reader writes: I am an older worker doing very well in my executive position in a small think tank. Apart from the director and myself, the other staff are in their 20s and 30s. One staff member in particular continually makes both oblique and direct references to age. For example, she said one day […]

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we’re being unknowingly videotaped at meetings, should you always be job-searching, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. We’re being unknowingly videotaped at town hall meetings I’m a full-time remote employee who works for a large company. We regularly have “town halls” at multiple levels — full company, full department, full “section,” etc. These town halls are through Microsoft Teams and to simplify […]

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