it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on May 19, 2023 It’s your Friday good news! 1. “I’ve worked for a small company for the last 8 years. The work has grown and the company goals have changed, and after some upheaval and layoffs last summer I realized that I was actually no longer enjoying myself at a company I’d been so deeply committed to that […] Read the full article →
open thread – May 19-20, 2023 by Alison Green on May 19, 2023 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 […] Read the full article →
candidate asked for feedback after I’d hired him, a scandalous mother, and more by Alison Green on May 19, 2023 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Candidate asked for feedback on his interview — after I’d hired him I interviewed someone today (two interview rounds). I decided to offer him the job a few hours later and he verbally accepted on the phone. He then called me back right away with […] Read the full article →
I asked for a raise but instead they’re doing small cost-of-living increases for everyone by Alison Green on May 18, 2023 A reader writes: I work for a small company, about 50 people. We’re all fully remote, and I speak to my boss — the owner —only every few years. My work is all project-based, and there’s no path for advancement (I’m a one-person department), so things just sort of roll on from year to year. […] Read the full article →
updates: the ex-boss’s affair, the deadline blamer, and more by Alison Green on May 18, 2023 Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. I kept my ex-boss’s affair a secret … and now I work with her husband The tension I felt was just because we both knew we knew. He did know that I knew about that affair. My ex-boss and I happened to be good friends before it […] Read the full article →
how can I slowly roll out a different look at work? by Alison Green on May 18, 2023 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m a 30-year-old engineer. For the first years of my career I was very focused on fitting in and establishing my competence. I’ve been at my current firm for five years now and I feel reasonably well established. I’ve recently started experimenting more with my […] Read the full article →
CEO is protecting a horrible employee, coworker on sick leave is playing tennis at work, and more by Alison Green on May 18, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Our CEO is protecting a horrible employee no one can stand I was hired as a senior director three years ago with direct reports in 10 office locations in the U.S. and other countries. One is a contractor, John, who I later discovered fabricated his […] Read the full article →
my manager tracks us all with Google Alerts by Alison Green on May 17, 2023 A reader writes: My team manager has set up Google Alerts for every one on her team, so that she receives notifications whenever our names appear in the news. She uses the alerts to then post messages on our team’s internal group chat, things like “Break a leg to Jorge, whose improv team has a […] Read the full article →
how do I tell my friend I don’t want to hire her? by Alison Green on May 17, 2023 A reader writes: I manage a small tourist shop. It gets rather busy during the summer, and I’m planning on hiring two people to help cover shifts. One of my friends wants me to hire her. She said that she needs more money to help pay bills. I’m reluctant to, because she rage-quit almost every […] Read the full article →
I poured all my time into helping an employee … and I’m so discouraged by how it ended by Alison Green on May 17, 2023 A reader writes: I’m new to managing people and am actually writing this email on the one-year work anniversary of my first job that had managerial duties. It was a learning curve of a year for certain, and I know there were times I made mistakes, but the feedback from my bosses and HR has […] Read the full article →