my coworker keeps asking me to find and re-send him emails by Alison Green on August 31, 2023 A reader writes: I have a coworker, Louis, who I’ve been fed up with since he’s joined our team. Situation: Sometimes, not terribly often, Louis asks me questions that I know he’s already gotten the answer to via email. We’re part of a larger team, but mostly it’s just us on a joint client project. […] Read the full article →
a real-life salary negotiation success story by Alison Green on August 31, 2023 A salary negotiation success story from a reader: In all the years I’ve been reading your column, I have never ever managed to get the gumption up to negotiate salary. I was laid off in February (just after closing on a house!) so I knew I’d need to get something quick. Severance didn’t last long […] Read the full article →
what weird habits have you picked up from your job? by Alison Green on August 31, 2023 We all pick up weird habits from our jobs that we carry into the rest of our lives. Maybe you still fight the instinct to yell “NO RUNNING” at kids because you used to lifeguard … or you’re an ER nurse who checks out everyone’s arms to see what size IV you’d put in … […] Read the full article →
is “return to work” a way to get people to leave, asking my boss for rides to work, and more by Alison Green on August 31, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is “return to work” a way to get people to leave? I have a friend who works for a very large tech company that recently announced a return to work mandate. My friend insists that the company doesn’t really care about whether people are working […] Read the full article →
how can I get out of doing an exit interview when I leave? by Alison Green on August 30, 2023 A reader writes: I’m hopefully giving my notice very soon and looking for advice on how to decline an exit interview with my boss’s boss. I haven’t had a one-on-one conversation with this person in the five years I’ve been at my job. We’re a small team of fewer than 20 people, so I am […] Read the full article →
my employee’s reading and writing skills aren’t good enough by Alison Green on August 30, 2023 A reader writes: I have an employee who is chomping at the bit for a promotion that she’s not currently qualified for. Luckily, my company has processes in place for that: I wrote up a plan, outlining what she’s already doing well and where I need to see improvement in order to recommend her for […] Read the full article →
my coworker watches a daycare livestream all day by Alison Green on August 30, 2023 A reader writes: I work with a young woman who is constantly watching a daycare livestream throughout her workday. She has her work on her primary monitor and the daycare video on her second monitor, and everyone who walks past her desk sees that this is what she is doing all day long. She will […] Read the full article →
a work baby shower without gifts, using sick time for psychedelic therapy, and more by Alison Green on August 30, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. A virtual baby shower … with no shower I work for a primarily remote company, and last fall I gave birth to my second child. Our small team (less than 20) comprises mostly women in their late 20s-early 30s, and I’m in my late 30s. […] Read the full article →
is this HR process for accommodations as bananas as it feels? by Alison Green on August 29, 2023 A reader writes: Like many companies, mine recently announced a tightening of hybrid/WFH scheduling. During the pandemic, I started an ongoing series of weekly healthcare appointments via telehealth, which have made a massive improvement in my life. Until now, company policy was that people who are not client-facing could work from the office or from […] Read the full article →
companies that pay you to be a fraudulent hire at a different company by Alison Green on August 29, 2023 Remember the saga last year where the person who showed up to do the job wasn’t the same person who interviewed for it? Wondering how they pulled that off? A reader recently forwarded me an email her spouse received from a company whose entire business model seems to be that they’ll pay you to get fraudulently […] Read the full article →