weekend open thread – September 23-24, 2023 by Alison Green on September 22, 2023 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: Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, by Renee Rosen. It never occurred to me that the story behind the rise of cosmetics giant Estee Lauder would […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on September 22, 2023 It’s your Friday good news! 1. “For nine years I worked for a large nonprofit with a good team but a not so good upper management. I moved into a new home slightly further away and started job hunting to make my commute better. Nothing panned out. My manager left, new manager asked me to […] Read the full article →
open thread – September 22-23, 2023 by Alison Green on September 22, 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 →
manager only invited half of us to a party, telling a sick employee to find their own coverage, and more by Alison Green on September 22, 2023 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Can I tell an employee who calls in sick at the last minute to find their own coverage? I know that you always advocate for the employer to find coverage when an employee is sick. But what about when it’s always at the last second? […] Read the full article →
my coworker pressures me to take his shifts at the last minute … because he knows I can’t afford to say no by Alison Green on September 21, 2023 A reader writes: When I was hired for my current job, it was for overnights, with the understanding that I would work three to four days per week. I was also trained on the evening shift. Since those training shifts, all my shifts have been overnights. I was also assured that I could move to […] Read the full article →
the Ask a Manager book is on sale at Amazon by Alison Green on September 21, 2023 The Ask a Manager book is currently on sale at Amazon (Kindle version only) for only $1.99! That price lasts through tomorrow. In Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work, I take on more than 200 of the tough conversations you might need to have […] Read the full article →
my husband and I share a home office — how do we make this work? by Alison Green on September 21, 2023 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: Has anyone successfully shared a home office (permanently) with their spouse/roommate/partner/etc and if so, what are your tips for success? My husband and I both work from home 75% of the time and have a three-bedroom house (currently occupied by our bedroom and our two […] Read the full article →
our building is full of bats and sewer smells, company requires us to notify HR when we go to urgent care, and more by Alison Green on September 21, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Our building is full of bats, sewer smells, moths, and more Do you have advice on how to get upper management to take concerns about our facilities seriously? My coworkers and I haven’t been successful in communicating what seem like very obvious, major problems. For […] Read the full article →
can I ask my boss for feedback about how I’m doing? by Alison Green on September 20, 2023 A reader writes: I am fairly new to the workforce. I’ve been at my current job for close to two years and I cannot shake the feeling that I’m bad at it. Rationally I think there are parts of it that I am indeed not-so-great at; rationally I think there are parts that I’m decent […] Read the full article →
my team keeps complaining about someone I don’t manage by Alison Green on September 20, 2023 A reader writes: I direct a department that’s on a different floor than the rest of our office. A portion of my team’s workflow has to go through an administrative person in another department, Jane, who reports to another department director. Jane is new — she started six months ago — and she seems overwhelmed. […] Read the full article →