my coworker lied about sexual harassment because he doesn’t like our new boss by Alison Green on September 13, 2023 A reader writes: I don’t live in the U.S. so what I need is advice on how to deal with the situation and not the possibly legal part. I work in a team of 20 people. Our former boss, Horace, never forced us to donate a liver to his relative, nor did he show up […] Read the full article →
coworker keeps sending out questionable Covid advice, a director’s out-of-tune guitar, and more by Alison Green on September 13, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker keeps sending out questionable Covid advice I work for a completely remote team but we have our annual all-staff retreat coming up next month, and with Covid cases rising again, it’s been coming up in conversation. For context, we are not in the […] Read the full article →
customers are ignoring our male receptionist by Alison Green on September 12, 2023 A reader writes: I am the co-owner of a small business which previously had two receptionists, Alice and Becky, both women. Recently, Becky has gone to part-time, and we have hired a new male receptionist, Charlie. The problem is, members of the public consistently fail to recognize that Charlie is the receptionist. The receptionists work […] Read the full article →
my employee says she has “pregnancy brain” by Alison Green on September 12, 2023 A reader writes: My lead administrative assistant, who is normally fantastic, is pregnant. In the past few weeks, she has made some very significant errors, two of which in particular have ended up causing a good bit of drama, increasing workload for others in my department, and also costing our organization a not-insignificant chunk of […] Read the full article →
I saw a private text about my intern having sex on her desk by Alison Green on September 12, 2023 A reader writes: I have a question about something that happened to me earlier in my career and what I should have done. I worked in a very small office: the executive director, myself, and an intern (who I managed). Often people would be in the office alone if others were out at meetings or […] Read the full article →
saying I won’t give rides to work, coworker complains about her family non-stop, and more by Alison Green on September 12, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How to tell a coworker I won’t give her rides to work How do I politely tell a coworker I don’t give anyone rides? I work in a cafeteria in a factory, it’s not on a bus route and I’m not even sure you can […] Read the full article →
should you lie and say you have an NDA to get out of explaining a gap on your resume? by Alison Green on September 11, 2023 A reader writes: I have seen this TikTok going around that basically says when you are asked about a gap in your resume, you should say that you are under an NDA, no matter what the gap was for. A coworker recently repeated this advice to me, and said that the interviewer can’t ask any […] Read the full article →
how to tell my employee I made a mistake with a client by Alison Green on September 11, 2023 A reader writes: My employee, Joe, met with a client, Alice, who had previously met with me before Joe started in his role). I know that my meeting with Alice went poorly — she was making unreasonable requests and displayed a level of inflexibility that I knew would not get her where she needed, but […] Read the full article →
my coworkers say I should hold back because I’m early-career … but am I? by Alison Green on September 11, 2023 A reader writes: I’m having a hard time figuring out my career stage. I entered a male-dominated, technical, and niche field right out of college. I worked for several years, then eventually went back to school for my graduate degree. I worked throughout school, so have been in the field for nine years. Most of […] Read the full article →
my retired predecessor wants to keep coming in, fake face tattoos, and more by Alison Green on September 11, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My retired predecessor wants to keep coming in I accepted my new position over a month ago. I have been in the executive administrative field for over 20 years. I was hired to replace a woman who worked this position for 32 years, although with […] Read the full article →