my brother-in-law shares TMI on LinkedIn by Alison Green on October 24, 2023 A reader writes: My brother in law was laid off in March. He was part of the mass layoffs in the tech industry. Since then, he has applied to a lot of jobs. Like, A LOT. As of one week ago, he has applied to exactly 700 jobs. I know the exact figure because of […] Read the full article →
how should I respond to a complaint about my employee’s behavior outside of work? by Alison Green on October 24, 2023 A reader writes: I was in a popular online fitness forum last night when several posters complained about being doxxed by a popular Instagram fitness/weight-loss account. The influencer was looking up accounts that she felt had trolled her, trying to find their employers, calling the employer, and asking to speak to person’s manager. She complained […] Read the full article →
my employee is disrespectful of patients, refused an assignment, and told us “nice try though” by Alison Green on October 24, 2023 A reader writes: Can you help me tell my employee that I am not harassing him as he stated by telling him to do his job and also to cut the snarky, un-professional comments? For background, I am a mid-level manager for clinicians who go into patient homes and provide very essential, highly skilled needs. […] Read the full article →
interviewing people I know I’m not going to hire, going to a conference with a cold, and more by Alison Green on October 24, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can my resume list company awards I didn’t actually get — if I secretly won them but my manager rigged the results? After graduating, I worked for a small start-up company where my manager was underqualified, sexist, a pathological liar, and extremely stubborn. He was […] Read the full article →
the adult bibs, the talking shrimp, and other unusual office traditions by Alison Green on October 23, 2023 One of the most interesting things about offices is how they develop their own subcultures, rituals, and traditions. I recently asked about unusual office traditions you’ve seen or experienced, and here are some of my favorites you shared. • My office has a “talking shrimp” that we use instead of a “talking stick” in brainstorming […] Read the full article →
update: my boss keeps commenting on my acne by Alison Green on October 23, 2023 Remember the letter-writer whose boss kept commenting on their acne? Here’s the update. It’s been almost an entire year since I wrote to you about my boss commenting on my acne! First, let me say thank you to the AAM community for being so kind and wonderful to me. I was incredibly emotional and embarrassed […] Read the full article →
I worked remotely from a friend’s house — and my boss says I have to count it as vacation days by Alison Green on October 23, 2023 A reader writes: I work as a development director for a nonprofit for a specific region. I have been in my job for four years and have been very successful in my role. I have worked primarily from home because I write a lot of grants and reports, and my office doesn’t have private spaces […] Read the full article →
our meetings start with instructions about breathing, interviewer told me to ask all the questions, and more by Alison Green on October 23, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Our meetings start with too many instructions about breathing I work in a small nonprofit, managed by kind, well-intentioned people. But they do one thing that really bothers me. They start staff meetings and trainings (and there are many of those) with a session of breathing, […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – October 21-22, 2023 by Alison Green on October 20, 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: Flight, by Lynn Steger Strong. Four siblings and their spouses gather for Christmas after the death of their mother, each unmoored in different […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on October 20, 2023 It’s your Friday good news! I was recently promoted to a director-level position at my small nonprofit. For years I had occasionally brought up our absolutely atrocious vacation policy — no PTO for part-timers at all, full-time employees have work here A YEAR before getting FIVE days off. At the two-year anniversary you get two […] Read the full article →