the fraudulent bread pudding, the fig fight, and other food stories from work by Alison Green on November 20, 2023 All this week to get us in the holiday spirit, I’m going to be featuring holiday work stories readers have shared here in the past … and then updates season will start next week! To kick us off, here are 12 of my favorite stories you shared about potlucks and other food gatherings at work […] Read the full article →
should I warn job candidates that we don’t give raises? by Alison Green on November 20, 2023 A reader writes: My organization recently replaced merit increases with capped bonuses. While I think this is a bad policy and I’m pushing back on it, in the meantime I’m concerned about my responsibility to new hires. I would never have thought to ask about this as a candidate. I’m hiring a new junior staff […] Read the full article →
my employee times her bathroom breaks to avoid the tasks she doesn’t want to do by Alison Green on November 20, 2023 A reader writes: I own a business and have noticed recently that my receptionist, Lisa, has been going to the bathroom at really inconvenient — and suspicious — times. We have people coming in by appointment, and especially in the last several weeks, she has gotten up to go to the bathroom right before a […] Read the full article →
laser tag for team-building, company insists on shipping wine to our homes, and more by Alison Green on November 20, 2023 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Laser tag for team-building I’m curious to get your take on laser tag as a team-building exercise. We all work from home at my small nonprofit and gather together in person for a few days several times a year. Earlier this year we did an […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – November 18-19, 2023 by Alison Green on November 17, 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: A Family Daughter, by Maile Meloy – Building on the events of Meloy’s Liars and Saints, which followed a close-knit Catholic family through […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on November 17, 2023 It’s your Friday good news! 1. “At the beginning of the year, my office received approval to hire for several positions across two departments, one of those departments being mine. We knew we were likely to have many strong candidates internally, and externally. In a managers’ meeting, I advocated that we send our interview questions […] Read the full article →
open thread – November 17-18, 2023 by Alison Green on November 17, 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 →
coworker has temper tantrums whenever there’s noise, rigid vacation policy, and more by Alison Green on November 17, 2023 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Coworker has temper tantrums whenever there’s noise, then gives us apology gifts I work at a small construction company. When I started, it was our office manager, me, and one other office worker and we were completely remote. In the two years I’ve been here, […] Read the full article →
does using humor risk undermining me as a manager? by Alison Green on November 16, 2023 A reader writes: I am a brand new manager at a rather small company and have one employee who reports to me, my first ever report. Typically in the past I’ve built relationships with coworkers and managers with work-appropriate humor and puns, with a decent amount of my jokes being self-deprecating (Think jokes about the […] Read the full article →
Ask a Manager in the media by Alison Green on November 16, 2023 Here’s some coverage of Ask a Manager in the media recently: I was on the Dear Prudence podcast last week. Ask a Manager was mentioned on the Office Ladies podcast (run by Pam and Angela — well, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey — from The Office). The segment starts at 11:00 here. I talked to Time […] Read the full article →