managers don’t know we can read their “private” Slack channel, wife’s coworker is trampling our boundaries, and more by Alison Green on January 22, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Managers don’t know we can all read their private Slack channel I work for a small fully remote marketing agency. Our C-suite consists of three people with a Slack channel that they think is private but is not. In that channel, they often talk poorly […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – January 20-21, 2024 by Alison Green on January 19, 2024 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: Wallflower at the Orgy. Hilarious essays by the brilliant Nora Ephron on everything from warring restaurant reviewers to Cosmo editor Helen Gurley Brown. * […] Read the full article →
open thread – January 19-20, 2024 by Alison Green on January 19, 2024 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 →
employee “works” after playing video games all night, what does mileage cover, and more by Alison Green on January 19, 2024 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Employee “works” after playing video games most of the night My remote employee struggles with attention to detail. He stays up late many nights but has told me he can’t help it and he would prefer to work a later schedule (think log in after […] Read the full article →
how to deal with a stomach attack in the middle of a meeting by Alison Green on January 18, 2024 A reader writes: This is an embarrassing (but probably more common than I think) question. I just got a new role at my company. The company is great, with a pro-employee balance and we’re only in the office about one day/week. The new role is one which has far more meetings than my current role […] Read the full article →
update: my boss expects me to respond immediately no matter what I’m doing by Alison Green on January 18, 2024 Remember the letter-writer whose boss expected them to respond immediately no matter what they were doing? Here’s the update. I didn’t get a chance to implement all of your advice right away. Around the time I wrote asking for advice, I was promoted to a new hybrid role that crossed over into another department because […] Read the full article →
have you ever quit a job in your first week? by Alison Green on January 18, 2024 Have you ever quit on your first day? (Or should you have?) If you’ve ever had a job so bad you quit on your first day — or okay, in your first week — we want to hear about it. Please share in the comments below and include: why it was so bad how you […] Read the full article →
nude drawing as a work social event, resigning coworker is upset that she wasn’t invited to a conference, and more by Alison Green on January 18, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Nude drawing as a work social event We have a group of people in our office responsible for planning work social events. They need to seek approval prior to booking any events due to previously breaking activity guidelines. Recently they have asked for approval to […] Read the full article →
the pizza offense, the bathroom lock code, and other stories of strangely dramatic reactions to mundane changes at work by Alison Green on January 17, 2024 Last week, I asked for stories about strangely dramatic reactions that you’ve seen people have to mundane changes at work. The comment section was full of fantastic stories — so many that I had to split my favorites up into two posts. Yesterday was part one, and here’s part two. 1. The sushi trays While […] Read the full article →
I manage a friend and it’s not going well by Alison Green on January 17, 2024 A reader asks: Late last year, when my company had some turnover and we needed a high performer in right away, I weighed the pros and cons and hired a friend, “Mike,” who I had previously managed. The benefits to the business (at the time) outweighed the risk of jeopardizing our friendship. My issue now […] Read the full article →