my employee helped a fired coworker get a new job … and lied to me about it by Alison Green on February 5, 2024 A reader writes: I own a small business and a year ago hired an employee on a work visa, “Meg.” While at my company, she met another employee, “Belinda,” who I ended up firing a few months later due to numerous problems. Knowing that they remained friends, I did not discuss with Meg my reasons […] Read the full article →
is my coworker justified in being angry that I reported him for sending out personal mail from the office? by Alison Green on February 5, 2024 A reader writes: I work in an office with six other employees. There are two separate teams, one made up of me and a coworker, the other made up of five people. There isn’t much overlap in what we do, but we do work for the same boss and share the space. Anyway, one day […] Read the full article →
should you call to “confirm” an interview when you don’t really have one, coworker has imaginary cats, and more by Alison Green on February 5, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should you call to “confirm” an interview when you don’t really have one? I’ve been seeing a trend lately of job hunters claiming an extremely effective strategy is to call companies to confirm an interview claiming you already have one scheduled with them (when you […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – February 3-4, 2024 by Alison Green on February 2, 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: Woman, Eating, by Claire Kohda. A lonely young artist, who’s also a vampire, desperately wants to find her place among humans as she struggles to […] Read the full article →
open thread – February 2-3, 2024 by Alison Green on February 2, 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 →
surly coworker resents that he’s in a junior role, parking lot gate wars, and more by Alison Green on February 2, 2024 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Surly coworker resents that he’s in a junior role Ted and I were in the same PhD cohort at the same university, where we both now teach. However, I am in a senior position to him, having gained significantly more experience in the interim. We’re […] Read the full article →
the postage stamps, the airport page, and other deranged responses to resignations by Alison Green on February 1, 2024 Last week I asked about deranged things your employer did when you resigned. Here are some of my favorite stories you shared. 1. The postage stamps An attorney I worked for had custom postage stamps made with HER FACE on them specifically for mailing folks their last paycheck after they were fired or (usually) quit. […] Read the full article →
updates: lying about a Glassdoor review, the time-off request, and more by Alison Green on February 1, 2024 Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. The ethics of lying about a Glassdoor review (#4 at the link) I wrote to you in September about the ethics of lying if I was asked if I wrote a not-great review of my employer on Glassdoor; I have a minor update. I was never asked […] Read the full article →
what’s the worst or weirdest way you’ve been rejected for a job? by Alison Green on February 1, 2024 Let’s talk about the worst or weirdest ways you’ve been rejected for a job. Maybe they set up a video call, making you think you were moving forward in their process — so you had to process your reaction to the rejection live on video. Maybe they sent you a list of everything they think […] Read the full article →
coworker misuses the office snack budget, manager eavesdrops through thin walls, and more by Alison Green on February 1, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker uses the office snack budget on expensive snacks only she likes I work on a pretty small team with only three people in the office on a regular basis. We have about six other people who come in once a week or less. […] Read the full article →