the summer camp cook, the cat photo, and other stories of long-running coworker grudges by Alison Green on May 20, 2024 Last week we talked about coworker arguments and grudges. Here are 15 of the most ridiculous stories you shared. 1. The cheesecake I worked for a government agency a few years back and for whatever reason right off the bat, an older coworker took a dislike to me. I have legitimately no idea why. She […] Read the full article →
sometimes an old job isn’t done with you … even when you’re done with it by Alison Green on May 20, 2024 When you quit a job, you typically assume you’re finished with that work — once you’re gone, your former colleagues will find a way to move on without you. But sometimes an old job isn’t done with you … even when you’re done with it. Bizarrely, I hear all the time from people who still […] Read the full article →
am I being a brat about not getting promoted? by Alison Green on May 20, 2024 A reader writes: I recently applied for a promotion at work and was passed over in favor of an outside candidate. I won’t go into all the details, but hopefully it suffices to say that I was a very strong candidate, I had a lot of internal support, and everyone I’ve talked to has been […] Read the full article →
coworkers message me “hi” with nothing else, younger coworker thinks I’m tech-illiterate, and more by Alison Green on May 20, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Coworkers message me “hi” with no indication of what they need I find myself very frustrated with many of my coworkers. We use Teams, and I often receive messages that just say “Hi Name.” If I’m available, I can respond right away and get to […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – May 18-19, 2024 by Alison Green on May 17, 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: The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley. As part of a study of time travel, a government employee is assigned to be the minder […] Read the full article →
open thread – May 17-18, 2024 by Alison Green on May 17, 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 →
boss keeps asking for rides home, I’m not allowed to have any personal items on my desk, and more by Alison Green on May 17, 2024 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. My boss keeps asking for rides home I work in my company’s marketing department. There are only five of us, including our boss (an executive president at the company). He knows that out of all of us, I live the closest to him. His truck […] Read the full article →
is it rude to read in the car on work trips? by Alison Green on May 16, 2024 A reader writes: For my job, I often travel five to eight hours in a car to get to a destination. I have been a field scientist and now work for a five-state program so I have hundreds of hours of experience of driving with coworkers. An unspoken rule seems to be you talk to […] Read the full article →
my employee talks about people’s weight by Alison Green on May 16, 2024 A reader writes: I’m a female manager of a team. I’m significantly overweight. One of my direct reports has repeatedly made derogatory comments about overweight people to me during the course of conversations, such as “____is a big girl, I mean, she’s really big!” I think that’s rude in general, and I also sense she’s […] Read the full article →
let’s discuss coworker grudges and arguments by Alison Green on May 16, 2024 Inspired by last week’s story about the two employees who hated each other to the point that one declared she could not be in the same room with the other “without blacking out with overwhelming fury” (although they later ended up dating), let’s discuss weirdest coworker arguments and grudges. We’ve had the two managers who […] Read the full article →