is chest hair unprofessional, wife doesn’t want me to hire a woman, and more by Alison Green on August 21, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is it unprofessional to show chest hair at work? I’m an admin at a large university in the midwest. I wear collared shirts every day, and given the recent heatwave, I unbuttoned an extra button to try to be a bit more comfortable in our […] Read the full article →
my boss jokes about our bodies, our sex lives, our pregnancies, and more by Alison Green on August 20, 2024 A reader writes: The manager of my department has a habit of saying inappropriate things. It seems like she means them to be jokes, or perhaps it’s a misguided way of trying to connect with people. Regardless of her intentions, she has been making everyone increasingly uncomfortable as time goes on. Before she was a […] Read the full article →
my boss says I need to socialize more with my team by Alison Green on August 20, 2024 A reader writes: I’ve been in my job for about two years, and I’m just going to say it: I don’t have a great manager. The biggest sticking point has been his over-emphasis on the team hanging out and “getting to know each other.” He never bothers to schedule work time for us to do […] Read the full article →
I found awful things my client said about me by Alison Green on August 20, 2024 A reader writes: I’m a freelance consultant. I was recently looped into an internal messaging platform for a client I’ve had a relationship with for many years. This client initially recruited me back in 2017, and I’ve worked for them off and on since. Importantly, the client is always the entity that initiates contact with […] Read the full article →
my mom called the CEO when I broke my ankle, I’m drowning in informational interviews, and more by Alison Green on August 20, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. When I broke my ankle, my mom called my boss’s boss I broke my ankle pretty severely earlier this year (three bones and a dislocation). I was out of it to the point that I didn’t feel in pain; I was cracking jokes with the […] Read the full article →
I’ve been covering my coworker’s work for months because he’s going through a divorce by Alison Green on August 19, 2024 A reader writes: I am looking for some advice when it comes to a teammate at work, Paul, who is currently going through a divorce. We have been working together for the last two years. Earlier this year, Paul called me to say that his wife had asked for a divorce out of nowhere. I […] Read the full article →
you can’t escape the office diet police by Alison Green on August 19, 2024 We all know the office diet police: the people who say, “Don’t you know that’s terrible for you?” as if you’d chosen Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for their nutritional value … “Oh, I see we’re being naughty today!” as you eat a slice of cake … and, if you choose something heathy, “Ugh, another salad—you need […] Read the full article →
my coworker is telling people I spat in her coffee (I didn’t) by Alison Green on August 19, 2024 A reader writes: I’m early in my career and in my late twenties. I’ve been with the same company for around four years now and have been working hybrid since early 2022. Tempest works in the same small office that I do. There are maybe 10 of us who come in regularly, but she works […] Read the full article →
am I too comfortable pumping at work, should you cite sources on a resume, and more by Alison Green on August 19, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should you cite sources on a resume? I’m in a required class for my university this semester about “learning to communicate in the workplace and the classroom.” (This is a university aimed at working adults. I’m in my 30s with a full-time job and a […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread — August 17-18, 2024 by Alison Green on August 16, 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: Fleishman Is in Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. A man looks back at the break-up of his marriage as he fields dating, raising two […] Read the full article →