is it OK to have sex while working from home? by Alison Green on September 23, 2024 A reader writes: I am a stay-at-home mom of very young children. My husband works from home one day per week, occasionally two. When he works from home, he watches our baby while I take the older ones to and from school/preschool. Other than that, he works in our home office and I rarely see […] Read the full article →
employee wants us to pay for Ubers when they work late, does using a computer in meetings make me look bad, and more by Alison Green on September 23, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Employee wants us to pay for an Uber when they have to work late A member of our team does not have a car and uses the bus for transportation. The role has occasional evening work (2-4 times a year), and the bus they take […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – September 21-22, 2024 by Alison Green on September 20, 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: Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by TJ Klune. The long-awaited sequel to the House in the Cerulean Sea, in which the two men running […] Read the full article →
open thread – September 20, 2024 by Alison Green on September 20, 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 →
trainer had religious messages on his presentation screen, did my son’s friend’s dad share confidential data, and more by Alison Green on September 20, 2024 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Trainer had religious messages on his presentation screen I attended a multi-day training a few months back where the trainer who was running the presentations had extreme religious images/quotes as his laptop background, so every time they were between presentations, the image was projected on […] Read the full article →
conference schedules are too F’ing long by Alison Green on September 19, 2024 A reader writes: I’m attending a professional conference this week and it struck me that super long conference schedules are not something I’ve seen discussed on the blog. Here is an example: The conference I am attending has optional workout events starting at 6:30 in the morning. Breakfast starts at 8 and runs until 9, […] Read the full article →
the horrified new hires, the gift exchange revolt, and other times you pushed back as a group at work by Alison Green on September 19, 2024 Last week we talked about times when banding together as a group and speaking up at work resulted in change. Here are eight stories you shared. 1. The coordinated survey I work in a regional office of a global company. Every year, global HR sends out a staff survey, and I noticed that the leadership […] Read the full article →
how can I be a more gracious senior leader? by Alison Green on September 19, 2024 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I was recently attending a departmental meeting when I realized that — through a combination of steady promotions, organizational shakeups, and senior colleagues leaving over the years — I have somehow become the #3 ranked person in the department, both in terms of title and […] Read the full article →
coworker is angry that I advocated for myself, freelancer drama, and more by Alison Green on September 19, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker is angry that I advocated for myself when I was hired I work as a contractor at a company. I’m paid hourly and work a normal 40-hour work week. My coworker got curious about my contract and my schedule, and I was happy […] Read the full article →
my boss was suddenly fired and my employees are freaking out by Alison Green on September 18, 2024 A reader writes: I work at a small company and my team is even smaller: it’s just me, two people who report to me, my boss (until yesterday), and the much more senior person who leads the team. My boss has always been incredibly competent, done great work (by my own account and by my […] Read the full article →