is it ageist to tell an older team member they’re wrong? by Alison Green on September 18, 2024 A reader writes: When our company went 100% online work, my team and I helped set up 35 employees with hardware in their homes. The department we support is mostly people in their late 20s-early 30s. Two employees, Archie and Edith, both have bad attitudes and break their hardware a lot. I would say a […] Read the full article →
birthday cards are causing mayhem in our office by Alison Green on September 18, 2024 A reader writes: I’m a team lead with a ridiculous problem. This January, a coworker who reports to me, Diana, said she thought it would be great if she kept a list of everyone’s birthdays and passed around a birthday card for everyone else to sign and then give to the birthday-haver. She said she […] Read the full article →
everyone at my new job loves my high school bully, company wants us to pay for a work trip, and more by Alison Green on September 18, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Everyone at my new job loves my high school bully I’m an actor and just started rehearsals for a play. A woman who bullied me terribly in high school is active in my city’s theater community. Luckily, I haven’t run into her as I was […] Read the full article →
my coworker is upset that I didn’t tell her I’m pregnant by Alison Green on September 17, 2024 A reader writes: I am just a few weeks pregnant (and not showing at all). I have only told the few people at work who need to know, as I’ve had a rocky first trimester and needed some time to deal with pretty terrible morning sickness. The people who know are as follows: my boss, […] Read the full article →
my job interview went great — why haven’t I heard back? by Alison Green on September 17, 2024 You walked out of your job interview feeling great – you clicked with your interviewer, nailed every question, ticked all their boxes. They seemed impressed and excited to work with you, and you were sure an offer was in your near future. But since then … nothing. Maybe your interviewer even assured you that you’d […] Read the full article →
I can’t travel because my cat is sick — and my boss and coworkers are unhappy by Alison Green on September 17, 2024 A reader writes: I joined my employer earlier this year as the only fully remote worker. At my first on-site, the only other coworkers in my department resigned. Instead of being the junior member of a small remote team as I expected, I was suddenly THE team. The CEO told me that day that he’d […] Read the full article →
my boss won’t do anything about my lazy team mate, client said I can’t talk to my coworker, and more by Alison Green on September 17, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss won’t do anything about my lazy coworker I’ve worked for 14 years as an individual contributor on a team of six technologists. We split the day-to-day work evenly amongst ourselves, and are all used to having to take on a bit more if […] Read the full article →
my “empath” coworker is kind of a jerk by Alison Green on September 16, 2024 A reader writes: For about half a year now, I’ve had a colleague (let’s call him Dave) who has a few strange quirks. He tends to look for my reaction at a lot of things other people say, and then comment on the way I react. For example: another coworker or my boss makes a […] Read the full article →
can I ask coworkers why they didn’t hire my daughter? by Alison Green on September 16, 2024 A reader writes: My daughter applied for a job at the firm where I’m currently employed, in a department supervised by three very good friends of mine. I’ve known them all for over 20 years. I consider them great coworkers and friends. My neighbor also applied for the job. My neighbor has been out of […] Read the full article →
my coworker is dating a convicted pedophile by Alison Green on September 16, 2024 A reader writes: I’m in a weird situation with a few coworkers, and don’t know what to do. My desk mate, Beth, is roommates with a coworker, Sally. Sally works in our department, but her office is in a different part of the building. Sally recently started dating someone and confided in Beth that boyfriend, […] Read the full article →