September 2024

weekend open thread – September 7-8, 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: Really Good, Actually, by Monica Heisey. Reeling from the break-up of her marriage, a 20something woman tries to figure out dating after divorce, […]

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open thread – September 6, 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 […]

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does posting sob stories on LinkedIn hurt your job search?

A reader writes: I work in a field that has been heavily affected by layoffs in the past year. I have been lucky and managed to maintain work, but many talented people I know have not been so lucky. My question is about whether posting depressing, sad posts on social media, especially LinkedIn, affects your […]

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my anxious employee wants daily reassurance

A reader writes: I manage a small team, including one employee who joined us somewhat recently. This is her first time doing the kind of work that we do, and training from afar isn’t ideal (we work remotely), but she’s learning and progressing well. I give her positive feedback on her work, along with corrections […]

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let’s discuss workplace contests gone awry

Workplace contests sometimes go off the rails in ways no ever intended. (Luckily for us!) Some examples that have been shared here in the past: •. “We had a hot sauce eating contest at work years ago that ended with the crowd demanding that the contestants stop before they got hurt (and passing the hat […]

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the cats of AAM

In last week’s speed round, a surprising number of questions requested updated info on the cats — in particular, an update to the personality profiles and photos from last year. So here we go. Olive 11 years old, the grande dame of the house. She is very beautiful and requires that you treat her like […]

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