my boss says I do great work but won’t give me a raise after 3 years by Alison Green on October 31, 2024 A reader writes: I’m early in my career but have been in my current organization (10,000+ employees) for over three years. I was hired in a two-person “department,” where I am an individual contributor reporting directly to the department director. Since I started in this position, my manager (George) and I have had conversations about […] Read the full article →
the escape room, the haunted house, and other times Halloween at work went wrong (or right) by Alison Green on October 31, 2024 Happy Halloween! Here are some of my favorite stories about Halloween at work that you shared earlier this week that didn’t make it into my column for Slate on Monday. 1. The escape room At Old Job, the position that I and the majority of the department held was rather soul sucking. The supervisors all […] Read the full article →
what are the weirdest things you’ve found when cleaning out an old office or desk? by Alison Green on October 31, 2024 What odd things have you found when moving into a new office or desk? To start us off, here are some disturbing and/or amusing examples shared here in the past: “A friend of mine went to work for a museum in DC. As she cleaned out the desk she found an old (1920ish?) cigarette box, […] Read the full article →
manager says I have to come in despite a doctor’s note, boss interrupted me in the bathroom, and more by Alison Green on October 31, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Manager says I have to come in even though my doctor says to stay home My company has just increased the number of days we’re expected to be in office. We were fully remote for two years during the pandemic, so the shift to hybrid […] Read the full article →
someone is always crying in our morning meetings by Alison Green on October 30, 2024 A reader writes: Can you help me deal with the amount of crying at work I’m dealing with at the moment? I manage a mid-size team of people who are all very caring and empathetic, and are through and through a great team. Every morning we have a meeting set up for the day. I’m […] Read the full article →
how can I stay in touch with former coworkers? by Alison Green on October 30, 2024 A reader asks: I’ve been working for a while with a senior colleague who has been amazing — knowledgeable, supportive, and patient. He recently moved on from my organization. When he left, he told me to keep in touch. I’d love to keep in touch but have no idea what to say! I feel like […] Read the full article →
my drunk coworkers are gossiping about me not drinking by Alison Green on October 30, 2024 A reader writes: I find myself in a truly bizarre situation. I attended a work conference overnight this weekend with almost all of my colleagues. We’re attorneys at a pretty large “small” law firm. At the end of the conference day, we all had dinner together. My close colleague, Jenna, and I arrived to dinner […] Read the full article →
coworker asked to borrow money, changing into pajamas as soon as you get home, and more by Alison Green on October 30, 2024 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should managers have to train professionals on basic computer skills? We have an ongoing debate in my office – is a manager responsible for training an employee on non-essential but generally required skills? For example, my partner and I provide our new attorneys training in […] Read the full article →
is it OK to ask my team to do working lunches? by Alison Green on October 29, 2024 A reader writes: I have a question about working lunches. I manage a small team, and I recently held a brainstorming session for some professional development ideas for next year that the whole team can participate in. One of the options I suggested is (company-sponsored) lunch and learns, where we watch a work-related webinar and […] Read the full article →
can I ask why my coworker was fired? by Alison Green on October 29, 2024 A reader writes: I have always thought of my job as a place where people didn’t get fired unless they were obviously and consistently bad at their jobs. I have been here for six years and I know that when we get the “goodbye so-and-so” emails from HR about people unexpectedly leaving, that probably means […] Read the full article →