touch-feely team-building, are job search gimmicks less popular now, and more by Alison Green on January 28, 2025 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Am I being a grouch about this touchy-feely group activity? I work at a school. As the closing activity for today’s professional development session, Fergus (an administrator) split us into three groups, then asked two-thirds of us to stay seated with our eyes closed while […] Read the full article →
my “on-site” coworker is never on-site by Alison Green on January 27, 2025 A reader writes: For the past 18 months, the person in my office who holds the same job title as me has had serious attendance and communication problems. I’m not talking a few times a month. I’m talking it’s a miracle if he makes it in most of five days in a week. He’ll be […] Read the full article →
is it OK to nap at work? by Alison Green on January 27, 2025 If you’ve ever come to work after getting a bad night’s sleep and struggled to be productive — or just awake — it’s probably occurred to you that being able to take a quick nap at work would be an incredibly worker-friendly amenity. Of course, in most offices, sleeping on the job is an absolute […] Read the full article →
do I have to share my story on a “women in industry” panel? by Alison Green on January 27, 2025 A reader writes: I just received an email from my company’s corporate marketing team inviting me to speak on an internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) panel about my experiences being a woman in a male-dominated industry during the national Women in (Industry) week this spring. I know exactly why they asked me – I […] Read the full article →
should conjoined twins receive one salary, daily meetings with my boss, and more by Alison Green on January 27, 2025 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should conjoined twins receive one salary or two? I recently read this article. The summary is that Abby and Brittany are conjoined twins who are fifth grade teachers. They only draw one salary between the two of them because they occupy one position in their […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – January 25-26, 2025 by Alison Green on January 24, 2025 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: God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. A teenager disappears from the summer camp her family owns, 14 years after her older brother […] Read the full article →
open thread – January 24, 2025 by Alison Green on January 24, 2025 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 →
my partner is angry about how I handled harassment, venting to employees about managers above them, and more by Alison Green on January 24, 2025 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. My partner is angry about how I handled harassment at work Content warning for domestic violence. I’m a woman in finance. Six months ago, I was put into a team with an older male colleague who from day one decided to call me “Legs.” When […] Read the full article →
here’s an example of a great cover letter from a career changer by Alison Green on January 23, 2025 A reader recently sent me a cover letter that I want to share as a great example of explaining why you’re applying for a job in a different field and how your skills will carry over. First, though, the caveats I’ve learned to give when sharing these: The writer has allowed me to share this […] Read the full article →
updates: the musician with a day job, the required email greetings, and more by Alison Green on January 23, 2025 Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. How do I manage a “regular” job with a parallel career as a musician? I asked about career advice for musicians a long time ago, and I’ve waited a long time to have an update I felt like sending. Unfortunately, the last few years have just been […] Read the full article →