weekend open thread – March 29-30, 2025 by Alison Green on March 28, 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: Show Don’t Tell, by Curtis Sittenfeld. I will read anything Curtis Sittenfeld writes, including short stories, which normally frustrate me for being … […] Read the full article →
open thread – March 28, 2025 by Alison Green on March 28, 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 →
perks for remote employees only, my mom says I shouldn’t leave a bad Glassdoor review, and more by Alison Green on March 28, 2025 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Perks for remote employees only Our company works mostly remotely. Employees who live locally come in one day a week. A few departments’ employees are allowed to live elsewhere in the country (this rule does not apply to all departments). Several times a year, all […] Read the full article →
is it my responsibility to have a work-from-home set-up even if I don’t normally work from home? by Alison Green on March 27, 2025 A reader writes: I work for a company that has around 600 employees and several offices in a few different countries. Recently a different office was refurbished, and during the refurbishment all the employees who worked there had to work from home. It ended up taking longer than planned and they were all working from […] Read the full article →
updates: my friend accused me of getting him fired, the jerk on the plane, and more by Alison Green on March 27, 2025 Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. My friend accused me of getting him fired, but I didn’t (#3 at the link) Thanks again for publishing my question. I was nervous about submitting it but your advice helped me realize that my fellow writer and friend knew the risks of what he was doing […] Read the full article →
how to serve patients when you’re feeling fragile yourself by Alison Green on March 27, 2025 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’d appreciate your and other workers’ advice on how to cope providing service when you are feeling fragile yourself. I work in a somewhat frazzled, frantic healthcare environment seeing around 30 patients a day in an inner city, low income area. It’s … a lot […] Read the full article →
employee isn’t clearing decisions with me, I don’t want baby gifts, and more by Alison Green on March 27, 2025 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My employee isn’t clearing decisions with me and argued with me at a staff meeting I am the executive director of a nonprofit, without any formal management training. I raised $1.5 million last year and we now have some new staff people, including a male […] Read the full article →
how to get people to answer my questions, without sounding rude or snarky by Alison Green on March 26, 2025 A reader writes: I need help figuring out how to point out to someone they haven’t answered my question in a way that doesn’t sound rude. I’m a 40-year-old woman who has recently been diagnosed with both ADHD and auditory processing disorder. I’ve found that this is the reason why I have a hard time […] Read the full article →
update: my boss never praises my work by Alison Green on March 26, 2025 Remember the letter-writer whose boss never praised their work? Here’s the update. My undying thanks to you and all the commentariat for your compassionate take and excellent advice: I needed to get out of that job. It was advice that didn’t land well at the time, because my morale was so shot that I didn’t […] Read the full article →
my employee wants us to stop ordering “unhealthy snacks” by Alison Green on March 26, 2025 A reader writes: I work in a small workplace, we’re about 40 employees. When I started at the company about five years ago, I started ordering granola bars and some treats. Then I started adding on some fizzy drinks and then progressed to some other snacks, like nuts, fruits, and cookies. None of this is […] Read the full article →