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 →
my coworker accused of me of deliberately snoring to keep him awake on a work trip by Alison Green on January 21, 2025 A reader writes: I went on a work trip and thought it went well. On the last day, I woke up to hear my senior teammate bashing me. We shared a wall, and it was paper-thin. I snore, and it’s something I’m embarrassed by, but there’s nothing I can do to control it. My teammate […] Read the full article →
my coworker keeps demanding I say “please” by Alison Green on January 20, 2025 I’m off for the holiday, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2018. A reader writes: I have a problem with a coworker and have been hesitant to send this to you as it seems petty but it has been bugging me for awhile. It started as a pet […] Read the full article →
I’m angry at my coworkers — can I refuse their apology? by Alison Green on January 8, 2025 A reader writes: I was out for a few days recently for personal reasons and came back to discover that two of my colleagues have done something incredibly thoughtless that has completely screwed up a major work product for me and then lied about it to my supervisor, saying I was involved in the decision. […] Read the full article →
I think my disastrous ex-employee is co-opting queer identity by Alison Green on January 8, 2025 A reader writes: I work in a country with strong job protection, have a boss who is reluctant to do performance improvement, and I just transitioned out of managing a team. One of my reports was a recent-ish hire I’ll call Pam, who is mid-career but entry-level. Pam volunteers for an optional LBGTQ+ employee resource […] Read the full article →
should I call out a vulture who takes way more than his share of food at meetings? by Alison Green on January 7, 2025 A reader writes: I work at a small college, and part of my job involves working with new faculty. I have one new faculty member who is well on his way to becoming known as a vulture on campus. My events for new faculty often involve food in addition to programming, and this faculty member […] Read the full article →
my vegan coworker is upset about getting non-vegan gifts three years in a row by Alison Green on January 7, 2025 A reader writes: I work in a small office of six people, and since we’ve all been here for 3+ years at least, we’re pretty close. We hold a gift exchange where basically everyone buys a gift for everyone else. I understand that’s probably a bit much, but it works for us. In 2022, my […] Read the full article →
coworkers are angry that we got rid of their smelly, fly-ridden compost bucket by Alison Green on January 6, 2025 A reader writes: We have about 25 employees, and prior to Covid, we had a somewhat-contentious compost bucket under the sink in our staff kitchen. It was always gross, full of flies and rotting food, and rarely emptied by the people who used it. Recently, a colleague decided to reinstate the compost bucket and messaged […] Read the full article →
my coworker’s constant interruptions make us all dread team calls by Alison Green on November 20, 2024 A reader writes: Our team of seven has been working from home since the beginning of Covid. To keep up-to-date on projects, we have two weekly calls with the entire team, and one mid-week call to update the rest of the company on projects. Our manager runs the two team calls each week, while I […] Read the full article →
I saw colleagues’ private messages mocking my weight by Alison Green on November 19, 2024 A reader writes: I recently hosted a Zoom call for my work team. At the end of the call, I was sent the transcript for the meeting’s group chat, as it contained important notes. I was also accidentally sent the transcript for a private chat between my coworkers “Lisa” and “Natalie.” I thought we were […] Read the full article →