advice about your coworkers

Need advice about your coworkers? Here are answers to questions from dealing with a coworker who sings all day, to interrupters, to credit-stealers, and much more.

my coworker won’t stop poking me

A reader writes: Where do I begin? I have been lucky enough to work for a great, family-owned accounting firm doing invoicing for over a year now. I love my job, I love the work, I have flexible hours, and my boss is great. It’s been a really good work environment. However, there is one thing […]

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my coworker treats me like a child

A reader writes: I have been in a new job since March and receive good feedback from the company on a regular basis. I have past experience in a similar role, in the same industry for seven years, as well as being in supervisory positions for 10 years before I was laid off. Basically, management […]

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my coworker tells others I’m going to be overwhelmed

A reader writes: First, some background: I (f) am an engineer in shared services in new product development. This means that I do not report through R&D, but I do support their teams on a dedicated basis. I am considered a team member for the duration of a project, which can last several years, and […]

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my coworker sends us incessant updates about her kid

A reader writes: My office is working from home and so long as you get your work done, it’s looking to be a permanent change. The only people asked to return are those who struggle with their work or don’t have reliable internet service. My team is very small with only six of us, so […]

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my trust fund coworker bullies staff for being “poor”

A reader writes: We just got a new team member a few months ago, “Lucy.” Lucy makes no secret about it that she’s a trust-fund kid: private schools, Ivy League, owns a fancy horse, the works. She’s like a stereotype from a bad sitcom. She’s in a role parallel with mine and we have to […]

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my coworker’s stress is stressing me out

A reader writes: I have a colleague, Belinda, who’s always stressed out. We’re all busy and juggling multiple priorities, but our workloads aren’t unreasonable or excessive. Most people just get on with it and steadily, calmly get their work done — whereas there’s always a sense of chaos around Belinda. She makes a much bigger […]

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do I need to keep covering a remote employee’s work?

A reader writes: Pre-pandemic, I was often collaborating in-office with a coworker, Alice. We do hands-on work with physical products that our company makes, and it’s not possible to work collaboratively on them with someone who’s not in the same room as you. When our company went fully remote in March of last year, it […]

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my coworker is really aggressive about commuting home with me

A reader writes: I have a complicated social question for you, which is ultimately about laying boundaries when a coworker shares your commute. I recently started a new job and found out that a former coworker from my last job and I have been hired into the organization at the same rank. We work alongside […]

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