my boss asked me if she should fire my coworker and then threw me under the bus by Alison Green on July 1, 2020 A reader writes: My boss, Jane, is unhappy with my coworker’s performance and asked me in a one-on-one meeting if she should fire this coworker (we’ll call her Sarah). I hold no authority over Sarah, though we frequently work together on projects, and I have been the main person training and giving feedback to her […] Read the full article →
coworker thinks she has the power to heal her own tumor by Alison Green on June 30, 2020 A reader writes: My dad works in a unionized position in a public care facility where he and his colleagues work directly with the residents. His workplace is straight-up toxic and delivers non-stop drama. His coworkers treat the residents terribly, they constantly bicker and bully amongst themselves, they don’t always follow health codes, and don’t […] Read the full article →
my coworkers make fun of poor people by Alison Green on June 29, 2020 A reader writes: I’m a receptionist at a small firm, and all of my coworkers are at least 15 years my senior, often twice my age. Generally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but the topic of money casually comes up a lot at work. I’m in my early 30s with no college degree, but tons […] Read the full article →
my coworker knowingly exposed me to COVID-19 by Alison Green on June 24, 2020 A reader writes: I found out yesterday that the person who shares a desk cluster with me, who works five feet from me, tested positive for COVID-19. The thing that really pisses me off about it is that “Stacy” was very clearly showing symptoms and lying to everyone about it for the past two weeks, […] Read the full article →
my colleague wants to fire a domestic violence survivor by Alison Green on June 9, 2020 A reader writes: I work for a midsize office in a building that houses multiple businesses. We share reception and security, but little information flows between different businesses, as you would expect. Recently, there was a terrible incident where the ex-boyfriend of one of my reports, Sansa, got into the building by booking a job […] Read the full article →
when is it OK to go over someone’s head? by Alison Green on June 8, 2020 A reader writes: I’m a millennial who spent most of my life believing everyone in the working world is hyper-competent. Silly me! I do administration work at a nonprofit, and we’re currently counting on another nonprofit to give us some grant money they’ve promised us, by contract. I have been trying to get in touch […] Read the full article →
I’m the only black person on my team and it seems to be “business as usual” this week by Alison Green on June 4, 2020 A reader writes: This has been a very difficult week for me. Right now, thankfully, we’re still being allowed to work from home if we choose. I’m the only black person on my team and the only non-white person on my team, and in every meeting this week I’ve just felt as if there’s this […] Read the full article →
how to respond when coworkers IM me “hi” with no indication of what they need by Alison Green on May 21, 2020 A reader writes: At my work, we have an instant messaging system. A lot of people will send an initial message that says nothing but “IM?” or “hi.” In addition to making me irrationally annoyed (just tell me you want already!!), I always panic whenever I receive these because I have no idea what the […] Read the full article →
how to get coworkers to stop texting after-hours by Alison Green on May 20, 2020 A reader writes: I originally wanted to take a position at my current company because it seemed like a friendly work environment. And it is. But I regularly receive multi-recipient texts after work from my coworkers! Sometimes it’s about work, but never anything urgent, and often it’s purely social. I’ve never had this problem before, […] Read the full article →
my over-eager coworker takes over my work and is running roughshod over me by Alison Green on May 20, 2020 A reader writes: I was hired to my company about four months ago and I’m already struggling on how to deal with my over-eager teammate, Jon. Some background: I was told during the hiring process that the company expected to hire two specialists, one of which would take the job of an employee who was […] Read the full article →