can I do anything about a senior-level colleague who doesn’t do any work? by Alison Green on March 7, 2024 A reader writes: We have a new C-level employee at my small nonprofit, Andy, who has been here for six months. I do not work directly with Andy terribly often but my boss, Jane, who is also not C-level but also does not report directly to Andy, has a lot of meetings with Andy and […] Read the full article →
I broke my leg, and my team barely acknowledged it by Alison Green on March 6, 2024 A reader writes: I’m a high-performing individual contributor in a small firm that is 100% remote. Our company culture really prioritizes teammate health: we put our therapy appointments on our calendar, take calls from the gym, and offer to pitch in for colleagues when they’re sick or just need bandwidth to deal with personal issues. […] Read the full article →
should I tell my boss my coworker is working a second job during her hours for us? by Alison Green on February 28, 2024 A reader writes: I wanted to get your thoughts on something that has bugged me for a while. My coworker has a second job as a photographer and does photoshoots during work hours when we are required to be in the office (only three days a week, mind you). I am aware that Covid created […] Read the full article →
my coworker doesn’t want me to have a communal candy dish because of temptation by Alison Green on February 19, 2024 I’m off for the holiday, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2019. A reader writes: I keep a candy dish on my desk – have done so for years. It’s communal. I often fill it. Others contribute. It sits alongside some Aleeve and Tums that are also communal. […] Read the full article →
a coworker is harassing my neighbor (who is having chemo) by Alison Green on February 12, 2024 A reader writes: I live in a high-rise condo complex and work for a prominent and large (10,000+ employee) healthcare system. My condo complex has a listserv that gets sent to the 1,000 or so residents — unfortunately with very little moderation. Over the past few months, but particularly today, somebody who works at my […] Read the full article →
my boss and my employee won’t stop asking me to spend the night at their houses by Alison Green on February 12, 2024 A reader writes: I am a mid-level manager at a medium-sized company. I have worked here for four years now, and this problem has been happening since I started. About six months after I started, my boss invited me to a Halloween party at her house. I felt like I should go because she is […] Read the full article →
our admins hate all the coffee I buy the office, but they insist I have to keep trying by Alison Green on February 7, 2024 A reader writes: I … have a problem at my new-ish attorney job at a tiny law firm. There are five people in the office total and we have one communal coffee pot. I was told at the beginning that the office does not supply coffee because the two partners do not drink it and […] Read the full article →
my coworker brought sex workers back to our hotel on a business trip by Alison Green on February 7, 2024 A reader writes: I went on a work trip with my group — me, my manager, and a few coworkers — to Mexico. On the last night there (prior to our 4 a.m. flight the next morning), we all had a bit too much to drink. After hauling some coworkers back to their rooms, one […] Read the full article →
is my coworker justified in being angry that I reported him for sending out personal mail from the office? by Alison Green on February 5, 2024 A reader writes: I work in an office with six other employees. There are two separate teams, one made up of me and a coworker, the other made up of five people. There isn’t much overlap in what we do, but we do work for the same boss and share the space. Anyway, one day […] Read the full article →
my coworker blamed me for not being offended enough by a racist comment toward me by Alison Green on January 31, 2024 A reader writes: This happened last year and though I’ve moved on, I occasionally wonder if I’m crazy so I thought I’d ask your opinion. I’m a Black woman who immigrated to Canada in my 30s. For my first job in Canada, I worked in a global organization and interacted with a wide cross-section of […] Read the full article →