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.

did my intern frame my coworker for credit card theft?

I’m off today, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2017. A reader writes: This past summer, the section I supervise had some interns working here. All of them were offered jobs here once the internships were over. However one of them has created a situation where she lied […]

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my patronizing coworker interrupts meetings to explain basic things to me

A reader writes: My coworker, Craig (mid-40s, male), chronically interrupts discussions in meetings, ostensibly to “help” me (mid-50s, female) by explaining obvious things. Typical example: Other Coworker is proposing a plan to use to our advantage a quirk in the way our state categorizes, say, UFO sightings. I’m well aware of this quirk, because I […]

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can I tell the office jerk not to talk to me outside of work?

A reader writes: The organization I work for is based in a small rural community, so it’s not uncommon to turn up to something like an exercise class, community event, or supermarket and find yourself face to face with someone from work. Quite often, that also ends up being the person at work who makes […]

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a coworker I’m helping with a project is wasting my time

A reader writes: I’m helping a colleague, Lucinda, with a project – something we need to do, but it’s tedious and never urgent so it’s dragged on. Lucinda is bright and does great work, but we have different styles. She talks a lot without saying much, whereas I prefer a short, direct email. I’ve heard […]

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my coworker keeps asking me to find and re-send him emails

A reader writes: I have a coworker, Louis, who I’ve been fed up with since he’s joined our team. Situation: Sometimes, not terribly often, Louis asks me questions that I know he’s already gotten the answer to via email. We’re part of a larger team, but mostly it’s just us on a joint client project. […]

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