the sweet potato incident, the green lunch, and other tales of terrible work food by Alison Green on August 21, 2023 Last week we talked about terrible food at conferences and other work events. Unsurprisingly, the most egregious examples turned out to be what’s served to people with dietary restrictions … but sometimes everyone gets the same monstrous treatment. Here are 18 of the most ridiculous stories you shared. 1. The lemonade At a business meeting […] Read the full article →
let’s discuss terrible food at conferences and other work events by Alison Green on August 17, 2023 Let’s talk about terrible conference food — or hell, we can broaden to terrible work event food in general. Some stories readers have shared in the past about culinary failures: I have attended several conferences that were bad, but nothing beats the time the group was served chicken on a bed of lettuce. The vegetarian […] Read the full article →
discuss: times when you recovered from mistakes at work by Alison Green on August 10, 2023 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question — and it’s an appropriate one for Mortification Week. A reader writes: I’m one of those people who tends to catastrophize internally when I realize I’ve made a mistake at work. I’d love an ask-the-readers post where people are invited to share times that they’ve made mistakes at […] Read the full article →
let’s talk about unusual office traditions by Alison Green on August 3, 2023 One of the most interesting things about offices is how they develop their own subcultures, complete with rituals and traditions. Here are some interesting office traditions that have been shared here in the past: •. For close to 15 years now, dressing up as one of your coworkers has been a Halloween tradition where I […] Read the full article →
what are your best tips for attending professional conferences? by Alison Green on July 27, 2023 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I have a question that seems like it would be well-suited for an Ask the Readers. I am looking for tips about attending professional conferences. In particular, I am a grad student who is entering a new field and there is a one-day conference that […] Read the full article →
how do you balance two “big” jobs in a family? by Alison Green on July 20, 2023 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: How do you sensibly balance two “big” jobs in a relationship? My husband is an executive at a high-profile company, and I am the head of a small but very busy specialist department at my firm. Both our jobs are slightly flexible, but less and […] Read the full article →
let’s talk about your mortifying moments at work by Alison Green on July 13, 2023 It’s almost time for Mortification Week 2023, and in preparation we need to hear your stories of mortifying experiences at work — yours or other people’s. Maybe you mistakenly emailed erotica to your team …or flashed your entire team during a video call … or gave a person two noses in an interview Photoshop test. […] Read the full article →
the magic mushrooms, the underwear scavenger hunt, and other awful workplace ice-breakers by Alison Green on July 12, 2023 Recently I asked about terrible ice-breakers you’ve been subjected to at work. Here are 10 of the most horrifying you shared. 1. The underwear Many years ago, at a large law firm, the ice-breaker at our company retreat was to find all the other people wearing the same color underwear as you (no, I’m not […] Read the full article →
what can I negotiate other than salary? by Alison Green on July 6, 2023 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I probably wouldn’t be the only one interested in hearing what people have successfully negotiated for other than money. I‘ve been in a few situations, both at my current and at former jobs, where I was told a raise or bonus wasn’t possible (bad economic […] Read the full article →
the deliberately terrible lunch, the vindictive daffodils, and other petty moments at work by Alison Green on July 5, 2023 Last month I asked about the pettiest things you’ve seen (or done!) at work. There were so many hilarious stories left on that post that I couldn’t fit them all my favorites into one column. Part 1 was here, and here’s part 2. 1. The new offices This is a thing that I knew because […] Read the full article →