Ask a Manager

There are some truly terrible ice-breakers out there. On a recent open thread, some readers shared these: • “What is your porn star name?” For a meeting on addressing sexism in the workplace. • One really dysfunctional company I worked for did a staff retreat and made everyone go around and say what bug they would be […]

Earlier this month I asked about the pettiest things you’ve seen (or done!) at work. You offered up so many ridiculously petty stories on that post that I can’t fit them all my favorites into one column … so here’s part 1. Part 2 will be coming next week. Note: We’re not endorsing petty behavior […]

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m attending grad school in the fall to study in a very niche yet exciting and fast-growing industry (yay!). Since I’m older than 26 but still need health insurance and to pay rent, I’m going to be looking for either a part-time job with health […]

One of the most amusing things about work is how just plain petty it can make people. Here are some excellent stories of pettiness that have been shared here over the years: • “At one of my early jobs one of my coworkers was a, shall we say, interesting character. She was called out about […]

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I recently starting working remotely at a medium-large size company after working at a smaller company for several years. I am glad for the change and everything is going well, but I am finding it harder than I thought it would to get to know […]

Last week I asked about times you’ve seen ridiculously bad behavior over free food at work — and you certainly delivered. 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 CEO At my […]

Last week I asked about times you’ve seen ridiculously bad behavior over free food at work, often from the highest-paid employees on staff — and you certainly delivered. There were so many hilarious stories on that post that I can’t fit them all my favorites into one column … so here’s part 1. Part 2 […]

People are weird about free food at work. Really weird. Free food can make some people lose all sense of decorum and manners (and interestingly, the employees who get the most vulture-like are often the highest-paid). Some reports of free food havoc that have been shared here over the years: • “I had a coworker who thought […]

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I have a very specific training and “dream job,” which for the sake of this question let’s say is archaeology (although it’s not). I’ve been passionate about archaeology since I was a teenager and have both an undergraduate degree and master’s degree in it, as […]

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m a 30-year-old engineer. For the first years of my career I was very focused on fitting in and establishing my competence. I’ve been at my current firm for five years now and I feel reasonably well established. I’ve recently started experimenting more with my […]