ask the readers

Looking for crowdsourced wisdom? Here are reader discussions about life at work.

dealing with menopause symptoms at work

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m in early perimenopause and would love to read other people’s experiences of it in the workplace. How do others cope with the physical symptoms (e.g., hot flashes, bonkers periods) and non-physical symptoms (brain fog, anxiety)? Do they talk to colleagues or managers about it? […]

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how do you move away from ambition and traditional career paths?

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: Following up on discussions about “quiet quitting” and articles about women moving away from “hustle culture,” I would love to hear how people have redefined what success looks like for them or how people have pursued unconventional work and life paths. In the past, I’ve […]

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the locusts, the un-appreciation kits, and even more stories of corporate gifts that didn’t quite work out

On last week’s post about corporate year-end gifts, some readers shared even more stories of company gifts that went terribly wrong. Here are 10 more that made me laugh. 1. The locusts “My prior company gave everyone a small tree and encouraged people to plant it. Now these were small seedlings maybe 2 inches inside […]

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a coworker’s child keeps saying insulting and bigoted things to me

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I work in a nonprofit child care setting and the environment can be toxic at times. These people have all known each other for decades and have habits of lying for one another in professional settings to make the organization sound better than it actually […]

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what gifts should we give employees when nothing has universal appeal?

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: One of my responsibilities is overseeing the year-end employee gifts — planning, choosing, ordering, delivering, etc. It’s a lot and I’ve struggled to find the best way to go about it. We have about 200 employees scattered over a large regional area, and many are […]

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how can we help teams feel connected when people are working remotely?

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m in a development/leadership training cohort, tasked with coming up with an online library/toolkit around creating greater feeling of connection (think engagement and team-building activities designed for both in-office and hybrid teams). I’m curious to hear from readers what their organizations have done to promote […]

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