my coworker’s bad customer service is irritating me … and she’s friends with my mom by Alison Green on July 15, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I work in a very small public library. One of my coworkers is an older woman who has been friends with my mom for decades, and she and I are also on friendly terms. I’ve helped her out before — I did some grocery runs […] Read the full article →
has the last year changed your thinking about what you want to do with your work hours? by Alison Green on July 8, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’ve been seeing tons of stories lately about the “great resignation,” where people are leaving jobs for a variety of reasons (seeking better pay, or better work/life balance, or getting out of the rat race). I’m thinking about becoming one of these people, but I […] Read the full article →
how can a full-time parent support their breadwinner partner? by Alison Green on July 1, 2021 A reader writes: I’ve just been laid off, and we had to take our two young children out of child care due to the expense. My partner and I have decided that I’ll be staying home with our young children for at least the next year, possibly longer if local child care shortages continue. (For […] Read the full article →
would you quit over your employer’s work-from-home policy? by Alison Green on June 24, 2021 Would you leave your job over its work-from-home policies? If you’ve been remote, would you consider leaving if your office required you to return? Or the opposite — if you’ve disliked working from home, would you consider leaving if that became permanent? There’s a narrative building in the media that we’re in a moment of […] Read the full article →
asking to use the boss’s limo and other unprofessional mishaps by Alison Green on June 21, 2021 Ever look back at your career and realize that you weren’t always the consummate professional that you (of course) are today? A while back, I asked readers to confess their unprofessional deeds from the past. Over at Inc. today, I’ve got 10 of my favorites — including a temp who asked to borrow their boss’s […] Read the full article →
how can we get older members of our field to stop complimenting women on their appearances? by Alison Green on June 17, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I am a member of a prestigious society for my field, several thousand members strong. We include student practitioners, new practitioners, experienced practitioners, and people retired from our industry. So we have a very large age range — 20s to 90s. As you can imagine, […] Read the full article →
I feel mediocre compared to our new hires by Alison Green on June 10, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m nearing two years in my first post college job and in the throes of a quarter life crisis. This job isn’t my passion, but it is a good paycheck while I figure things out. For context, I’ve struggled with mental health for most of […] Read the full article →
when out-of-office messages go wrong by Alison Green on June 3, 2021 A reader writes: The question last week about “thanks in advance” had me wondering about your thoughts on this person’s manager’s out-of-office reply in this video. I found it to be super condescending and way too much. What do you think? Would be interested in readers’ out-of-office messages. First, here’s the out-of-message for people who […] Read the full article →
will office dress codes relax permanently after Covid? by Alison Green on May 27, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: Could you talk about how the change to work-from-home has changed dress code (formal or informal) in the short-term, and if you think that some of that will continue on after offices reopen? For example, I notice that even when people are on Zoom calls […] Read the full article →
how can I come out as queer mid-career? by Alison Green on May 20, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’ve been with my employer for over 10 years and in that time my personal identity has shifted significantly from the professional identity I projected at my hiring. I allowed my colleagues to assume I was a straight, cisgender woman in a monogamous relationship. That […] Read the full article →