my employee insinuated I was having an affair … with my husband by Alison Green on June 20, 2017 A reader writes: My husband and I work for the same mid-size government agency as senior level managers. We are in different departments, our job duties and direct colleagues/reports do not intersect, and our offices are not near each other. We have worked in the same building, and in fact on the same teams, several […] Read the full article →
my employee’s son is scamming her out of money, and I’m worried by Alison Green on April 25, 2017 A reader writes: I’m the director of a public library in a small town. I have a part-time clerk (let’s call her Maggie). Maggie has a son, “Ralph,” who is, quite simply, not a very nice person. He’s a former drug addict who was okay for a while, but now seems to have figured out […] Read the full article →
my mom is pressuring me to apply for jobs I don’t want by Alison Green on April 20, 2017 A reader writes: I am a mid-20s-something with a master’s degree in international affairs interning at a nonprofit that focuses on serving ethnic minorities of the region I studied in college and graduate school. My internship ends in June (six-month internship), so I started looking and applying for jobs in March. However, my mom is […] Read the full article →
my employee’s husband won’t stop calling me to complain about her evaluation by Alison Green on April 11, 2017 A reader writes: I’m having an issue with Melanie, one of the employees I supervise, as well as Melanie’s husband, even though he doesn’t work here. Melanie was hired back in August. Before she worked here, she was a stay-at-home mother. Her youngest child started school in August just before she started working here. She […] Read the full article →
I was rejected for a job because of my romantic history by Alison Green on March 27, 2017 A reader writes: I work in a fairly insular field in a small geographic region, where people in the trade tend to know each other from the workplace and socially. Normally this is a dynamic that facilitates freer sharing of information and resources, which is great. However, sometimes it can get incestuous and go sour. […] Read the full article →
I share a desk set-up with an engaged couple by Alison Green on March 10, 2017 A reader writes: I have an…interesting situation developing at my work. I started working in my current position last summer, and it’s my first job after grad school. The field I broke into with this job is notoriously hard to enter, and even though I have very little experience, I’m alone in the department. Since […] Read the full article →
my friend tried to strong-arm her way into a promotion by Alison Green on February 23, 2017 A reader writes: I’m curious what you make of this situation, about a friend trying to strong-arm her way into a promotion. Sansa is an entry-level teapot inspector at a very prestigious company. This is her first real job. Sansa is young but hard working and ambitious. In her spare time she designs her own […] Read the full article →
is it weird to have your spouse visit you at your office? by Alison Green on February 22, 2017 A reader writes: I recently got a job running a research facility at a university. A few months into the job, my soon-to-be wife mentioned she’d like to come in and see my office. I, however, find this kind of weird. I don’t see anyone else’s spouses or friends dropping by. Also, as a new […] Read the full article →
my aunt and uncle are extreme helicopter parents — and I work with their son by Alison Green on February 15, 2017 A reader writes: I graduated from college in 2015 and am currently working at my first post-graduation job in the area I went to school for. I have been working here for 18 months. My cousin is a year younger than me and he graduated from college last summer. He has been working here for […] Read the full article →
my office wants us to bring single friends to a Valentine’s Day singles mixer by Alison Green on February 14, 2017 A reader writes: I don’t really need advice, but I thought this level of WTF-ery might interest you. My workplace just announced a Valentine’s Day Singles mixer. Maybe I’m just a prudish weirdo who likes to keep work and personal very separate, but it really strikes me as odd, and almost like they’re encouraging us […] Read the full article →