why can’t you contact your spouse’s employer to advocate for them? by Alison Green on April 7, 2020 A reader writes: Why are you telling people that spouses as a rule cannot contact their partner’s boss and saying that is unprofessional? Is that in every situation? What if my spouse is on the autism spectrum or what if an employer is forcing sick workers to come in and illegally break stay-at-home orders given […] Read the full article →
my coworker/friend is abusing work-from-home privileges by Alison Green on March 30, 2020 A reader writes: My company started everyone on work from home recently due to COVID-19. I have two close work friends and we still chat regularly online. All of us take little breaks for non-work activities (switching laundry over, grabbing a snack) but I have tried to make sure I walk away from my computer […] Read the full article →
here are your animal coworkers by Alison Green on March 30, 2020 With so many people working from home with animal coworkers, obviously we need to see photos of your new colleagues. When I put out a call for pictures last week, I received more than 450 of them … so I’ve divided them into two separate posts. Here’s part one. Click photos to enlarge. And if […] Read the full article →
I saw my coworkers’ chat conversation insulting our boss – who is also my father by Alison Green on March 24, 2020 A reader writes: I recently started working full-time at the company run by my father. It has around 20 employees, and I took over a position from someone who left to pursue work in another field. In taking over his duties, my company email account was merged with his. He had turned off his email […] Read the full article →
I had a secret relationship with a coworker and now I’m pregnant by Alison Green on February 18, 2020 A reader writes: A colleague and I have been in a secret relationship for a couple of months. We work in the same team. He is not my manager but is slightly senior to me in terms of the work we do. He doesn’t have influence over my work, but we do occasionally have to […] Read the full article →
a Valentine’s Day round-up by Alison Green on February 14, 2020 In celebration of Valentine’s Day, here’s a round-up of some past posts that involved romantic relationships — some good, some bad, and some really weird. My dad is dating my boss, and they want me to go to couples therapy with them (and the first and second updates) I ghosted my ex, and she’s about to […] Read the full article →
my friend uses her sister’s assault as a motivational story at work by Alison Green on January 14, 2020 A reader writes: I’m asking this on behalf of a friend, and I want to caution that this question includes potentially triggering content about sexual assault. But this is bothering me so much that I need help from somewhere. Now, here’s the context and backstory. I have a good friend, Amy, who I have been […] Read the full article →
is it bad that I Gchat my friends while I’m at work? by Alison Green on December 12, 2019 I wrote a piece for the New York Times about the new digital etiquette at work: Is it bad that you chat with friends on Gchat or Facebook throughout the workday? How do you follow up with coworkers who haven’t answered your emails? Can you avoid the phone at work? Is it okay to post on social […] Read the full article →
I’m frustrated that my company won’t hire my husband by Alison Green on December 9, 2019 A reader writes: My company encourages candidate referrals with hire-on bonuses. So far, I’ve referred three candidates to my job function, the most recent one being my husband. We are a huge, international company with a few other partner couples working here, so that’s not frowned upon. Also, we have several teams of people like […] Read the full article →
how to discuss moving for a job with your partner, when your partner might not want to move by Alison Green on November 21, 2019 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m in my last year of a PhD program and am currently on the job hunt. This graduate program has been a really long process — I was meant to graduate earlier, but some family and health issues came up that pushed the graduation back […] Read the full article →