family, friends & significant others

When your family, spouse, or partner intersects with your job or work, things can go badly. Here’s advice to navigate it well.

my mother is tracking my comings and goings at work

A reader writes: I work for a large and diverse organization, and I’ve been in my current role for a couple of years now. Recently, my mother (who lives hundreds of miles away) got a job with her local branch. Our work doesn’t intersect at all, no conflicts of interest (my role is senior to […]

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is it a bad idea to work with my boyfriend?

A reader writes: I am starting a new job in a month’s time … in the same advertising agency as my boyfriend. Everyone in my new office (including the bosses) is aware of our relationship status so there’s nothing to hide, but I feel like mixing my personal and professional life together is not an ideal […]

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how can I help a job-searching friend who can’t catch a break?

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: My small, very tight-knit group of friends and I are all suddenly finding ourselves in an exciting season of job transitions and moves … except for one (let’s call him Ross). Over the last several years, Ross worked in a really challenging field/environment while finishing […]

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our boss’s wife camps out in our office for hours at a time

A reader writes: I work for an accounting firm with about 40 employees. I’ve been there for about nine months now and generally enjoy it. However, the culture has been a bit difficult for me to adjust to. We sometimes have clients visit for meetings and because there is limited space at the office and […]

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can I ask my coworkers why they didn’t hire my daughter?

A reader writes: My daughter applied for a job at the university where I’m currently employed, in a department supervised by three very good friends of mine. I’ve known them all for over 20 years. I consider them great coworkers and friends. My neighbor also applied for the job. My neighbor has been out of […]

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an employee’s husband emailed me to complain

A reader writes: Our corporate office manages several apartment complexes in other cities. One manager transferred from one complex to another when the manager position came open. Shortly thereafter, her husband emailed our boss, complaining about how his wife is treated by the company. He also said that he had not told his wife about […]

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