happy endings

Letters from people who took the work advice here and had happy endings.

a salary negotiation success story

A note from a reader to end the week and inspire you to negotiate your next job offer: I’ve been job searching for some time to get out of my current unfulfilling position. With your help, I wrote what I would say was a great cover letter, interviewed well, and was offered the job! The […]

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update: my client constantly pesters me and micromanages my every move

Remember the letter-writer in February whose freelance client was constantly pestering her and micromanaging her every move — and treating her very much like an employee rather than a contractor? Here’s her update. I have a follow-up to a question you answered about a client who was treating me like an employee rather than a contractor, […]

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update: I don’t want my coworkers to know I’m living off cupcakes from the employee kitchen

Three years ago, back in 2011, I published a letter from a reader who didn’t want her coworkers to know that she was “living off of cupcakes from the employee kitchen.” She was struggling financially and couldn’t afford meals, let alone new clothes, when her employer changed its casual dress code to one that prohibited jeans […]

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update: my managers are giving me contradictory instructions

Remember the letter-writer in July who was receiving contradictory instructions from her manager and the head of the organization (#2 at the link)? Here the update. I followed your advice, and I also spoke more thoroughly to my boss about how she wanted to handle affairs when she was out of the office (she is […]

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update: my boss is frequently absent and neglects his work

Here’s one more before people head out for Thanksgiving. Remember the letter-writer in August whose boss was constantly absent and neglecting his work? Because he was so often not around, our letter-writer’s coworkers were starting to come to her to fill in for him, making it hard for her to get her own work done. […]

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2 reader updates (with happy endings)

Two more updates from recent letter-writers: 1. How can I ask my new employer for breaks to sit when I go to trade shows? (#3 at the link) It turns out that my new boss is extremely understanding, and as soon as I told her I was having foot issues she arranged so that I […]

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happiest endings of 2013

We hear a lot of bad workplace stories here, but we also hear some great ones. Here are the 10 happiest endings of 2013. 10. The reader whose employee didn’t want to take on a new task 9. The reader whose stalkerish ex-boyfriend was applying for a job at her company 8. The reader who […]

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update from the person on a performance improvement plan

Remember the letter-writer wondering what to do after being put on a performance improvement plan? That writer also wrote in earlier in the year about what to do when a potential mentor isn’t responding to your emails. Here the update on both situations. When I was put on the Improvement Plan, I emailed the woman […]

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