my coworker accidentally sent me a recording making fun of me by Alison Green on October 27, 2021 A reader writes: My coworker sent me a five-minute voicemail. She had inadvertently recorded herself talking about me, making fun of me and laughing at my appearance. She also promised the person she is speaking to that she will show them my picture later. Laugh laugh laugh. After listening to the message, I sent a […] Read the full article →
our head of security took upskirt photos of an intern by Alison Green on October 13, 2021 A reader writes: Curious to hear your take on a situation that came up a long time ago at a previous workplace. Shortly out of college, I got a job working for a nonprofit cultural institution that had a fair share of unpaid interns working across the organization. Our head of security had a reputation […] Read the full article →
our employee forged the owner’s signature on his mortgage documents by Alison Green on September 27, 2021 A reader writes: I have a remote medical billing job that I have been doing for the last seven years. The owner of the billing company, John, is a wonderful person who goes above and beyond for me and for his two other employees who are on-site. For context, I have run a highly successful […] Read the full article →
the sick call with sound effects, the cheesecake, and other stories of triumphs over jerks at work by Alison Green on August 19, 2021 Last week we had the agony of mortification, and this week we have the ecstasy of triumph! I asked you to share stories of times when you triumphed over a jerk at work, and here are 11 of my favorites. There were so many good stories that a part 2 is coming next week! 1. […] Read the full article →
a friend of my ex-boyfriend verbally attacked me at work by Alison Green on August 4, 2021 A reader writes: I have been working for a large corporation for a few years now. Recently, Joe started a new job here; he is a friend of an ex-boyfriend I recently broke up with (and who is still bitter about the breakup, although I’ve moved on). I got a new office space today and […] Read the full article →
interviewer badmouthed me to my references because I didn’t want to “harness the power of QAnon” by Alison Green on July 28, 2021 A reader writes: After 15 years as a nonprofit executive director, I’ve struck out on my own as a nonprofit consultant. While much of my business is word-of-mouth and comes to me, I do sometimes throw my hat in the ring for positions I see posted online. One such position was for an organization that […] Read the full article →
a manager scolded me for having a cold sore on my face by Alison Green on July 26, 2021 A reader writes: Is it unprofessional to go to work with active cold sores on your face? I occasionally get them and have never considered it to be a big deal until recently when someone at work commented on it. Last week I had a cold sore in the middle of my lower lip. It […] Read the full article →
my trust fund coworker bullies staff for being “poor” by Alison Green on July 12, 2021 A reader writes: We just got a new team member a few months ago, “Lucy.” Lucy makes no secret about it that she’s a trust-fund kid: private schools, Ivy League, owns a fancy horse, the works. She’s like a stereotype from a bad sitcom. She’s in a role parallel with mine and we have to […] Read the full article →
my ex-boss is using my firing as content for her company social media pages by Alison Green on June 16, 2021 A reader writes: My former boss is using my firing as content for her social media pages, including recording herself singing songs about it. The background: I worked for my boss for five years and now see the MOUNTAIN of red flags I ignored because I was desperate to break into the field — behavior […] Read the full article →
my old employer is trying to intimidate me into removing a Glassdoor review by Alison Green on May 5, 2021 A reader writes: I recently left a job after a few years of intense work and long hours. After leaving, I left a critical but fair Glassdoor review. Since then, I have received multiple emails from the CEO of my former employer asking me to remove the review and including (what I perceive to be) […] Read the full article →