can I freeze out my coworkers who aren’t social distancing and refuse to work with them? by Alison Green on January 11, 2021 A reader writes: I work in a large furniture warehouse in the UK, employing around 200 people. Despite several national and local COVID-19 lockdowns, we’ve kept operating through the entire pandemic and we are all designated as “key workers.” I’ve worked there for a year and a half and won Employee Of The Month a […] Read the full article →
the law requiring paid sick leave for Covid ends next week — and won’t be extended by Alison Green on December 22, 2020 Remember that new law Congress passed in March requiring paid sick leave for workers with Covid or suspected Covid, as well as paid family leave to care for someone with Covid or suspected Covid? That’s ending. In nine days. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) only applied to employers with fewer than 500 employees […] Read the full article →
what do we do about end-of-year celebrations during the pandemic? by Alison Green on November 12, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question: I work for a multinational company. Normally at the end of the year, various geographic offices would have holiday parties/dinners. Obviously this won’t happen this year due to the plague. One of our teams in the UK is investigating online escape rooms, which sounds fun! But are there […] Read the full article →
what should I expect from my staff at this point in the pandemic? by Alison Green on October 27, 2020 A reader writes: I am a middle manager at a library. I and all my staff members are required to report to work in person and have been doing so since the beginning of the summer. The public can’t come into our building but we deliver via curbside pickup. When we first got back, I […] Read the full article →
a tale of two companies by Alison Green on October 19, 2020 I want to highlight two very different approaches by employers that were described in the comments on one of last week’s letters. The first: My friend just texted me and her office is doing “pants and shoes checks” before Zoom meetings to make sure people are complying with the dress code 100% even if you […] Read the full article →
my company is issuing new work-from-home standards because we should have the hang of it by now by Alison Green on October 14, 2020 A reader writes: I’m in a senior position at a mid-sized company that has been working from home since March, and would love your thoughts on something that was communicated to us in a leadership meeting this week. The C-level has decided to create new work-from-home standards that employees are expected to comply with, including […] Read the full article →
employee keeps missing work because of possible Covid exposures in their social life by Alison Green on October 7, 2020 A reader writes: Is there ever a point where it becomes acceptable to comment on an employee’s personal life/choices during COVID times? To start, our policy is if you have symptoms or have had a possible exposure you have to notify the company and stay home until you have negative test results. While a handful […] Read the full article →
our office nurse thinks Covid is a hoax by Alison Green on September 15, 2020 A reader writes: I work in an education-related nonprofit. There are plenty of dysfunctional things that happen at our place of business, but I cannot figure out how to approach this. We have a nurse who comes in once a week to maintain immunization records and make sure we have good processes for medication administration […] Read the full article →
my boss’s kids are incredibly distracting on video calls by Alison Green on September 8, 2020 A reader writes: My job went to 100% remote so I’ve been reporting to my manager virtually for the past few months. She has three kids, all under five years old. Sometimes all of them are home and sometimes it’s just one. At first, the kids popping up were cute in our video calls. Now […] Read the full article →
how is your company supporting employees with kids right now? by Alison Green on August 27, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: In this time of Covid and virtual school, what are your readers’ companies doing, if anything, to help with childcare issues? I work in HR at a manufacturing facility and our production workers are essential. We are trying to come up with creative ways to […] Read the full article →