employer requires women to wear perfect makeup — and writes them up if it’s smudged by Alison Green on February 25, 2019 A reader writes: I’m writing on behalf of my sister. She is working an office job she quite likes in a bottom-rung position that does not pay very well. Most months she has enough for basic necessities and nothing else. She relies on her boyfriend and family/friends to do fun things like see a movie […] Read the full article →
my office has a burn book we all have to read and sign by Alison Green on February 20, 2019 A reader writes: I work at a customer service desk with one supervisor and a handful of employees. It’s shift work, and there is often very little overlap between morning and afternoon shifts. We have a notebook behind the desk where we are supposed to write notes to the team about anything you need them […] Read the full article →
we have twice-daily mandatory group therapy at work by Alison Green on February 11, 2019 A reader writes: I am really uncomfortable with a new development at my office and I feel like quitting is the only option now. I’m an administrator for a private recovery and mental health center, not a clinical or medical staff member, so I’m not at risk for emotional burn-out. We were notified last year […] Read the full article →
my boss cares more about “confidence” and “strength” than truth and accuracy by Alison Green on January 16, 2019 A reader writes: I need advice navigating communication style differences. I manage an office of about 12 employees and four interns, all working under “Fergus,” the company’s owner. I report directly to Fergus, and the others report directly to me. The issue is that our communication styles differ vastly. Fergus demands what he calls “decisive […] Read the full article →
my office is requiring us to disclose all medications we take by Alison Green on January 14, 2019 A reader writes: I work for a small office (around 20 people) with a director who has a tendency towards micromanagement and distrust of employees — think paranoia that people are constantly trying to get out of doing “enough” work. The director recently announced a new policy requiring employees to disclose prescription and over-the-counter drugs […] Read the full article →
when I didn’t answer a call, my boss worried I’d attempted suicide and he called my mom by Alison Green on January 9, 2019 A reader writes: I am in a situation that I have no idea what to do with. I recently had to use sick leave due to mental health difficulties, which I informed my boss of. On a day off, it seems that the boss attempted to call me to ask a work question. I was […] Read the full article →
my coworkers complained that the look of my breasts post-mastectomy is making them uncomfortable by Alison Green on January 7, 2019 A reader writes: I recently had a double mastectomy with reconstruction, but the reconstruction on one side failed. As a consequence, I am not exactly symmetrical at the moment and will stay this way until the reconstruction is attempted again (probably next summer). I decided to not wear an external implant (it goes in the […] Read the full article →
employer said I didn’t have enough “passion” when I couldn’t interview on a Saturday by Alison Green on November 20, 2018 A reader writes: I recently applied for a job and was excited to receive an invitation to interview. They were looking to fill the position fast and wanted to know if I could interview two days later on Friday. That was tight, but I moved forward since the job seemed like a great fit for […] Read the full article →
my employer fined me $90 for being late by Alison Green on November 14, 2018 A reader writes My company has a ridiculous late fine policy: you will be fined $2 for every minute, starting from 9:01 a.m. So if you come in at 9:05 a.m., that’s $10 you gotta pay up in cash. (This is not somewhere where down-to-the-minute coverage would be essential. It’s just typical deskbound, back-end work. […] Read the full article →
my boss wants us to all share our mental health needs – at every meeting by Alison Green on June 18, 2018 A reader writes: I work at a small company where I like to maintain a professional persona, focusing on getting work done and keeping my personal life separate. The company is not well managed but I have a decent amount of autonomy, people are reasonably pleasant, and for a variety of family reasons the location, […] Read the full article →