is it OK to nap at work? by Alison Green on January 27, 2025 If you’ve ever come to work after getting a bad night’s sleep and struggled to be productive — or just awake — it’s probably occurred to you that being able to take a quick nap at work would be an incredibly worker-friendly amenity. Of course, in most offices, sleeping on the job is an absolute […] Read the full article →
do I have to share my story on a “women in industry” panel? by Alison Green on January 27, 2025 A reader writes: I just received an email from my company’s corporate marketing team inviting me to speak on an internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) panel about my experiences being a woman in a male-dominated industry during the national Women in (Industry) week this spring. I know exactly why they asked me – I […] Read the full article →
can I ask employees to stay late during busy times? by Alison Green on January 22, 2025 A reader writes: I own and operate a small business. The workflow is typically manageable within a 40-hour work week. However, occasionally an important project comes in with an especially tight deadline and usually affects a different person each time. I have difficulty asking employees to go the extra mile for that day or two […] Read the full article →
I don’t want to babysit my brother in my office by Alison Green on January 22, 2025 A reader writes: This letter has a lot of personal issues attached to it, but I swear this is job-related. My mother is trying to strong-arm me into letting my 13-year-old brother stay in my office with me after school since his school is close to where I work. I’ve had an exhausting feud with […] Read the full article →
my employer fined me $90 for being late by Alison Green on January 20, 2025 I’m off for the holiday, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 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 […] Read the full article →
can I tell clients not to bring in sick kids? by Alison Green on January 16, 2025 A reader writes: I work at a barbershop that’s under the booth rent model, so I’m a sole proprietor. How do I professionally tell people to stop coming in sick/bringing in their sick kids? Should I display a sign at my station as well? I don’t understand how a haircut is so important when you’re […] Read the full article →
our CEO is demanding we return to the office but people don’t want to — and I’m a manager stuck in the middle by Alison Green on January 15, 2025 A reader writes: In 2020, due to the pandemic, my entire company started to work from home. I enjoyed a much better work-life balance and know many others did too, especially because so many people moved further away for more space. Sadly, we’ve been asked to come back into the office. At first it was […] Read the full article →
employee runs to work and drips water and mud everywhere when he arrives by Alison Green on January 13, 2025 A reader writes: One of our staff, Leonard, runs to work. Given our local climate, this often results in him arriving damp and/or cold, which has caused issues: • Our offices/meeting rooms have glass walls, so he uses the shared washroom to change on arrival – tromping through in muddy shoes or bare feet, washing […] Read the full article →
my new boss told me not to take all my PTO each year by Alison Green on January 13, 2025 A reader writes: I recently landed a job offer at a large global company after taking a year off. The job search was a tough one, but after some bumps in the road I was pretty excited about this company and accepted their offer. I ended up negotiating for additional vacation time (four weeks) to […] Read the full article →
how to ask “did you get my gift?” without sounding like you’re fishing for a thank-you by Alison Green on January 9, 2025 A reader writes: I have an extremely low-stakes question: Is there a way to say “did you receive my gift?” that doesn’t come off as aggressively asking to be thanked but instead expresses what I really want to know, which is, “FedEx/etc said it was delivered but was it really? Or do I need to […] Read the full article →