how to deal with a stomach attack in the middle of a meeting by Alison Green on January 18, 2024 A reader writes: This is an embarrassing (but probably more common than I think) question. I just got a new role at my company. The company is great, with a pro-employee balance and we’re only in the office about one day/week. The new role is one which has far more meetings than my current role […] Read the full article →
can I take care of my baby during the workday if my job is undemanding? by Alison Green on January 16, 2024 A reader writes: I work for a large company with strong union protections. Because of our union protections, it’s very hard to get fired or even to get a low performance rating, but it’s also very hard to get merit raises or promotions. Compensation is explicitly tied to how long you’ve been with the company. […] Read the full article →
I had to share a bed with a coworker on a business trip by Alison Green on January 15, 2024 I’m off for the holiday, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2016. A reader writes: Some coworkers and I recently went on overnight travel, and the plan was to have us split two hotel rooms. Sharing a room with people I work with is less than my favorite […] Read the full article →
everything you need to know about how to take vacation time by Alison Green on January 10, 2024 Here’s a round-up of everything you need to know about taking vacation time. the basics everything you need to know about taking vacation time from work what’s the etiquette for taking vacation time? everything you need to know about time off when you start a new job how far in advance can you request time […] Read the full article →
our employee was the victim of a sextortion scam — did we mishandle it? by Alison Green on January 10, 2024 A reader writes: I volunteer on a staffing committee in my mainline Protestant church. Our employee in a role focused on young people self-disclosed that he had taken and electronically sent an inappropriate picture to someone who he believed to be a 27-year-old woman, but who he only knew online. He became a sextortion victim […] Read the full article →
my boss wants to do walking meetings and I can’t keep up with her pace by Alison Green on January 9, 2024 A reader writes: My grandboss (my manager’s manager) is on a “wellness journey” (her words) and has suggested doing skip level 1:1s as walking meetings instead of in her office. On the one hand, I love the idea, because I am trying to avoid spending time in small spaces with unmasked colleagues because I don’t […] Read the full article →
a hoarder at work is causing a mouse problem by Alison Green on January 9, 2024 A reader writes: I work in a lab at a university. Back in August, we starting noticing mice. One of the employees in a leadership position, Julie, has a hoarding problem. Her office is full of so many piles of stuff you can’t walk through it, and there are closets full of her stuff as […] Read the full article →
how to write an out-of-office message by Alison Green on December 26, 2023 With so many people on vacation right now, it’s time to consider the humble out-of-office message … because there are some really weird ones out there. Some out-of-office messages offer far too much personal information; your colleagues do not need to know that you’re out for fertility testing or dealing with a particularly terrible bout […] Read the full article →
parents in my office stick non-parents with all the holiday coverage by Alison Green on December 14, 2023 A reader writes: With the holidays coming up, things are getting tense in my office. There’s a divide between employees who are parents and employees who don’t have kids. We are open on the holidays, full stop, no exceptions; we are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We’re […] Read the full article →
office holiday gift-giving stories: worst gifts and weirdest gifts by Alison Green on December 14, 2023 In the spirit of the season, let’s hear about workplace gift debacles. Did a game of Secret Santa end in tears? Did a coworker throw a tantrum when she didn’t win a raffle? Did your boss try to give you Hanukkah balls? Were you given a jar of mold as a gift? These are all real […] Read the full article →