how do I get out of an active-shooter drill at my office? by Alison Green on March 1, 2023 A reader writes: In two weeks, my workplace is hosting an all-day active shooter training, conducted by law enforcement. We haven’t been told what it will entail, but it’s seven hours long and we’ve been instructed to wear comfortable clothing. I’ve asked for a more specific agenda but I’m not sure I will get one. […] Read the full article →
I resent our new hires for setting better work-life boundaries than our company normally has by Alison Green on February 28, 2023 A reader writes: I am part of a team in a high-pressure industry at a company known for demanding a lot but paying very well in exchange for availability, etc. We purport to provide near-constant availability to our clients, but it’s unclear whether this near-constant availability expectation extends to individual employees for their teams (depends […] Read the full article →
I supervise a manager who falsified an employee write-up … but I don’t think she should be fired by Alison Green on February 22, 2023 A reader writes: My manager recently overruled me on a firing decision and it is not sitting right with me. I’m a division manager. I manage all the teams within my division. I report to Manny, the departmental manager. He manages all the divisions in our department. Our office employees were all remote from March […] Read the full article →
I was told to stop knitting in a training class … but I knit so I can focus by Alison Green on February 15, 2023 A reader writes: I had a knee-jerk reaction to a situation. Could you please advise me on handling it maturely? I can be fidgety and while I do well overall in classroom environments, I can have a hard time listening while sitting still (I start thinking of other things and/or get drowsy quickly) and have […] Read the full article →
the $15,000 coffee fund, the cheapskate executives, and other stories of office coffee wars by Alison Green on February 14, 2023 Last week, I asked for your stories about office coffee wars (or tea/milk/etc. wars). Here are 15 of my favorites … plus an update. 1. The coffee fund I worked in a department store during summer breaks from college back in the late 80s. The break room had an old school coffee maker, powdered milk, […] Read the full article →
I had to stay in a horrible hotel on a team-building trip by Alison Green on February 14, 2023 A reader writes: I work for a large company and my team is spread over four offices in different cities. We do a yearly employee satisfaction survey and our scores last year were quite low. In an attempt to improve our scores, our manager and director arranged a team-building trip to their home city. The […] Read the full article →
office coffee wars: share your stories by Alison Green on February 9, 2023 One of my favorite “ask the readers” posts ever was one five years ago about office coffee wars (or tea/milk/etc. wars). It produced some amazing stories, including these: “LastJob had a coffee club. I was not a member. There was one coffee maker. There were coffee wars over caffeinated vs. decaf coffee. Regular coffee vs. flavored […] Read the full article →
my company won’t promote people who work from home by Alison Green on February 1, 2023 A reader writes: Before the pandemic, my company did not have the option to work remotely. When the pandemic hit, they were legally required to close our office because we are not essential workers. We were fully remote for a while and no one was allowed to go to the office for any reason. When […] Read the full article →
should I stop using my office’s flex hours since my coworkers have earlier schedules? by Alison Green on January 31, 2023 A reader writes: My organization has a very generous flexible time policy. Our office’s “core hours” are 10 am – 3 pm, and all employees must be working during this time. We’re told to arrange our eight-hour days around those hours however we like. I’m not a “morning person” by habit, and I typically come […] Read the full article →
my boss thinks I need a better reason to take vacation days by Alison Green on January 23, 2023 A reader writes: I’ve been working as an executive assistant to a CEO for just over a year now. For the most part, he’s great and we have a lovely relationship, but he can be a bit brutal about taking time off. He never takes any PTO himself and has often declined my requests for […] Read the full article →