is it ageist to tell an older team member they’re wrong? by Alison Green on September 18, 2024 A reader writes: When our company went 100% online work, my team and I helped set up 35 employees with hardware in their homes. The department we support is mostly people in their late 20s-early 30s. Two employees, Archie and Edith, both have bad attitudes and break their hardware a lot. I would say a […] Read the full article →
birthday cards are causing mayhem in our office by Alison Green on September 18, 2024 A reader writes: I’m a team lead with a ridiculous problem. This January, a coworker who reports to me, Diana, said she thought it would be great if she kept a list of everyone’s birthdays and passed around a birthday card for everyone else to sign and then give to the birthday-haver. She said she […] Read the full article →
is a reminder to vote too political? by Alison Green on September 10, 2024 A reader writes: I currently work in a management role in a government agency. For anyone who cares to do a quick Google/LinkedIn search, it is clear from my previous jobs for campaigns/issue groups/certain politicians that I’m a Democrat, but I maintain pretty strict boundaries about discussing politics at work. We are a service agency, […] Read the full article →
the pumpkin conspiracy, the illegitimate squirrel, and other office competitions gone bad by Alison Green on September 9, 2024 Last week we talked about office contests gone awry. Here are 13 of the funniest stories you shared. 1. The bugs Early in my career as a software engineer, the company wanted to improve the quality of the software products. They offered cash bonuses to the testing teams for finding bugs, and cash bonuses to […] Read the full article →
do we have to accommodate a dieting employee? by Alison Green on September 9, 2024 A reader writes: I know that we need to accommodate employees with dietary restrictions due to health or religious needs, but what about employees who choose to go on diets? I have a colleague, Collette, who has been willingly doing a Keto diet for the last year, and she still is insufferable about it. Anytime […] Read the full article →
let’s discuss workplace contests gone awry by Alison Green on September 5, 2024 Workplace contests sometimes go off the rails in ways no ever intended. (Luckily for us!) Some examples that have been shared here in the past: •. “We had a hot sauce eating contest at work years ago that ended with the crowd demanding that the contestants stop before they got hurt (and passing the hat […] Read the full article →
you can’t escape the office diet police by Alison Green on August 19, 2024 We all know the office diet police: the people who say, “Don’t you know that’s terrible for you?” as if you’d chosen Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for their nutritional value … “Oh, I see we’re being naughty today!” as you eat a slice of cake … and, if you choose something heathy, “Ugh, another salad—you need […] Read the full article →
my company secretly gives parents thousands of extra dollars in benefits by Alison Green on August 13, 2024 A reader writes: I work for an organization that prides itself on being generous and flexible to parents. I fully support that, despite the usual gripes among the childless employees you might imagine (e.g., we are asked to work more weekends and nights). A colleague of mine, a parent, is leaving the org and invited […] Read the full article →
can I report my boss for getting me sick? by Alison Green on July 23, 2024 A reader writes: I want to go to HR about my boss coming in sick, resulting in me using all my vacation time for an upper respiratory infection, but I’m not sure I should. We work in a cafeteria, so we have an HR but we also serve food. My boss came in Wednesday and […] Read the full article →
my company says we can’t wear underwire bras by Alison Green on July 22, 2024 A reader writes: My company just introduced a new company-wide policy that you cannot wear an underwire bra due to setting off an alarm on a metal detector in the entrance of the building. Is this illegal in California? It’s legal. It’s actually been litigated in multiple states (and, as far as I know, upheld […] Read the full article →