a coworker left me an anonymous note … and a pacifier by Alison Green on April 3, 2018 A reader writes: About two weeks ago, I came in to work and found a manila envelope on my desk. It had my name written on the front. I opened it up and was stunned to find a typed note that read “Dear Loud Talker, I know more about your TV-watching habits than anyone sitting […] Read the full article →
everyone interrupts me — am I somehow causing this? by Alison Green on April 2, 2018 A reader writes: I’ve been dealing with a weird problem in my work relationships for a long time, and it’s happening again in my new job. I was really hoping you’d have some advice on how to make it stop. The gist of it is, people occasionally talk right over me, in the middle of […] Read the full article →
my coworkers at my toxic former job still vent to me about how bad things are there — and it’s draining by Alison Green on April 2, 2018 A reader writes: About a year ago, I left my position in an incredibly dysfunctional unit to join another organization, quite literally fleeing across the country to get away from the most miserable two years of my career. The main reason that I left was because of the managers: Septa Unella, a former peer who […] Read the full article →
my coworker thinks it’s funny to try to scare me by Alison Green on March 20, 2018 A reader writes: I have been having a mild problem with a coworker since I started at this new company a little over a year ago. He tends to like to sneak up and scare us while we are working. We both wear earbuds while we work so it’s easy for us to not hear […] Read the full article →
my coworker is getting credit for my work by Alison Green on March 19, 2018 A reader writes: I work for a medium sized company on a very small team. For all intents and purposes, it is just me and my colleague, “Joe.” Joe and I both started at the same time and work on the same types of projects. The similarities end there, as Joe is the type to take […] Read the full article →
my coworker leans on us for help way too much by Alison Green on March 7, 2018 This week on the Ask a Manager podcast, I talk with a caller whose coworker won’t stop asking for help with her job — help that she shouldn’t need. Here’s the letter she sent to me, and you can listen to our discussion about it on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or Anchor (or here’s the direct […] Read the full article →
how can I get my coworker to stop talking about God? by Alison Green on March 7, 2018 A reader writes: I have a coworker, let’s call her Cersei, who constantly talks about God and religion. Every day, at least twice, the conversation turns to God. From the casual (“I have plans with my church group tonight”) to the strange (I told her how my cat woke me up at 3 a.m. and […] Read the full article →
how can I get out of eating lunch with coworkers? by Alison Green on March 5, 2018 A reader writes: How can I successfully get out of lunches with coworkers? When I say no, they try for another date. And another and another. How can I politely say, “I’m not interested in spending my one work-free hour in the day with coworkers?” I don’t like spending the money and I don’t like […] Read the full article →
my coworker with imposter syndrome actually does suck at her job by Alison Green on February 26, 2018 A reader writes: I am a woman and have a female coworker who, like most of us (myself included), struggles with impostor syndrome. Here’s the thing, Alison. She is LEGITIMATELY TERRIBLE at her job. She’ll bungle something up and someone will need to go bail her out. Projects that should take two weeks take a […] Read the full article →
my coworkers think I’m an intern … but I’m not by Alison Green on February 21, 2018 A reader writes: I’m in my first post-college job, at a large publishing company in a major city. My position is tailored for recent college graduates, with free workshops, the chance to sit in on exec-level meetings, and opportunities to do work in multiple different departments. It’s a great gig! However, because of the unique […] Read the full article →