why do people insist on writing an entire message in the email subject line? by Alison Green on May 22, 2023 A reader writes: I have a low stakes question, but it irritates me to no end. I have three colleagues who all insist on writing the body of their email in the subject line (unless it doesn’t fit, in which case it will be half in the subject and half in the body of the […] Read the full article →
professionalism: a round-up by Alison Green on May 10, 2023 A reader writes: I was hoping you could come up with a list of your blog posts related to professionalism and job soft skills that I could use to train new employees. A lot of our staff members are new graduates or haven’t worked in offices before and making “soft skills” part of their onboarding […] Read the full article →
is it unprofessional to take a Zoom call from a treadmill? by Alison Green on May 3, 2023 A reader writes: I’ve noticed an increasing number of employees (from individual contributors to managers or even directors) getting their steps in on a treadmill during Zoom calls. Video is on and they’re bouncing around, even wiping their brows. What is your take? It feels so unprofessional to me. It is quite distracting, and almost […] Read the full article →
does it look unprofessional to have an energy drink at my desk every day? by Alison Green on May 2, 2023 A reader writes: I’m about to start my first real office job soon. I’m in my mid 20s and still working on my degree, so I’m a little worried about seeming immature. I have an unfortunate habit of drinking one or more energy drinks per day. Ignoring the health aspect of that, will it look […] Read the full article →
is it unprofessional to have hickeys at work? by Alison Green on April 18, 2023 A reader writes: What’s the workplace norm around hickeys? Obviously, I would never want to make my coworkers uncomfortable, involve them in my sex life, or lead anyone to think I’m being abused. I figure the general policy is that any obvious marks are unprofessional and should be hidden from view at work. But what […] Read the full article →
someone or something is deleting our work emails by Alison Green on April 10, 2023 A reader writes: My coworker, Jane, and I share a common Outlook mailbox and the emails get sorted out to each team member chronologically. Example: first email gets assigned to me, second email gets assigned to Jane, third email gets assigned to me, fourth email gets assigned to Jane. And so on. We can tell […] Read the full article →
my manager said I need more confidence — what does that mean? by Alison Green on March 27, 2023 I’m off today, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2018. A reader writes: I just had my probation review for my new job and it went well! They seem pretty happy with me and the work I’m doing. Most of the feedback was stuff I agreed with and […] Read the full article →
does it look bad to send emails late at night? by Alison Green on March 15, 2023 A reader writes: Does it look bad to send/respond to an email late at night? I am generally forgetful, and the smaller a task the more likely I am to forget about it until later that evening. Randomly, at 10 p.m. I will remember, “Oh shoot, I didn’t tell Jane that Wednesday doesn’t work for […] Read the full article →
the people who are secretly working multiple full-time jobs from home by Alison Green on February 20, 2023 I wrote a piece for Slate about the surge in people who are secretly working two or more full-time jobs without their companies’ knowledge — how they do it, what employers think of it, and the larger social forces that might be driving it. You can read it here. Read the full article →
my boss said my posture is too casual for the office by Alison Green on January 4, 2023 A reader writes: In June, I was really lucky to do a work experience with my state electorate’s representative (I’m not American but I live in a western country). While I certainly got some invaluable experience and built up my skills, I felt like I was treated slightly harshly by my boss, the aforementioned politician. […] Read the full article →