weekend free-for-all – January 31-February 1 by Alison Green on January 31, 2015 This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. (This one is truly non-work only; if you have a work question, you can email it to me or post it in the work-related open thread on Fridays.) Have at it. Read the full article →
I smelled alcohol on a coworker, being forced to bowl, and more by Alison Green on January 31, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I smelled alcohol on a coworker but am afraid I’ll get him fired I smelled alcohol on a coworker. I was asked if I did and I felt like my answer would be the deciding factor that could get the coworker fired. I felt conflicted. […] Read the full article →
I want to leave without notice but feel guilty about my coworkers by Alison Green on January 30, 2015 A reader writes: I work in an industry normally noted for its stability, although our location has seen 10 people in my position leave in less than two years since current management took over. (For reference, full staff for us is 10). I am scheduled for an interview with another firm later this week and […] Read the full article →
open thread – January 30, 2015 by Alison Green on January 30, 2015 It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything work-related that you want to talk about. If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. * If you submitted […] Read the full article →
standing on the street with a “for hire” sign, my employer left me stranded, and more by Alison Green on January 30, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Standing on the street with a sign saying that you’re for hire I wondered if you’d have any comments on this story about a new grad who stood on the winter streets with a sign that said, “U of T Grad for hire; Take my […] Read the full article →
managing colleagues’ expectations when I work part-time by Alison Green on January 29, 2015 A reader writes: I’m a project manager and have recently reduced my hours to 20 hours per week (I’ve just returned to work after six months parental leave). My hours are spread over three days and I have an early start, so I leave work well before the end of the traditional work day. I […] Read the full article →
what to do when your staff is misusing email by Alison Green on January 29, 2015 Ever had the frustrating feeling of reading a long, convoluted email and wondering, “Why didn’t this person just pick up the phone?” Or seeing someone take offense to an email that sounded abrasive, even if the sender didn’t intend it that way? If you manage a team, chances are good that you’ve seen people making […] Read the full article →
how to respond to a rude firing as a freelancer by Alison Green on January 29, 2015 A reader writes: As a freelancer with many different clients, occasionally some of them don’t work out. However, I’ve found that some employers can be what I consider rude when letting me go after the work I turned in was not what they wanted. One was very cordial up until the point when she wrote, […] Read the full article →
I can’t fire my awful assistant, people keep asking how old I am, and more by Alison Green on January 29, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I have an awful assistant who I can’t fire I’m a nurse and I work with several nursing assistants. I have no authority to hire them, fire them, or implement any kind of substantive rewards or consequences, but I am responsible for their work. Most […] Read the full article →
employers want workers who they don’t have to train by Alison Green on January 28, 2015 The Washington Post has a great piece from Peter Cappelli about how the “skills shortage” that people like to blame on schools (and on college students’ choice of focus in their studies) is BS … and that the real issue is that employers just don’t want to train people anymore. He rightly points out that the argument […] Read the full article →