my boss won’t let me use a mouse, my horrible old boss may become my new boss, and more by Alison Green on January 26, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss won’t let me use a mouse I work at a very small nonprofit and my boss forbids the use of the mouse for routine computer functions. He wants us to use key commands except for the rare occasion where the mouse is the […] Read the full article →
weekend free-for-all – January 24-25, 2015 by Alison Green on January 24, 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 →
telling family members to stop showing up at our store while my husband and I are working by Alison Green on January 24, 2015 A reader writes: Is it reasonable to ask our family members to NOT visit us during working hours ? My husband and I have a shop, and at present family members come and go as they wish, which I find very disruptive. My husband is uncomfortable about telling them to stay out of our business […] Read the full article →
hostile workplace: it’s not what you think by Alison Green on January 23, 2015 If ever we needed a better name for a legal concept, “hostile workplace” is it. “Hostile workplace” law isn’t at all what it sounds like: It’s not about your boss or your coworkers creating a hostile environment for you by being jerks. To be illegal, jerky conduct must be based on race, religion, sex, national […] Read the full article →
open thread – January 23, 2015 by Alison Green on January 23, 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 →
my coworker is using the wrong title, I don’t want to tell my employer where I’ll be working next, and more by Alison Green on January 23, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker is using a more senior title than her real one I have a coworker who has “senior manager” on her email signature line. She is NOT a senior manager and is only a manager. This disturbs the other coworkers who have been promoted […] Read the full article →
do we have to pay new hires for training time? by Alison Green on January 22, 2015 A reader writes: So here’s the sitch: I’m a new-ish office assistant at a small business and was tasked with creating a job posting for one of our in-store entry level positions. I discovered that new entry-level hires are not paid for any training until they have been on the job 90 days. “Training” as […] Read the full article →
is there any advantage to interviewing first or last? by Alison Green on January 22, 2015 A reader writes: When given a few options for interview times, is there any value in going first, last or in the middle? I know that the most important part is being prepared for the interview, but do you think that there is some advantage to going first and “setting the bar” or going last […] Read the full article →
what to do when an employee keeps making mistakes by Alison Green on January 22, 2015 So you’ve got an employee on your team who keeps making mistakes – maybe small ones, but they’re chronic. You see potential in the person and you’re not ready to cut your losses. What can you try to get them back on track? This got discussed in the comments on a recent post, and here […] Read the full article →
interview with an incredibly diplomatic person … or how to agreeably disagree by Alison Green on January 22, 2015 We have a regular commenter, hildi, who has always impressed me with her ability to navigate potentially heated topics kindly, in a very relatable way, and without seeming adversarial to either side. Here’s an example from a few weeks ago, when she was talking to a letter-writer who was allowing a former friend to really mess […] Read the full article →