coworkers leaving love notes for each other, how to pick interns, and more by Alison Green on December 29, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Coworkers are leaving love notes for each other I recently started working in a high-end retail setting selling a luxury item. The team that I’m working with seems really great for the most part, except for this one young couple who can’t seem to keep […] Read the full article →
update: how can I help a staff member get better at thinking on her feet? by Alison Green on December 28, 2015 Remember the letter-writer seeking ways to help a staff member get better at thinking on her feet because she was freezing up with customers when they asked questions that she didn’t know how to answer (#2 at the link)? Here’s the update. As you likely remember, my charge was having trouble thinking on her feet […] Read the full article →
the worst boss of 2015 is… by Alison Green on December 28, 2015 We have a winner! 4,041 votes are in, and the worst boss of the year is the manager who penalized an employee for objecting to being called “baby mama,” the c-word, and other names … with 45% of the vote. Congratulations, terrible manager of the year! You suck. The five runners-up, who managed to be pretty terrible themselves: * […] Read the full article →
how to answer the interview question “how does this job fit with your career path?” by Alison Green on December 28, 2015 A reader writes: All through high school and college, I wanted to be a journalist. I got my degree and spent four years in newspapers. And then I got fired. I realized the industry was dying and changing and perhaps it was all for the best. I still use my writing, editing, and research skills, […] Read the full article →
my coworkers are birthday tyrants, job candidate called coworker “annoying,” and more by Alison Green on December 28, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Manager says if I get a raise, fewer of my coworkers will get raises I have a salary that’s presumably on the higher end of non-management in the department I’m in. I also have about a decade or more development experience than those I work with, […] Read the full article →
update: our job candidates have to give “positivity presentations” by Alison Green on December 27, 2015 Remember the letter-writer whose company was asking internal candidates for a promotion to give presentations about how to foster positivity at work, all because of one person who’d been causing a lot of drama? Here’s the update. I wrote in a month or so back about my office’s internal hiring process, which changed to involve […] Read the full article →
3 more updates from letter-writers by Alison Green on December 26, 2015 Here are three updates from letter-writers who had their questions answered here this year. 1. New hire is plotting a coup I spoke with my manager regarding the employee’s behavior and comments after your advice, and the coworker’s behavior was being closely monitored after my disclosure (hearsay, I guess). However, her time with us was destined to […] Read the full article →
update: should I take off my engagement ring for job interviews? by Alison Green on December 25, 2015 Remember the letter-writer who had been advised to take off her engagement ring for job interviews (first published in 2012 and then reprinted for Inc. in October of this year)? Here’s the update. I am the person who asked this question a few years ago and I know I’m long overdue for an update! First, […] Read the full article →
Christmas open thread – December 25-27, 2015 by Alison Green on December 25, 2015 It’s the Christmas open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything that you want to talk about — work-related, not work-related, doesn’t matter. Due to the holiday, I’m expecting much lower commenting on this post than usual (which may make it easier to keep up with), so […] Read the full article →
update: team lead wants us to have weekly group meetings to air problems and grievances by Alison Green on December 24, 2015 Remember the letter-writer whose new team lead proposed weekly meetings where everyone would air concerns and grievances? Here’s the update. I forwarded the link to our lead and we went through the comments together after a couple of days. We both thought people got really caught up in the idea that it was back-stabbing and […] Read the full article →