weekend free-for-all – January 30-31, 2016 by Alison Green on January 30, 2016 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 no work and no school. If you have a work question, you can email it to me or post it in the work-related open thread on Fridays.) Book Recommendation of the Week: And […] Read the full article →
boss confiscates food gifts, getting people to turn in time sheets on time, and more by Alison Green on January 30, 2016 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Boss confiscates food gifts meant for others We have outside acquaintances that we work with, who gift us with goodies to share amongst myself and staff members. However, my boss takes the goodies and hides them from us. When we bring it to her attention […] Read the full article →
bad manager or deliberate saboteur? by Alison Green on January 29, 2016 A reader writes: I thought you might find this old OSS/CIA manual from 1944 as interesting examples of bad management. The purpose of the manual was to instruct employees and citizens of enemy states to sabotage the enemy from within. Some of the sabotage tips sound quite familiar from some of the reader letters. The […] Read the full article →
open thread – January 29-30, 2016 by Alison Green on January 29, 2016 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 →
getting ready for work in the office bathroom, dropping a client who tried to renegotiate rates, and more by Alison Green on January 29, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I take a stand on getting ready for work in the office bathroom? I work for a small company in the HR department as an administrative assistant. There are two bathrooms on the property, both single occupancy, one in the office and one in […] Read the full article →
can I ask my interviewer if they’re likely to want someone with more experience? by Alison Green on January 28, 2016 A reader writes: I have a job interview in the next few days. When it’s time for me to ask questions of them, is it too inappropriate to ask whether they are likely to want a more experienced person for an entry-level role? I’ve been told three or four times now that while I was […] Read the full article →
how to build a leadership pipeline on your team by Alison Green on January 28, 2016 If you don’t have a leadership pipeline in place to develop talent internally, you’ll probably need to spend a lot of time searching for good outside talent when vacancies open up on your team – and you may find yourself in a situation where you can’t easily take on new challenges yourself because there’s no […] Read the full article →
what consequences can managers enforce, other than firing someone? by Alison Green on January 28, 2016 A reader writes: I’ve just begun my first managerial role and I’m wondering about consequences. You frequently mention clearly explaining the consequences “up to and including termination” when an employee is not meeting expectations. What are those consequences prior to being fired? I work in an international nonprofit, and we don’t do things like write-ups, […] Read the full article →
boss accused me of faking a panic attack to get out of a meeting, coworker is taking over my social life, and more by Alison Green on January 28, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss accused me of faking a panic attack to get out of a meeting I’m diagnosed with panic disorder. My boss knows about it — we have an informal arrangement where I can leave early for appointments with my psychiatrist/therapist and make up the […] Read the full article →
don’t send condescending, over-the-top rejection letters by Alison Green on January 27, 2016 A reader writes: I’ve been applying to a few jobs here and there and I recently received this rejection letter: Hi, OK, it’s that email you didn’t want to get, no beating around the bush, we are afraid that we won’t be taking your application to the next stage. We know rejection is tough and […] Read the full article →