January 2016

weekend free-for-all – January 23-24, 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: Texts […]

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coworker sings and talks while we’re in the bathroom, acting supervisor gave me grief about teleworking during blizzard, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Acting supervisor gave me grief about teleworking during blizzard I live/work just outside the D.C. metro, which spent this past week expecting a huge blizzard to start sometime on Friday. My supervisor has been out for the week, so I requested telework for Friday from […]

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update: is my trainer sabotaging my work?

Remember the letter-writer last month who was worried that the person training her at her new job was sabotaging her work? Here’s the update. Thank you very much for featuring to my question. I was impressed with your complete and thoughtful response. I was blown away by how much the commenters know about database audits […]

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open thread – January 22-23, 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 […]

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how should managers handle snow days?

A blizzard is coming!  Well, to much of the U.S., that is. And with severe weather, managers have to figure out how to handle work when people might not even be able to get out of their driveways. With severe weather, at what point should you tell people to just stay home? Obviously, you don’t want people […]

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my coworker constantly misses work and I have to do her job for her

A reader writes: For the most part, I really enjoy my job. It is my first job out of university, and I’m well-paid and appreciated and work in a small, tight-knit division. One of my coworkers, “Cecilia,” drives me nuts though. Because my boss, “Jack,” is fairly understanding and flexible about time off and vacations, […]

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