open thread – October 20-21, 2017 by Alison Green on October 20, 2017 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 →
why are contractors treated like second-class citizens, boss enters without knocking, and more by Alison Green on October 20, 2017 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Why do some people look down on contractors and freelancers? I’m a freelance writer contracting at a large company, and I’ve noticed that some people tend to look down on contractors and freelancers. The majority of people I’ve worked with have been lovely, but frequently […] Read the full article →
I don’t want to refer my ex-girlfriend to a previous employer … but I feel guilty about it by Alison Green on October 19, 2017 A reader writes: I’m trying to decide whether to refer my ex-girlfriend to my previous employer. They are looking for someone with her background and she really needs the job, but I am worried about a few things. I dated Jane for two years, and we broke up last year. There was a lot of […] Read the full article →
my boss borrows money from me and doesn’t pay me back by Alison Green on October 19, 2017 A reader writes: I lent $220 to my manager a few months ago. She promised to pay me within weeks, but has not mentioned anything about it til now. How can I ask for the money in a polite and professional way so as not to ruin our working relationship? Also, please give me more […] Read the full article →
update: my employee is refusing to travel because her husband said she can’t by Alison Green on October 19, 2017 Remember the letter-writer in March whose employee was refusing to go on business trips because her husband didn’t want her to and her religion required her to obey her husband? They’d also gotten rid of her car because “queens don’t drive”? Here’s the update. The situation got worse before it got better, and my boss didn’t […] Read the full article →
my coworker is doing my work, what’s up with “dream jobs,” and more by Alison Green on October 19, 2017 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. What’s up with “dream jobs”? This may be a pet peeve of mine, but it grates on my nerves when I see the term “dream job” in a letter writer’s question. I see it used so frequently — once or twice a week, maybe more […] Read the full article →
our security guard slept with an employee, then asked her to pay him for it by Alison Green on October 18, 2017 A reader writes: I’m desperate for some guidance and hope you can help me. I’m fearful that I’m about to lose the friendship of one of my colleagues after I had to report to HR what he told me about someone else where we work. HR made me disclose from whom I got my information, […] Read the full article →
should I tell my boss that my coworker’s work sucks? by Alison Green on October 18, 2017 A reader writes: I work as a web developer on a small team of four people, and we often collaborate on projects. It was just three of us for a while, and we recently hired a fourth person. He was hired primarily as a back-end developer, but also to do front-end work (mainly HTML and […] Read the full article →
my coworker assigns me work, says “no rush,” and then checks on it an hour later by Alison Green on October 18, 2017 A reader writes: I work as a receptionist/office assistant at a university. A large part of my job is small research projects for other members of my department. I am often working on multiple different things for various different people. I have one colleague who will email me a task, and then walk down to […] Read the full article →
my former boss wants a log of all my work, “tell us in 140 characters why you’re perfect for the job,” and more by Alison Green on October 18, 2017 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My former boss wants a detailed log of all my work I was recently hired into a small retail company, and after two weeks I resigned. I’ve never quit a job in my life; my last one was six years long, I had the best performance […] Read the full article →