what does “hiring manager” mean and other work terms you might not know by Alison Green on January 31, 2018 It’s been a while since I’ve talked about this, and I saw it come up a few times last week so figured it was a good time to revisit some work vocabulary stuff that sometimes confuses people. 1. A “hiring manager” isn’t the person in charge of all hiring The hiring manager isn’t the person […] Read the full article →
I worked from home on a snow day and then was told to use vacation time for it by Alison Green on January 31, 2018 A reader writes: I work for a large institution which provides bus service to our off-site office location. A major snowstorm caused the bus service to be suspended today, which I had anticipated, so I brought my laptop home last night. I had been working for several hours today when my supervisor told me that […] Read the full article →
men compliment my handshake by Alison Green on January 31, 2018 A reader writes: I’m hoping you can shed some light on the phenomenon I describe below. It doesn’t bother me in any real way, it’s just so recurrent and increasingly out of place that I’m curious if this is a common experience shared by professional women, young professionals, or all people with a good handshake. […] Read the full article →
asking interns to stop greeting everyone individually, coworker used a racist word, and more by Alison Green on January 31, 2018 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I ask my interns to stop greeting everyone in the morning? I manage the internship program in my small office. We have 10 employees and typically a couple interns per semester. When our interns arrive for their shifts, they have to walk past every […] Read the full article →
my coworker responds to all problems with “at least you don’t have cancer or an eating disorder” by Alison Green on January 30, 2018 A reader writes: My coworker, Amy, has had cancer and an eating disorder in the past. Whenever anyone brings up a problem or/and complains, Amy will tell them things like “at least you don’t have cancer or an eating disorder” or “that’s not as bad as an eating disorder or cancer.” No one else is trying […] Read the full article →
why won’t my company fire my terrible coworker? by Alison Green on January 30, 2018 A reader writes: I have a permanent position at a government office and there’s a temp who’s consistently doing sub-par work, and with a terrible attitude to boot. It’s extreme — filing documents and cases as completed without doing them at all to boost her performance numbers, losing checks, leaving difficult work undone or hiding […] Read the full article →
I can hear everything my staff says — should I pretend I don’t? by Alison Green on January 30, 2018 A reader writes: I’m the executive director of a small nonprofit, leading a team of six full-time staff and a handful of part-timers and volunteers. Our office is mostly open-plan, but two of us have private offices with doors to the larger area that are almost always kept open. Since it’s a small team, our […] Read the full article →
should I stop bringing coffee to my boyfriend/coworker, I don’t want to show up for my last day of work, and more by Alison Green on January 30, 2018 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I stop bringing coffee to my boyfriend/coworker? My significant other also works at the company (it’s how we met) but in a different department. My colleagues, bosses, and the CEO regularly commend us on keeping it professional and are very supportive of our relationship. […] Read the full article →
I need to gain skills overnight for an interview for a stretch job by Alison Green on January 29, 2018 A reader writes: I applied, and got an interview for, a job that looks really interesting (and would be awesome for my skill development) but that I felt was a bit of a stretch. I was hoping to get an interview but didn’t think I would, and now I need to gain/improve technical skills practically […] Read the full article →
updates: my coworker is rude to Uber drivers and more by Alison Green on January 29, 2018 Here are three updates from people who had their letters answered here in the past. 1. My coworker is rude to Uber drivers I did say something to my coworker. The next time she started yelling at an uber driver I said, “Would you please let him do his job?” And she sort of giggled […] Read the full article →