weekend free-for-all – August 31-September 1, 2019 by Alison Green on August 31, 2019 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.) Book recommendation of the week: The Dearly Beloved, by Cara Wall. The story of two ministers leading the same church and the women who marry them. It’s more about marriage […] Read the full article →
open thread – August 30-31, 2019 by Alison Green on August 30, 2019 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 →
someone is violating our bathrooms, coworker takes over my desk when I’m out, and more by Alison Green on August 30, 2019 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. We have a building masturbator and don’t know who it is I am a property manager at an office building and people have recently reported that there’s, well, a building masturbator. He apparently does his business several times a day while listening to music (?????) […] Read the full article →
I’m too sick to do a volunteer job — but they’re insisting I attend anyway by Alison Green on August 29, 2019 A reader writes: I signed up to a volunteer at an event a few months ago, on the condition that if I dropped out it was my responsibility to find a replacement. (I know, lesson learned, I will not be signing up again). I’m representing a business/community group but I myself am unpaid; our payment […] Read the full article →
update: my boss got weirdly aggressive about winning a game and now keeps claiming I’m angry about it by Alison Green on August 29, 2019 Remember the letter-writer whose boss got weirdly aggressive about winning a game and then kept taunting her about it — waving her plastic medal around and insisting our letter-writer was angry about losing? Here’s the update. A few weeks after your advice and kind words from the readers, the medal showing continued but generally I […] Read the full article →
what are the ethics of reporting social media posts to someone’s employer? by Alison Green on August 29, 2019 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I was on the Facebook page for one of the local communities in my area, when I came across a post, paraphrased as follows: “To the jerk at the grocery store, don’t scream at trailer trash customers in the checkout line … I swear, if […] Read the full article →
men apologize for swearing around me, coworker likes to quiz me in front of others, and more by Alison Green on August 29, 2019 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Male coworkers apologize for swearing around me I’m a 28 year-old woman working in finance. I work with a lot of sales leads and directors, most of whom are older and male. Something has come up now three separate times, twice with the same VP, […] Read the full article →
I saw a document in our printer saying we’re all being laid off by Alison Green on August 28, 2019 A reader writes: Last week I was making a copy in our copy room (open to all employees to use as needed) and with my copy I picked up a print-out listing every employee in my company, their projected end date (it varied from two weeks from now to two months from now), their start […] Read the full article →
my interviewer contacted a reference I didn’t approve by Alison Green on August 28, 2019 A reader writes: I recently started a job search, and I reached out to various people on LinkedIn to see if they knew of any open positions. One of those people was an old coworker, and he had me get in touch with the CEO of the small company he currently works for. I emailed […] Read the full article →
how patient do I need to be with a coworker with mental health issues who lashes out at me? by Alison Green on August 28, 2019 A reader writes: My coworker, “Minerva,” is okay most of the time. But she has unpredictable mood swings and has caused friction with virtually everyone in the team in the past three years. Last week she called me at 10 pm to scream at me for a “mistake” I made which occurred because she didn’t […] Read the full article →