December 2020

update: my employee asked for a 170% raise

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Remember the letter-writer whose employee asked for a 170% raise after four months in an entry-level position? Here’s the update. Thank you (and everyone who commented) for your advice! […]

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is it unprofessional to have an email address with 69 in it?

A reader writes: HR recently shared an applicant’s email address with me (think “firstname.nickname_69@yahoo.com”) and when I saw it, I chuckled a bit and thought it must be someone quite young and immature. HR saw my reaction and told me that he included a note mentioning that he was born in 1969, and that is […]

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update: do I have any chance of fixing my dysfunctional job?

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Remember the letter-writer who wanted to know if she had any chance of fixing her dysfunctional job? Here’s the update. In my first letter I mentioned an escape […]

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weekend open thread – December 19-20, 2020

This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: Hench, by Natalie Zina Walschots. Jennifer at Captain Awkward recommended this, and I loved it. It’s about a woman who works very boring temp jobs … for […]

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