a coworker stole my spicy food, got sick, and is blaming me by Alison Green on May 31, 2021 I’m off for Memorial Day, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2016. Don’t miss the update, which is also linked below! A reader writes: We have a fridge at work. Up to this point, nothing I had in it was stolen (I am quite new, and others have […] Read the full article →
can an employer steal your work when you apply for a job, why can’t low-wage jobs retain workers, and more by Alison Green on May 31, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can an employer steal your work when you apply for a job? This question is purely hypothetical. My interest was piqued by a story I read from fashion watchdog group Diet Prada (the story has gone viral). As the story goes, a woman was applying […] Read the full article →
weekend open thread – May 29-30, 2021 by Alison Green on May 29, 2021 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: Mary Jane, by Jessica Anya Blau. Fourteen-year-old Mary Jane, who has strict parents with strict ideas about values, gets a summer job nannying for a psychiatrist […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on May 28, 2021 It’s your Friday good news, with more accounts of success even in this weird time. 1. I just graduated from college and I was so worried about trying to find my first job post graduation in these strange times. I spent most of the school year crafting cover letters for positions that never so much […] Read the full article →
open thread – May 28-29, 2021 by Alison Green on May 28, 2021 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 (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. * […] Read the full article →
video cover letters, asking for money to cover a lost perk, and more by Alison Green on May 28, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Asking for compensation to cover a lost perk I work as a staff member at a school, which is categorized as a nonprofit and my colleagues and I are paid nonprofit-level salaries. One of our perks is that breakfast and lunch are available to us […] Read the full article →
my interviewer asked about my personal finances by Alison Green on May 27, 2021 A reader writes: Is it normal for a hiring manager to ask, somewhat insistently, how a candidate has been supporting herself financially during a period of unemployment? If it’s not normal, which is my suspicion, what could possibly be behind this? I work in a niche field and was laid off last year in a […] Read the full article →
update: our employer wants to cut our pay — retroactively by Alison Green on May 27, 2021 Remember the letter-writer last year whose company was planning to cut their pay retroactively? (First update here.) Here’s the latest. I wrote you last year about my company laying off a lot of people and then retroactively reducing pay, and then did a follow-up in late July when they laid off even more and did […] Read the full article →
will office dress codes relax permanently after Covid? by Alison Green on May 27, 2021 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: Could you talk about how the change to work-from-home has changed dress code (formal or informal) in the short-term, and if you think that some of that will continue on after offices reopen? For example, I notice that even when people are on Zoom calls […] Read the full article →
using a famous athlete as a reference, boss showed up at friends’ barbecue, and more by Alison Green on May 27, 2021 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My former student is now a famous athlete — should I use him as a reference? I am a high school teacher. Several years ago when I was a newish teacher, I had a mentor type relationship with a student. He was a phenomenal young […] Read the full article →