open thread – January 31, 2025 by Alison Green on January 31, 2025 It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions 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 take your questions to […] Read the full article →
my new boss coughs all over me, my coworker sucks at managing his team, and more by Alison Green on January 31, 2025 It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. My new boss coughs all over me I’ve just begun a new position and as a result, have been working closely with my new boss as she trains me. Things are mostly going well — except she is constantly coughing on me! Directly on me! […] Read the full article →
should you have a bunch of people send the hiring manager unsolicited letters of praise for you? by Alison Green on January 30, 2025 A reader writes: I just saw the below post on LinkedIn, and I thought I’d send it along and get your thoughts on this strategy. After years of reading your blog, it makes me cringe so much. (Why would you write someone a reference if you weren’t their manager? Why would you pester every person […] Read the full article →
my office is overrun with corporate buzzwords by Alison Green on January 30, 2025 A reader writes: Recently in my office, corporate buzzwords have picked up like crazy among my colleagues. Sometimes it feels like senior management’s entirely vocabulary is only buzzwords. In a presentation last week, for example, a director said that a “new piece of work is a runway to manifest our brand value proposition.” What does […] Read the full article →
let’s talk about out-of-touch company executives by Alison Green on January 30, 2025 Earlier this month, we heard from someone whose CEO shared photos of his recent family vacation at a town hall after announcing budget cuts, no bonuses, and increased health insurance costs. And we’ve heard about plenty of other out-of-touch executives before — like the company that quizzed employees on the new boss’s horses, family, and […] Read the full article →
the first person to accept the offer gets hired, reference checker asked how much sick leave an employee used, and more by Alison Green on January 30, 2025 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Offering a job to multiple people and giving it to the first one who accepts Decades ago, in the early 2000s, my friend was offered an assistant professor position at a university. She was told that the same job was being offered to several other […] Read the full article →
did I help my mother embezzle money? by Alison Green on January 29, 2025 A reader writes: This is not a current issue, but it’s something that has been eating at me for a long time. I’m trying to figure out if I unwittingly helped someone embezzle money. I believe the statute of limitations has passed for this (potential) crime in the state that it took place in. It […] Read the full article →
should anything in a performance evaluation ever be a surprise? by Alison Green on January 29, 2025 When the topic of performance evaluations comes up, you’ll typically hear people say, “Nothing in a performance evaluation should ever be a surprise.” It’s right in theory, but it’s not that simple. At Inc. today, I wrote about why it can be more complicated than that, and what that means for managers (and employees). You […] Read the full article →
questions from federal workers who are currently under attack by Alison Green on January 29, 2025 I am being inundated with letters from federal employees and others affected by the new administration’s changes in the last week — which have included ending investigations and enforcement related to discrimination in the workplace (*see note below); illegally firing 17 inspectors general; laying off employees working on accessibility, equity, and diversity; freezing or cancelling […] Read the full article →
socializing at hybrid team meetings, job offer was pulled after a reference check, and more by Alison Green on January 29, 2025 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How do I balance work and socializing at hybrid team meetings? I (a young-looking woman) lead a team of about 15, composed of 3-4 smaller sub-teams that collaborate on various parts of the project. About half the team work remotely; a quarter at Site A, […] Read the full article →