my coworkers resent that my boss no longer yells at me by Alison Green on October 18, 2023 A reader writes: During the interview for my current job at a small family-owned company, I was informed that one of the people I would be working with, Bob, had a strong personality and was challenging to work with. What I wasn’t told is that Bob is the owner’s husband. One of the reasons he’s […] Read the full article →
my new manager is someone I slept with years ago … and he doesn’t know we have a child by Alison Green on October 16, 2023 A reader writes: The backstory: I went back to university in my late 20s to do my PhD, and shared an office with a few other students for many years. One of the students, Jacob, completed his thesis and was moving back to his home country, so we all went out for congratulatory/farewell drinks. One […] Read the full article →
my boss made us all attend a session with his therapist by Alison Green on October 11, 2023 A reader writes: I need a reality check on whether I should weather the current company storm or jump ship. My manager, Bob, is the owner of the company, and while theoretically has people high up who could push back on him, the reality is that he makes the final decisions on most everything. Bob […] Read the full article →
did my positive response to negative feedback make my boss worry I missed the point? by Alison Green on October 5, 2023 A reader writes: Last year I started a new job doing exciting work at a great company. Unfortunately, in the first few months several things made my performance crater. I got Covid the weekend before I was supposed to start and struggled with brain fog for months, insurance stopped covering the medication I took for […] Read the full article →
my boss is abusive and blames it on PMDD by Alison Green on September 26, 2023 A reader writes: There’s no easy way to say this so I’ll be blunt: My department director, Katherine, has created a horrible work environment because of her unmanageable PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder). As a woman, I do not want to reduce Katherine’s education, expertise in this field, and actually great work she’s done down to […] Read the full article →
can I ask my boss for feedback about how I’m doing? by Alison Green on September 20, 2023 A reader writes: I am fairly new to the workforce. I’ve been at my current job for close to two years and I cannot shake the feeling that I’m bad at it. Rationally I think there are parts of it that I am indeed not-so-great at; rationally I think there are parts that I’m decent […] Read the full article →
can I turn down business lunches as an intern? by Alison Green on September 18, 2023 A reader writes: I’m in the last semester of my junior year at college and just started an internship this month that I’m really enjoying. For context, I applied for a different internship that was not customer-facing, and after my Zoom call with HR was asked to interview for an internship on the team who […] Read the full article →
can I learn to thrive under a hyper-critical boss? by Alison Green on September 6, 2023 A reader writes: I work in a competitive, technical field where I need to be able to research, think critically, propose solutions, and write persuasively. I’ve always gotten good feedback on these skills, except in my current role from my boss, Jane. Jane’s style of feedback entails questioning every single detail, where it came from, […] Read the full article →
is it fair to give no notice when your boss has threatened to push resigning employees out early? by Alison Green on August 22, 2023 A reader writes: I’m writing about a situation a friend/former coworker (Barbara) is in, and I’m wondering if there is any nuance we’re missing. As background, I used to work at this location but the boss was pretty unbearable for a lot of reasons that I won’t bother to get into. Since I left, two […] Read the full article →
my boss keeps leaving her kid with me by Alison Green on August 21, 2023 A reader writes: I work at a tristate chain. My location manager is the owner’s wife, Jane, but rumor has it that he recently cheated on her and ran out on her and their kid. It’s a terrible situation that should be none of my business. The issue is that when summer break started, Jane […] Read the full article →