my coworker yells and is disruptive — and we’re afraid to confront her by Alison Green on October 28, 2020 A reader writes: I work in a very small office with an open floor plan. Most of us are friendly enough and get along well, with the exception of Jane. Jane is one of the unhappiest, most negative people I have ever met. She complains almost constantly about anything and everything — and the complaining […] Read the full article →
I won money on a game show, and my coworkers resent that I wasn’t laid off by Alison Green on October 22, 2020 A reader writes: Pre-pandemic, I was on a game show. The game show itself isn’t well known, but I did win a small but not life-changing sum (think like three months salary after taxes). My coworkers knew I had been on this show, but per the contract I signed, I wasn’t allowed to reveal the […] Read the full article →
new coworker is a rude know-it-all by Alison Green on October 20, 2020 A reader writes: I have been working on a project for over a year, and over the last six months I have taken over the lead responsibilities. For the last year, our entire team of four has been women. Several weeks ago, a new coworker, “Mark,” started. Mark has experience in our field and has […] Read the full article →
I’m the lone progressive in my company — how do I deal with all the political talk? by Alison Green on October 15, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I work in an extremely conservative industry in a red state. While my city did flip blue in 2018, I believe I am the only person with progressive beliefs in my company. However, I keep that information to myself because political discussions can be very […] Read the full article →
my early bird coworkers grumble that I start work later than they do by Alison Green on October 13, 2020 A reader writes: Over the past months, my imminent return to the office has been pushed back several times until our leadership gave up and told us we were going to work from home for the rest of the year. Prior to the pandemic, I worked from 7:30-4:30 every day to beat an absolutely brutal […] Read the full article →
my coworker berates me all day long by Alison Green on October 13, 2020 A reader writes: For the past four years, I’ve worked at a small company of about 40 people spread over three states. I am the only person in my type of admin role and the only person who handles all of the documents coming into and out of all three offices. Everyone who has documents […] Read the full article →
my boss told me that I smell by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 A reader writes: I recently started a position and my boss just called me in for a meeting that was really embarrassing: My boss told me that someone in the office had told them I had body odor. My boss told me that this wasn’t something they had noticed, so maybe it was just an […] Read the full article →
how do I draw the line on political conversations at work? by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 A reader writes: I’m the lead for a small team that has brief daily morning “standup meetings” – usually around 5-10 minutes of checking in and updating one another about what we’re working on that day. During the pandemic we’ve been mostly remote, so these take place via video chat and have, predictably, gotten a […] Read the full article →
my coworker told everyone we’re married … we’re not even dating by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 A reader writes: Last year, I left on a leave of absence for a few months to take care of my elderly parents. Then I returned to work. Apparently during that time, one of my coworkers began telling people we were married … not as in “work wife,” as in legally married, and everyone believed […] Read the full article →
I saw a coworker’s husband naked on Zoom – should I say anything? by Alison Green on September 28, 2020 A reader writes: So … the other day we had a full day Zoom meeting/training (~12 people from our company, including the boss and the trainer from outside the company). During the lunch break, the Zoom was still going on, but we were encouraged to go eat, stretch, etc. I turned off my camera and […] Read the full article →