advice about your coworkers

Need advice about your coworkers? Here are answers to questions from dealing with a coworker who sings all day, to interrupters, to credit-stealers, and much more.

how do I live down a reputation for being “extra”?

A reader writes: How does one shake a reputation at work for being “extra”? Three years ago, I joined my current organization and quickly became known as a go-getter, an innovator, and someone good at their job. Senior level colleagues would learn about programs I had developed, express admiration, and ask to borrow the idea. […]

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my coworker insisted on inviting her sister to my wedding

A reader writes: This happened a while ago, but I’m still weirded out by it. I worked in a very close-knit, small office (five people), where I got along very well with everyone except one person, “Gertrude.” Gertrude was in her first job out of school, so it’s likely she was new to working world […]

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our coworker lied about having a sick child and a rich fiance

I’m off for a few days (probably back tomorrow), so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2017. A reader writes: I’m really curious about what you would have done in this situation. I’ve worked for a company for a little over 10 years and there is a person, who […]

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my coworker is setting toilet paper on fire in the bathroom

I’m off for a few days, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2019. A reader writes: I work in a small office (about 20 people at this branch of our company) and we have two individual restrooms (as opposed to stalls) in our central hallway. There is certainly […]

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I get angry when my coworkers make mistakes

I’m off for a few days, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2017. A reader writes: I’ve got a question regarding how much “mistake tolerance” is expected in the workplace. Just to give you some background, I’m a (tech) team lead, which, in my case, means my daily […]

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I share an office with someone who won’t stop talking

A reader writes: Due to renovations, I’m temporarily sharing an office with another employee. We work different jobs, but are technically peers. He is, frankly, driving me crazy. Every question that comes across his mind, he gets up and asks me. Most of these are surprisingly basic questions. Some questions are work-related. Some are random, […]

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my coworker is obsessed with us being happy all the time

I’m off this week, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2019. A reader writes: My coworker, Lenora, is the oldest person in our office. She is generally friendly, cheerful, and a hard worker. However, despite her genuinely sweet nature, she is about to drive us all up the […]

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