my coworker wants me to do all the work he sends me ASAP, even when I have higher priorities by Alison Green on November 21, 2022 A reader writes: I’m a project manager at a nonprofit. We’re desperately understaffed, so I am wearing many hats right now, including in the general operations area. Most of the things I work on have deadlines and are necessary for us to function as a healthy organization and to support our mission. “Ned” heads a […] Read the full article →
should I tell my tantrum-throwing coworker that she’s sabotaging herself? by Alison Green on November 17, 2022 A reader writes: I work in a small team of half a dozen. Recently our lead left and another coworker stepped in to fill that lead position, which left her role open. We have one coworker, I’ll call her Jane, whose work is tangentially related to ours but she’s not in the same role but […] Read the full article →
my male coworkers keep vomiting emotionally on me by Alison Green on November 3, 2022 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I am the sole female Turtle Analyst on my team (job title changed for anonymity, obviously). I’m young and new at the company (just had my two-year anniversary). I use the our database’s coding language daily. Part of my job is collaborating with the Turtle […] Read the full article →
my coworker is teasing me with a mascot of an animal I’m scared of by Alison Green on October 25, 2022 A reader writes: I work for a school, and our mascot is an animal most people find lovely – think of a lion or a puppy. In past years, we’ve had a very large stuffed toy of our mascot that travels between homerooms a few times a month, usually to celebrate a homeroom that has […] Read the full article →
should I put more effort into making friends at work? by Alison Green on October 18, 2022 A reader writes: I started at my company almost five years ago. I’m married and was pregnant when I started, and though I worked full-time and more than satisfied my boss, I didn’t get along well with many of the other women on my team who were in different life stages and had different work […] Read the full article →
our health committee chair is anti-vax, anti-science, and out of control by Alison Green on October 17, 2022 A reader writes: I’ve decided what my own actions will be here, but wanted to get your thoughts on whether or not an employer has an obligation to shut this down. My workplace (a state government agency) has various Employee Resource Groups. All 100% voluntary, and there are limits to how much time we can […] Read the full article →
a coworker’s child keeps saying insulting and bigoted things to me by Alison Green on September 22, 2022 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I work in a nonprofit child care setting and the environment can be toxic at times. These people have all known each other for decades and have habits of lying for one another in professional settings to make the organization sound better than it actually […] Read the full article →
how should I deal with an anxious and needy coworker? by Alison Green on September 21, 2022 A reader writes: I have a coworker in her late 20’s, Patricia, who has been a part of my team for about five months now. I have been employed at this company for two years, but have been called back into the office after work from home was revoked. Patricia is supposed to be a […] Read the full article →
my coworker keeps trying to undermine me by Alison Green on September 20, 2022 A reader writes: I left a toxic job back in June, and accepted a higher-paying, higher-title job at a nonprofit organization I respect very much. The culture here is wonderful, my manager is fantastic, and, for the most part, so are my coworkers. There is one coworker, though, who I’m having a tough time with, […] Read the full article →
I stood up to a sexist coworker who wanted me to take all the notes for a team I’m not even on by Alison Green on September 14, 2022 A reader writes: Your recent letter about office housekeeping and calendar invites reminded me of an incident that happened at work about a year ago. I am the director of architecture for a company and work closely with a man who is my peer, the director of construction — we both directly report to the […] Read the full article →