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.

I’m intensely jealous of my coworker

A reader writes: I am extremely jealous of my coworker, and I have no idea what to do about it. My coworker, let’s call her Lacy, and I started in the same entry-level position around the same time (Lacy started a few months before me). We’re similar in age and, while Lacy graduated from a […]

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my “empath” coworker is kind of a jerk

A reader writes: For about half a year now, I’ve had a colleague (let’s call him Dave) who has a few strange quirks. He tends to look for my reaction at a lot of things other people say, and then comment on the way I react. For example: another coworker or my boss makes a […]

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can I ask coworkers why they didn’t hire my daughter?

A reader writes: My daughter applied for a job at the firm where I’m currently employed, in a department supervised by three very good friends of mine. I’ve known them all for over 20 years. I consider them great coworkers and friends. My neighbor also applied for the job. My neighbor has been out of […]

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my coworker is dating a convicted pedophile

A reader writes: I’m in a weird situation with a few coworkers, and don’t know what to do. My desk mate, Beth, is roommates with a coworker, Sally. Sally works in our department, but her office is in a different part of the building. Sally recently started dating someone and confided in Beth that boyfriend, […]

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our boss hired his emotionally unstable son to work with us

A reader writes: I work in a preclinical (no patients) research lab in a hospital. The team involved in our day-to-day work is small, consisting of three full-time employees and the lab manager. We all have to work together closely to get studies done. Our top boss and PI, Cyrus, is the head of the […]

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my coworker won’t use women’s names

A reader writes: This is a weird low-stakes thing. I work in a small government office and we have a guy working here who’s been here for over 40 years and is within a year or two of retiring. I like him well enough, but I’ve noticed he almost never calls women by their names. […]

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I joked about a coworker’s slowness … and he overheard

A reader writes: I am the manager of a small group. I sometimes work with non-management staff outside my group, one of whom is an exceedingly capable, but idiosyncratic, person, “Karl.” He is very focused and will go far above and beyond to make sure that everything is clear, organized, and exactly right. This is […]

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my boss says I need to socialize more with my team

A reader writes: I’ve been in my job for about two years, and I’m just going to say it: I don’t have a great manager. The biggest sticking point has been his over-emphasis on the team hanging out and “getting to know each other.” He never bothers to schedule work time for us to do […]

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