the escape room, the haunted house, and other times Halloween at work went wrong (or right) by Alison Green on October 31, 2024 Happy Halloween! Here are some of my favorite stories about Halloween at work that you shared earlier this week that didn’t make it into my column for Slate on Monday. 1. The escape room At Old Job, the position that I and the majority of the department held was rather soul sucking. The supervisors all […] Read the full article →
what are the weirdest things you’ve found when cleaning out an old office or desk? by Alison Green on October 31, 2024 What odd things have you found when moving into a new office or desk? To start us off, here are some disturbing and/or amusing examples shared here in the past: “A friend of mine went to work for a museum in DC. As she cleaned out the desk she found an old (1920ish?) cigarette box, […] Read the full article →
succeeding at work if you’re neurodivergent by Alison Green on October 24, 2024 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I have ADHD and learning disabilities. I suspect I have autism too. I just got into a new manager position. With the amount of disabilities I have, it’s amazing how far I made it. As I look for advice for succeeding in the workplace as […] Read the full article →
the bread bag files, the dead language, and other broken but sacred systems by Alison Green on October 22, 2024 Last week, we talked about broken systems that for some reason become sacred and cannot be changed. Here are some of my favorite stories you shared. 1. The bread bags I worked for a publication that had a bread-bag-based content management system. They were these waxy paper bags designed to hold a loaf of bread, […] Read the full article →
when terrible work systems become sacred by Alison Green on October 17, 2024 I once worked for an organization where, years before, an IT person had created a database in an obscure coding language. He was long gone and no one knew how to make changes to it but the CEO loved it so we weren’t allowed to replace it, despite it being central to our work. Nearly […] Read the full article →
have you seen Halloween go wrong at work? by Alison Green on October 10, 2024 I’m writing a column for later this month about the ways Halloween at work can go wrong and want to hear your stories. Did your coworker get fired for refusing to remove his unicorn mask to get through security? Did your office put up decorations so grisly that they were traumatizing people? Did a coworker […] Read the full article →
my community was destroyed by the hurricane — how do I function at work? by Alison Green on October 8, 2024 Readers, can you help with this one? I had a question I’m hoping to get your or your readers’ input on. I live, and work remotely from, one of the Southern Appalachian communities that was most severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. I’m very lucky in that I’m safe, my people are safe, and I didn’t […] Read the full article →
the avenging COO, the salary fix, and other stories of wrongs being righted by Alison Green on October 7, 2024 Last week we talked about times you saw someone right someone else’s wrong. Here are 10 of my favorite stories you shared. 1. The COO My first job out of college was working at a large corporation as an executive admin. There were five of us admins who sat in the open space, outside of […] Read the full article →
let’s talk about times when someone righted someone else’s wrong by Alison Green on October 3, 2024 Today’s “ask the readers” is for my mom: let’s talk about times when someone righted someone’s else wrong (a favorite pastime of my mother). Maybe a colleague stood up to the office bully on behalf of a more junior colleague, or a new manager flagged a pay gap and got it fixed, or any other […] Read the full article →
the horrified new hires, the gift exchange revolt, and other times you pushed back as a group at work by Alison Green on September 19, 2024 Last week we talked about times when banding together as a group and speaking up at work resulted in change. Here are eight stories you shared. 1. The coordinated survey I work in a regional office of a global company. Every year, global HR sends out a staff survey, and I noticed that the leadership […] Read the full article →