all of my 2024 book recommendations by Alison Green on December 12, 2024 All year long, I’ve made a weekly book recommendation when kicking off the weekend open thread. These aren’t work-related books; they’re just books I like, mostly fiction. Sometimes they’re books that I’m in the middle of reading, and other times they’re just long-standing favorites. Here’s the complete list of what I’ve recommended this year (maybe […] Read the full article →
“I will confront you by Wednesday of this week” by Alison Green on December 11, 2024 Several years ago, a reader shared with us this epic email that was sent by their company’s boss after a holiday party gone terribly awry, and as we enter the holiday season we remember its glory. “This happened about ten years ago, but the email I received from our boss was so epic I preserved […] Read the full article →
more on AI attending meetings by Alison Green on December 6, 2024 A reader writes: This may be cheating as an “update” since I am not the original person who wrote in about AI attending meetings, but I still thought it might be interesting/useful to you and your readers! Today I was in a Zoom meeting: a regular small meeting to publish a paper. I noticed an […] Read the full article →
the schedule for updates this year by Alison Green on December 2, 2024 Welcome to “where are you now?” season at Ask a Manager! Between now and the end of the year, I’ll be running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. A heads-up about update season: for the next few weeks I’ll be posting at midnight, 11 am, 12:30 pm, 2 pm, […] Read the full article →
have a question about holidays at work? by Alison Green on November 4, 2024 I’m doing a column for Slate answering questions about holidays at the office, and I want your questions! Maybe you’re wondering how to get out of buying gifts for all your coworkers, or you want to avoid being shafted in the Secret Santa this year, or you’re terribly afraid your boss is going to hand […] Read the full article →
the star guest got drunk at an event I was hosting by Alison Green on October 28, 2024 A reader writes: I’m in a position where I do some industry event hosting and public interviewing. I don’t arrange any of the events, I’m just a speaker/host (I work in a related field too, but these gigs are freelance and paid separately.) I had agreed to interview someone very prestigious in their field who […] Read the full article →
I’m ashamed of my past behavior at work — do I need to change fields? by Alison Green on September 30, 2024 I’m off for a few days, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2018. A reader writes: I have an ongoing concern that has a lot to do with mental health but also has to do with work. I am seeing a therapist regularly to deal with the mental […] Read the full article →
this one weird trick cured my burn-out by Alison Green on September 23, 2024 In last week’s question about burning out doing work that you love, I wrote this: I used to think the cure for burn-out was lots of downtime and relaxation — and sometimes it is — but what’s worked better for me personally is regularly using my brain for something completely different. Otherwise you’re just wearing […] Read the full article →
the cats of AAM by Alison Green on September 4, 2024 In last week’s speed round, a surprising number of questions requested updated info on the cats — in particular, an update to the personality profiles and photos from last year. So here we go. Olive 11 years old, the grande dame of the house. She is very beautiful and requires that you treat her like […] Read the full article →
the poorly kept secret, the all-staff email, and other stories of affair drama at work by Alison Green on August 29, 2024 Last week we talked about coworkers cheating on coworkers, coworkers cheating with coworkers, and related drama. Here are 11 of the most bananapants stories you shared. 1. The poorly kept secret At OldJob where I was an intern, there was a couple (Bob and Barbara) who were having an affair. They were in the same […] Read the full article →