do I have to work in-office during my notice period? by Alison Green on November 4, 2021 A reader writes: What do you think about refusing to work in-office during my notice period despite an org-wide “return to office” policy that’s been in effect since September? Assume: • I can fully do my job from home • I don’t plan to use my bosses as references in the future • My workspace […] Read the full article →
my boss told me not to tell anyone I’m quitting by Alison Green on October 21, 2021 A reader writes: I work for a small nonprofit that underwent a leadership transition earlier this year. A few months later, I’m the only surviving member of the staff, all of whom had long tenures with the organization (up to 35 years) and stellar service records. I won’t go into details about all of those […] Read the full article →
my ex-boss isn’t that into me (but I’m still into her) by Alison Green on September 14, 2021 A reader writes: I recently left my old remote job of one year for a role with a new team in the same company. I thought I was close with my manager (messaging regularly for business and casual friendly text chats, Christmas gift, birthday gift — even drove one hour to ship me sweets from […] Read the full article →
my employee sent me a “letter of intent” to look for another job by Alison Green on September 13, 2021 A reader writes: I manage a small department at a state agency. One of my direct reports, who had been having some issues with other employees (faults on both sides, honestly), just sent me a Letter of Intent to look for another job. The letter itself was beyond odd. It listed all of his contributions […] Read the full article →
should I explain I quit on my second day because my coworker was overwhelmingly difficult? by Alison Green on September 8, 2021 A reader writes: I quit a job three months ago and I keep running into the board members who hired me. I lied about why I quit because it was such an insane reason I didn’t know what to do. My boyfriend says I should have been honest, but I wouldn’t know where to start. […] Read the full article →
how do I tell my brand new job I’m leaving for a better offer? by Alison Green on August 25, 2021 A reader writes: I was laid off back in April. After months and tons of interviews, I took a job that I was fairly happy with, though it wasn’t in the exact field I wanted to be in. After three weeks, I’m feeling very okay-ish about the company. It’s a smaller start-up so I’m a […] Read the full article →
did I burn a bridge by resigning right after I was promoted? by Alison Green on August 24, 2021 A reader writes: The short version is, I tried really hard to resign without burning bridges but I don’t think I succeeded. How can I mitigate the situation and what should I have done differently? The gory details: I have worked for nine years at a small nonprofit — small enough that it thinks of […] Read the full article →
the people who’d rather quit than give up remote work by Alison Green on July 26, 2021 We’ve heard rumblings for a while now that workers are quitting, or threatening to quit, if they can’t continue to work from home. That’s because for many people remote work has been great—the lack of commute, flexible schedule, and more casual dress have provided a massive quality-of-life boon, to say nothing of the productivity increases […] Read the full article →
how exactly do you quit a job? by Alison Green on July 14, 2021 Quitting your job can be surprisingly anxiety-producing, even for people who are thrilled to be leaving. And if you haven’t quit many jobs before, you might not even be sure exactly how to do it. Do you have to do it in-person? By formal letter? Do you need to say why you’re quitting or can […] Read the full article →
should I warn our terrible managers that most of our team is about to leave? by Alison Green on June 15, 2021 A reader writes: I work in a government department of about 25 people. Due to a poorly executed reorganization and COVID19, we lost about 5 people to other jobs, retirement, or budget cuts in the past year. Obviously, it’s never optimal to lose 20% of your staff, but that could be recovered from if it […] Read the full article →