It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss thinks I’m his graphic designer I’ve been working at this chocolate shop for about six months now. It’s pretty slow and easygoing so I have a lot of free time. I remember the owner asking during the interview what I do for fun, […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker brags about how rich he is and tries to put others down I have a coworker who constantly brags about how rich he is. His family is well-known in the area and it’s common knowledge he got the job at our nonprofit because […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can you work from home while caring for small children? I have a friend who is currently working from home full-time with her toddler around. She’s been managing so far, planning her work day around his naps and the feast/famine workload. She would like to […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Office lunch event is out of control Once a month, my mother and her coworkers coordinate a potluck to celebrate birthdays and other special events. “Potluck” is the terminology my mother uses, although it does not sound like a typical potluck to me. These lunches […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My husband’s boss says he can’t expense my meals My husband gets per diem for trip meals — it’s a “you can spend up to this amount for each eligible meal” kind of deal. He uses a company card and submits an expense report to […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss shakes hands with men, but fist-bumps with women My manager does this thing that annoys me but I don’t know if I should address it or just let it go. Whenever he says goodbye to my male colleagues, he shakes their hand. Whenever […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Working with anti-vaxxers when my friend is immunocompromised I work in a science-based field, yet in our workplace of ~40 people, we have four rabid anti-vaxxers — that I know about; there could be more lying low. I work closely with one on projects, so […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker was fired partly because of me, but I didn’t complain about him A coworker and friend was recently fired suddenly and told that one of the reasons was his attitude towards me. Other reasons were under-performance and not meeting goals. I never complained […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How can I get out of numerology at work? My team is small, we get along great, and are fairly close. The other day, my well-intentioned, very nice, and otherwise very sane coworkers got into a full discussion about all the, for lack of a […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I stop wearing makeup to fit into my office culture? I know you have talked about overdressing being a sign you don’t understand the work culture when starting a new position, such as wearing a suit at a tech start-up. But what is your […]