a coworker prayed for my fiancé’s death so we didn’t invite her to our wedding … and now there is drama by Alison Green on September 28, 2021 A reader writes: My fiancé, “Ted,” has worked for 10 years on a small, very close-knit team, all of whom seem to get along exceptionally well. All the team members and spouses/partners socialize outside of work together as well, and we consider them all to be close friends. We thought they felt the same. A […] Read the full article →
employer wants friends and family to participate in 360 feedback reviews by Alison Green on September 14, 2021 A reader writes: Something odd happened to me today, and I wanted to see if I’m the one off-base for being confused by it. I received a request to fill out a 360 review for my sister. My sister and I are not coworkers; we do not work for the same company (we aren’t even […] 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 →
my office got us turtles to take care of and bring home on weekends by Alison Green on September 1, 2021 A reader writes: I work for a nonprofit and Covid has been very stressful for us. We are understaffed, overworked and underpaid, like many nonprofits. But recently our president announced something that is suppose to “bring staff together”: they got every office a turtle to keep and take care of. A little back story: our […] Read the full article →
my boss told me not to give greeting cards to older men because it could seem sexual by Alison Green on August 31, 2021 A reader writes: This happened back in April, but I’m talking about it now because a coworker brought attention to it. I’m a female junior employee in my early twenties who just graduated with my bachelor’s last year. My manager at my office job is in his fifties. This past April, I gave Easter cards […] Read the full article →
my company wants me to investigate what expensive medical treatments employees are having and why by Alison Green on August 30, 2021 A reader writes: I took a job a few months ago doing benefits for a new company and recently have started to feel uneasy about one of my job duties. For now this particular duty has been delegated to my manager (who has experience in benefits but only started at this company a week before […] Read the full article →
my employee lies to me about things he just said 30 seconds ago by Alison Green on August 23, 2021 A reader writes: One of my employees, Paul, lies to me regularly about random things. When questioned, he immediately backtracks and acts like I misunderstood. For example, he will tell me that he completed X, Y, and Z reports, and I will say, “Oh, but I didn’t see your report on Z, will you please […] Read the full article →
our boss won’t speak to us, hides in his office, and drops off calls if anyone greets him by Alison Green on August 4, 2021 A reader writes: I work for a small (12 person) agency that has exploded over the past few years. Most employees have been there for between 1-2 years, including our executive director. Eleven of us get along famously, but our executive director has stopped speaking to anyone. He has always been an odd duck, but […] Read the full article →
interviewer badmouthed me to my references because I didn’t want to “harness the power of QAnon” by Alison Green on July 28, 2021 A reader writes: After 15 years as a nonprofit executive director, I’ve struck out on my own as a nonprofit consultant. While much of my business is word-of-mouth and comes to me, I do sometimes throw my hat in the ring for positions I see posted online. One such position was for an organization that […] Read the full article →
my boss won’t speak to us and says “please” is disrespectful by Alison Green on July 27, 2021 A reader writes: I started what I guess you can call my “dream job” six months ago, and it’s been going well except for one thing: my new boss. My boss, Jane, is a highly uninvolved person, and I am struggling to figure out the best way to communicate with her. When I started my […] Read the full article →