how can I write warmer emails? by Alison Green on December 1, 2022 A reader writes: What tips can you offer to “soften” the tone of business emails? I tend to be direct in real life interactions, possibly erring on the side of blunt. Putting niceties in emails to others feels like a waste of their time, but some feedback I’m getting is that I can come off […] Read the full article →
I get angry when I’m praised for doing work I don’t like by Alison Green on November 15, 2022 A reader writes: Sometimes when receiving positive feedback, I feel irrationally angry about it. This is always when I’m doing a task I dislike. This, of course, causes problems at work when I’m doing a task I didn’t want to do in the first place and a supervisor tries to give me some encouragement. It’s […] Read the full article →
how to say no without sounding negative by Alison Green on November 9, 2022 A reader writes: I’m by nature an over-thinker/highly analytical person. When I make a structural or wording choice, I put a huge amount of thought into which of the many options will be clearest and easiest to understand. When I then bring the draft to my client or to colleagues, they will often have many […] Read the full article →
how to respond to “sorry” when you were inconvenienced by Alison Green on November 3, 2022 A reader writes: Recently, I had a meeting scheduled at two colleagues’ request to help them work through some challenges in an area where I have more expertise. They were about 10 minutes late, with no notice that they were running behind. When the first person arrived they said, “Sorry I’m late, my previous meeting […] Read the full article →
can I ask my boss to coach me on professionalism? by Alison Green on October 24, 2022 A reader writes: I’ve recently started a new job and in, reflecting on my work experience, I’ve realized that I’m not nearly as attuned to professional norms as I would like to be. Given my background, it’s not terribly surprising. My parents are musicians, and there were large parts of my childhood that we spent […] Read the full article →
how should I handle my downtime when I’m working from home? by Alison Green on October 17, 2022 A reader writes: In the Before Times (when a vast majority of us went to another location for work), when you arrived was the start of your day. Now with many people being hybrid, start times seem a little more fluid and I’m wondering what the “right/ethical” way to operate is. For reference, I am […] Read the full article →
all this talk about”quiet quitting” is absurd by Alison Green on October 17, 2022 At Slate today, I wrote about the terribly-named “quiet quitting” trend — how it mirrors a larger change in people’s relationship to work, and why a lot of workers are disgusted with the idea that they should do more than “quietly quit.” You can read it here. Read the full article →
how to turn down “volunteer” (but not really) projects at work by Alison Green on October 12, 2022 A reader writes: Recently there was an email sent out in my office that said “Volunteers Needed.” It was to work shifts at an event with an organization that my company partners with. Nothing in the email made it sound like it was mandatory, so I just chose not to sign up. The organizer (a […] Read the full article →
can I go braless as a medical accommodation? by Alison Green on October 10, 2022 A reader writes: You’ve written about how, rightly or wrongly, most employers still expect employees with obvious breasts to wear bras (or at least not to make it obvious that they’re not wearing one). My question is, could going braless — or getting an exemption to the dress code more generally — ever be a […] Read the full article →
should I have more of a sense of humor at work? by Alison Green on October 6, 2022 A reader writes: As a leader myself, I’ve been watching how other leaders interact with each other at my organization. They can joke around with each other, tease each other, and just generally interact with each other in that kind of lighthearted way. I’ve never been good at casually joking with people, but it’s gotten […] Read the full article →