can we talk about GOOD companies for a change? by Alison Green on April 20, 2023 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I work for a large company that, when I started, I thought was going to be really great. It isn’t. It is the opposite of great. On an almost daily basis, I am blown away by how cruel this company is to its workforce. What […] Read the full article →
my lying coworker claimed someone said I couldn’t eat at my desk by Alison Green on April 19, 2023 A reader writes: I have a very low-stakes question that I’ve been wondering about since I left my last job a few years ago. In my previous role, I shared a four-person office with two junior employees and one other senior employee. The other senior employee, Sam, had 20 years more experience than I did, […] Read the full article →
a manager (not mine) told me to stop organizing lunchtime yoga by Alison Green on April 17, 2023 A reader writes: I work for a large corporation. There are 30 people who do my job. We are divided in to three teams of 10, each with one manager. Our culture encourages taking lunch hours, and it’s common for people to leave the building, schedule an appointment, or eat together in the break room. […] Read the full article →
my company is not planning well for my retirement … what’s my responsibility? by Alison Green on April 12, 2023 A reader writes: I have worked for the same small company (less than 20 employees, including the owners) for almost 30 years. I am full-time, salaried, and exempt and handle a niche set of clients who have specific rules and regulations that must be followed. Approximately 85% of my work falls in two busy seasons, […] Read the full article →
should managers ever push back when employees call in sick? by Alison Green on April 10, 2023 A reader writes: Should there ever be limits on someone using their sick leave if they have it available to use? We’ve had employees tell us “my allergies are acting up today” or “I have to stay home to make sure my pipes don’t freeze.” I don’t want to be in the business of questioning […] Read the full article →
someone or something is deleting our work emails by Alison Green on April 10, 2023 A reader writes: My coworker, Jane, and I share a common Outlook mailbox and the emails get sorted out to each team member chronologically. Example: first email gets assigned to me, second email gets assigned to Jane, third email gets assigned to me, fourth email gets assigned to Jane. And so on. We can tell […] Read the full article →
should our raises be late just because our performance reviews are late? by Alison Green on March 30, 2023 A reader writes: I work for a small company. The leadership and many members of the team, myself included, left another, much larger company three years ago to start this firm. I’ve gotten great annual pay increases at the new small company! But my gripe is that they don’t seem to be pegged to any […] Read the full article →
8 terrible stories of companies getting sexism awareness very, very wrong by Alison Green on March 28, 2023 Recently we talked about workplaces holding egregiously clueless “celebrations” for various awareness days/months. Not surprisingly, a ton of the stories shared were about sexism. Here are eight stories of companies getting sexism awareness events remarkably wrong. (Note: some of the stories shared were so offensive that it’s hard to laugh at them, so these aren’t […] Read the full article →
can I bring a blender to work? by Alison Green on March 20, 2023 A reader writes: I have recently started an in-person job after searching for months. I really want to keep it, but I’m so used to working remotely that my in-person skills are rusty. It doesn’t help that I might be autistic and have a difficult time reading the room/taking social cues. Any advice you can […] Read the full article →
let’s discuss egregiously clueless “celebrations” at work by Alison Green on March 16, 2023 Earlier this week we had a letter about a company that inexplicably decided its sole observance of International Women’s Day would be … to interview a man about sexism. Let’s talk about other cases of egregiously oblivious “celebrations” — the office that sent out weight loss tips for Women’s History Month, the nurses told to wear […] Read the full article →