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the questionable drop-off, the kazoo lover, and other tales of carpooling for work

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

Last week, we talked about carpooling for work, and here are eight of my favorite stories you shared — some heartwarming, some not. 1. The kazoo music I fondly think of the coworker who, when I offered her the aux cable to play music off her device, looked hesitant and then said, “Look, I need […]

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 1 day ago

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my employee loves his job — but is bad at it

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader asks: I manage a team and have run into a problem with “Bob,” one of my employees. Bob loves this job. Tells me almost every day how much he loves being at this company. But as much as he loves his job, he’s not very good at it. He’s gotten us incorrect information […]

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 1 day 1 hour ago

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more questions from people whose jobs are under attack by the new administration

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

Here’s part 2 of questions from federal workers who are currently under attack by the administration, as well as others affected by the fall-out. Part 1 (and an explanation of what’s going on) was here. 1. For those of us staying, how do we deal with this? For those of us choosing to stay and […]

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 1 day 3 hours ago

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is “hey” rude, did our coworker fake-retire, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is “hey” rude? I have a former boss who asked all staff at a tiny nonprofit not to use the greeting “hey” to her. I think this is imperious and out of touch, at best. What do you think? It’s a bit much, but there’s […]

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 1 day 14 hours ago

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my employee regularly forgets important details and entire conversations

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: About four months ago I hired a new employee, Arnold. He interviewed very well, and the other interviewers on the panel agreed he was the best candidate. However now I am starting to see some serious gaps in ability. The biggest issue is that Arnold totally forgets entire conversations we’ve had. Some […]

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 2 days ago

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coworker swears angrily during the day

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: My office is next to a person who swears a lot during the work day. I assume it’s frustration with his computer, but a least a couple times an hour I’ll hear an onslaught of expletives coming from his desk. It’s pretty disconcerting to hear and it’s also really distracting. Otherwise, he’s […]

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 2 days 1 hour ago

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my company announced a “biggest loser” weight loss contest

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: My company announced a “biggest loser” weight loss challenge today and immediately my stomach sank. This was sent by the owner/founder of my small civil engineering company (about 40 employees). This is still so fresh for me I don’t even really have the words to express how many ways this is a […]

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 2 days 3 hours ago

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my coworker keeps raising his voice, is it true that you can’t take any time off when you’re new, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How to work with a jerk who raises his voice, when “that’s just how he is” I work with Fergus, a senior engineer who has a reputation for being “crotchety,” a term I am starting to push back on because it seems to explain away […]

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 2 days 14 hours ago

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should your resume list the city/state for each job?

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: As resume advice continues to evolve with the times (e.g., not including your street address on your resume), I’m wondering how important the location of each job is. Do employers really care if I worked in San Francisco, California, or in Dayton, Ohio? Would it be better to include in-person, hybrid, or […]

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 3 days ago

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my interview with Weekend Edition about the attack on federal workers

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

I was interviewed by NPR’s Weekend Edition yesterday about the Trump administration’s attack on federal workers. You can listen here or below:

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 3 days 1 hour ago

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did everyone know the real reason I was at an office party with a married couple?

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: This letter involves a very sensitive topic and some backstory, so bear with me. Would you consider it weird if a coworker brought along an unrelated college-aged girl to a work party where you could invite family? I ask because I was​ that college girl. When I was 19, I was a […]

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 3 days 3 hours ago

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should you get fired for bad behavior at a football game, I’m worried my boss is laying a paper trail to fire me, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should you get fired for (even really bad) behavior at a football game? I’m a big football fan and a feminist and civil liberties advocate. So I am really struggling with the question of a fan at the Eagles-Green Bay Wild Card game. He is […]

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 3 days 14 hours ago

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weekend open thread – February 8-9, 2025

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: Perfume and Pain, by Anna Dorn. A cancelled writer searches for inspiration and develops a surprising relationship with her new neighbor. Funny and […]

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 5 days 19 hours ago

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open thread – February 7, 2025

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to […]

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 6 days 3 hours ago

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I’m supposed to live with my boss and her husband, bad coworker is finally leaving, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. I’m supposed to live with my boss and her husband for months I have been working at my company for two years, and I get along well with my boss, who is a woman in her early thirties. Her husband also works for the same […]

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 6 days 14 hours ago

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how do you write an ad for a job that can be very unpleasant?

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: I was working on writing up a job ad today for temporary research assistants for a field biology project, and noticed trends in my ads and in others’. It’s common for early career employees applying to assistant or technician jobs to think that they want to do fieldwork and then quit in […]

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 1 week ago

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update: my coworker screamed at me and HR hasn’t done anything

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

Remember the letter-writer whose coworker screamed at them and HR hadn’t done anything? Here’s the update. I wrote to you back in 2020 about an incident from 2019 where a coworker had a screaming tantrum. I very much appreciated your input, and that of your commentariat. Nothing much happened regarding HR and my yelling coworker, […]

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 1 week ago

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let’s talk about carpooling for work … and how it can go wrong

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

With more people working more days in their offices, let’s talk about carpooling for work. Did you have to share a multi-hour car ride with a coworker who insisted on listening to a bad recording of his own choir practice? Get stuck carpooling with a disgusting nose picker? Fall in love with your carpool partner […]

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 1 week ago

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can I use a wedding photo as my work avatar, I sneeze constantly, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can I use a wedding photo — with a veil — as my work avatar? My company is fully remote, so they really encourage us to upload a headshot to our company chat service so people can put a face to the name. Would it […]

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 1 week ago

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more on the federal government’s “deferred resignation” offer (spoiler: it’s definitely a trap)

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

Just sharing this tweet from Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein about Elon Musk’s “deferred resignation” offer for federal government workers. (Don’t take it! It’s still a trap.) Also, if you remember the letter-writer who worked at Twitter when Elon Musk took over, that same person has sent in this note: I just wanted to thank […]

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 1 week ago

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