how should I navigate social media connections during a job search?
A reader writes: I recently interviewed for a job at a local media organization. I’m still waiting to hear back from them, but in the past week or so, three people who were in on the interview have...
View Articlewhy the littlest things at work can be so maddening
Judging by the mail I get at here, a lot of us feel quite strongly about relatively minor things at work. Some pet peeves make perfect sense, like being annoyed with people who leave food splattered...
View Articlehow can I recover from being the office grump?
A reader writes: I’m in my first year in my job. I’m an open book, so people know when I’m happy and when I’m not. Naturally when I’m upset or angry at work, people can tell. I have been really...
View Articlemy boss has 10,000 unread emails
A reader writes: Is it ever normal to have 10,000+ unread emails in your professional inbox? Yesterday I inadvertently saw that my boss had 10,965 unread emails. She is a general counsel of a...
View ArticleI’m afraid I’m going to get fired — and I’ve had this same bad feedback before
A reader writes: I’m an office manager and I have a problem that’s hard to define: I was told by both my current boss (I’ve been in this job for about two months) and a previous boss that I don’t...
View Articlewill smoking hurt my promotion chances?
A reader writes: The further I advance in my career, the more I have noticed something: people at the higher levels are much less likely to smoke. I’m a smoker, and I have lots of desire to quit but am...
View ArticleI’m so nervous at work that it’s holding me back
A reader writes: About six months ago, I started a new job that takes some different pieces of my background and combines them into a new role. I was pretty up-front in the interview process that my...
View Articlehow to get better at using a coworker’s nonbinary pronouns
The question earlier this month about how to get better at using a coworker’s nonbinary pronouns (they/them) attracted hundreds of suggestions in the comments. I’ve compiled some of them here for easy...
View Articlethe cc line is the most passive-aggressive email field
If you’ve ever opened an email at work and found a colleague has inexplicably cc’d your boss on a message to you about a minor concern, you likely know the irritation this tiny electronic bomb can...
View ArticleI’m not getting credit for my ideas … but my coworkers are
A reader writes: I’ll often share ideas with my coworkers, like “If we make teapots out of porcelain, we can sell them for a higher price at the same cost to produce.” Then one of my colleagues (all...
View Articlehow much detail do you have to give when you call in sick?
A reader writes: My friends and I (all 25ish, fairly new to the working world) are divided on how to call in sick. Mainly, how much detail are you supposed to go into about what is wrong with you?...
View Articleis it bad that I Gchat my friends while I’m at work?
I wrote a piece for the New York Times about the new digital etiquette at work: Is it bad that you chat with friends on Gchat or Facebook throughout the workday? How do you follow up with coworkers who...
View Articlehow do I tell my boss if she doesn’t fill the empty position I’m covering,...
A reader writes: Seven months ago, I got promoted from an entry-level client-service position at a medical facility to my current position as a case manager for hospitalized patients. The way our...
View ArticleI’m burned out and overworked and my bosses keep piling more work on me
I had an exchange with someone on last week’s open thread that I want to reprint here (and expand on) since so many people struggle with this. A commenter wrote: I am beyond the point of burnout at my...
View Articleis it okay to drink before a presentation?
A reader writes: Presentations are a small but regular part of my role, but I often get nervous and end up hurting my message by criticizing my slides, adding excess caveats to my points, and just...
View Articlemy coworker told me I smell
A reader writes: A week ago, a coworker in a manager position (not my department) who is also a friend sat me down in her office and talked to me because, apparently, I am the smelly coworker. She was...
View Articlemy boss called me “overly emotional” because I cried at work when I thought...
A reader writes: As a sophomore in college, I was fortunate enough to find an internship in an industry I was very excited about. The company was small — the owner, three employees, and me. About...
View Articlehow much stuff can I “move in with” on my first day at a new job?
A reader writes: I’m starting a new job in a week and a bit, my first after finishing my PhD. I’m wondering how much stuff it’s acceptable to “move in with” on the first day. I’ve seen the space, it’s...
View Articleshould I avoid wearing pricey status items at work?
A reader writes: I inherited a watch recently from my late grandfather, and it happens to be a Swiss model which is frightfully expensive — as in over $2,500 new. He purchased it upon his retirement 20...
View Articlewhat kind of loyalty do you owe your employer?
An unsettling number of people are confused about what kind of loyalty they owe their employers. I regularly receive letters from people asking whether it would be disloyal for them to look for a new...
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