491
votes
What to do when a sick employee doesn't respond to communications, and has important data?
She is not "ghosting" you if she is on sick leave.
The whole point of "sick leave" is that the person is not feeling well and cannot work. She might be resting, she might be out for doctors ...
- 115k
473
votes
Accepted
My manager told me I should feel comfortable about telling him if I want to leave the company. Should I tell him?
First, there do in fact exist managers who will not fire you just because they think you might want to leave the company, and who will not withhold plum assignments or otherwise mistreat you either. I ...
- 140k
462
votes
How can I inform my boss that I may have been hired by mistake?
I want my manager to know my actual background and areas of expertise
and feel guilty that I “stole” a position using someone else's
credentials. However, I'd also like to retain my position, if
...
- 352k
444
votes
Accepted
How do I deal with an autistic employee who criticizes teammates publicly and doesn't understand the harm in doing so?
Full disclosure: I am autistic (Asperger's syndrome) and I have fought hard not to be the guy you are describing.
BE BLUNT, BE DIRECT, BE FACTUAL, STAY ON POINT
We have a great deal of difficulty ...
- 157k
377
votes
Coworker is easily and often offended and doesn't want us to mention offensive topics like facial hair
Alert HR as soon as possible. This person is going to be disruptive as long as this person is allowed to be. In fact, give this person a taste of their own medicine and tell HR that a hostile work ...
- 157k
373
votes
Accepted
How to deal with a coworker who blamed me for the bug that was his fault
Just send an email to everybody involved saying that, after hours, you found (and fixed) the bug. "It is so and so in AB." Maybe with a link to something. Don't mention any person.
That should be ...
- 4,257
370
votes
Accepted
Ways to respond when HR says your market salary range research isn't correct?
My response to them saying those numbers are wrong would be to say that that's the reason I'm bringing this to their attention - their idea of the salary range and my idea of the salary range for this ...
- 8,747
346
votes
How to gently enforce "nohello" to a coworker?
Respond politely by asking them what they need from you.
Your co-worker likes to begin conversations with small talk, which is a style of communication that some people prefer. They find it necessary ...
- 4,904
344
votes
A peer "gives" me tasks in public and makes it look like I work for him
You don't need to be confrontational here to handle things appropriately - just be matter of fact.
To "assigning tasks":
Bob, thanks for the suggestion. I'd encourage you to talk to [...
- 15.4k
336
votes
Accepted
How to get rid of unwanted coworkers at lunch?
It is rude of people to attach themselves to a lunch party without being invited. Lunch is not work time, and people can spend it how they want. On the other hand you have identified an issue, that ...
- 73.9k
321
votes
What's the most polite way to tell a manager "shut up and let me work"?
What's a work-appropriate way to say "Please stop talking and let me
work"?
Once they state the request, repeat it back to them and then say:
Do I understand the requirement/change correctly?
...
- 84.1k
315
votes
Accepted
How do I tell my manager that his code review comment is wrong?
Be humble.
I'm a bit confused here. My understanding was that feature X has property Y. Is there something I'm missing here which means this doesn't work in this case?
Much better to start from ...
- 96k
313
votes
Accepted
How to professionally acknowledge to a client that a former coworker made a mistake in production?
Why don't you just acknowledge that you found the problem and fixed it? Why do you need to name names? If pressed, tell the client
"We left a testing filter in place. We removed the filter and ...
- 40.7k
297
votes
Accepted
Did I overstep my boundaries by sharing my phone number and including my firm's name in e-mail signatures?
Sounds like your boss has a problem.
To my surprise, where I thought I had posted my new phone number (a place where ALL employees could share their new updated contact number) was ACTUALLY where ...
- 34.3k
292
votes
Is my workplace warning for texting my boss's private phone at night justified?
Suck it up. You were communicating negatively about a work colleague after 10 PM on a Saturday. You'd have gotten a lot worse from me if you had disturbed me at that time and it hadn't been because ...
- 202k
290
votes
Accepted
I made a post-resignation promise that I'm not comfortable keeping, but don't want to break my word. Suggestions?
Two things can happen:
Your old boss emails/phones you and asks about the lunch date. Go! Tell him how much happier you are now. Don't diss him or the old company but tell him how efficient your ...
- 22k
287
votes
Should I raise concerns about a co-worker possibly leaving?
Stay out of it
You should not have even brought this up with your manager. If it turns out Joe is not leaving, and he simply had perhaps some (possibly embarrassing to him) doctor's appointments, ...
- 4,214
287
votes
Accepted
How to thank an employee for working extra hours without making him feel pressured
Most importantly, make it clear that you have a plan for adjusting future workloads so that he hopefully doesn't ever have to do this again.
There's a danger here that you seem to have picked up on. ...
- 43.1k
284
votes
Accepted
What to do about a colleague playing pranks on a manager?
You seem to be taking it upon yourself to fix a situation that is not your problem. TM
You're not the boss of either of these people, and no one else seems to think these pranks are a big deal. ...
- 49.2k
271
votes
Shouldn't I expect my boss to change his attitude when it is detrimental to office morale?
I suggested to my boss, to prevent this kind of situation, that he
could announce the start of the meeting 2 minutes before time so that
we still have time to prepare and gather around his desk. ...
- 352k
261
votes
How do I tell recruiters I don't want to go forward until they answer my question, but without being rude?
Bear in mind the recruiter is being rather rude by wasting your time, certainly more rude than a simple rejection saying you're only interested in moving in order to work on a specific technology ...
- 4,365
260
votes
What should you do when eye contact makes your subordinate uncomfortable?
Go take a walk around the block while you two talk. That's what we do here and it works pretty well.
- 5,343
260
votes
Just found I was supposed to be working on a completely different project since 8 months ago. How can I handle this?
You know what? I'll do the frame challenge answer and say, Don't Tuck Tail.
Oh, don't get me wrong. You're going to get blamed a bit, and possibly thrown under a bus. But trying to flee and find ...
- 29.5k
259
votes
Accepted
How should I behave when I deleted data that shouldn't have been on my computer?
Honesty is the only policy here. "I saw this file and realized it was something I should not have access to and deleted it". There is very little that you can do to insulate yourself from it at this ...
- 6,630
255
votes
How do I ask a friendly coworker to remind me what their name is?
The best way to do this without being super awkward is to ask one of your coworkers what his name is.
Hey Bob, do you know the name of the guy that sits in the corner next to Alice? I talk to him ...
- 29.7k
246
votes
What to do when a sick employee doesn't respond to communications, and has important data?
The idea you don’t understand how an employee being out sick works speaks volumes to your core frustrations.
First you say this:
“Yesterday I tried to contact her through the usual channels and ...
- 9,729
245
votes
Accepted
How to respond to request to use a first name?
How to respond to request to use a first name?
If the individual requested it, just use their first name. You are thinking correctly in most cases, but in this case you will be aggravating the ...
- 84.1k
240
votes
Accepted
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