At book signings, the polite thing is to keep chats short
Q. I am a new author and want to make a great impression at book signings. How do I politely continue to pay attention to everyone around me when I have one individual who wants to monopolize the time I have for everyone?
Impromptu medical procedure at the office was ill-advised
Q. A co-worker came to work with a tick buried under the skin of his hand, for which he had not sought medical assistance. Instead, he came to work and asked another co-worker to use a pocket knife and help him cut it out. This took place in front of two other co-workers who appeared amused and offered advice in this surgical procedure.
A thank you for a thank you is not necessarily over the top
Q. At work, is it proper for my department to send a thank you card to another department that provided lunch as a thank you (to my department) for helping them meet their revenue goals?
The right approach will help maintain office camaraderie
Q. I work in a shared office with six employees. Each day some office personnel have lengthy work and nonwork conversations in our cubicle area. People in nearby cubicles are distracted by the conversations. I believe the work environment should be friendly but these are long, distracting conversations. How do I get the point across without hurting feelings or creating an unhappy work environment?
Receptionist can set the tone for office visitors
Q. As the new administrator for a small office, I also handle all receptionist duties. Several of my boss's colleagues occasionally drop in without an appointment and literally walk past me to head into his office. I believe he has created this environment by not setting boundaries initially. My boss, not being one for confrontation, would like me to intercept visitors. How do I stop them without being rude and set boundaries from this point forward?
Job applicants who arrive too early can create a stressful situation
Q. I would like your perspective on what I perceive to be a frustrating trend: job applicants showing up too early for interviews.
The boss' awful new book leaves employee feeling caught in a bind
Q. My boss, the chief executive of our four-person, two-year-old company, just published a book. He worked on it for more than a year. I am a pretty discriminating reader, writer, and editor, so I'm sure my criticism will be harsher than most, but the book is not good. It's full of grammatical errors, clichés, idioms, and repetitive information. Only a portion of the content offers new insight and interesting ideas.
Improving rapport with boss may hinge on following up with e-mail
Q. During meetings at the beginning of last year, my boss stated that project due dates would be readjusted and changes would be documented during our weekly reviews. During my yearly review he used the initial goal dates in the online system. When I brought this up, he refused to change his review comments. For this year, he's put in ...
Cranking the volume on the radio at work may disrupt office harmony
There is a worker in my office whose office is directly diagonal from mine. Everyday she plays screeching music loud enough that I have to close my office door for peace and quiet. When I ask her to turn it down, she states rudely that it's not too loud. What does workplace etiquette suggest?
Should professional biographies really mention single parenthood?
Q. Frequently in written bios and articles I see women say they are "single mothers," which sounds like their children were born out of wedlock. If they were married at the time, wouldn't they be "divorced mothers" or "widowed mothers?" And if marital status really doesn't matter, why bring up "single" in the first place? Can you sort this out?
When addressing the first lady, a simple 'Mrs. Obama' is best
Q. I'm sending correspondence to our first lady, Michelle Obama. What's the proper manner in which I should address our first lady?
Who should set the tone for a good morning at work?
Q. In an office setting, who says hello first in the morning: the person already sitting down working or the person just entering the area?
When dealing with clients, worker - and boss - should be up-front
Q. What is the best way to handle requests from a client when your boss asks you not to move forward on any of this client's requests. The client's company owes your company a large sum of money. But you still have to act neutral, not indicating a problem. M.T., Wixom, Mich.
It's a good idea to avoid casual chatter in work-related e-mail
Q. How does mail forwarding factor into etiquette if I send something to person A, who forwards it to person B, who replies back to me. What I said to person A wasn't necessarily meant for person B. Sometimes I'm e-mailing peers with a more casual writing style, and at some point the e-mail gets forwarded to a higher level ...
Gum chewer likely doesn't realize co-workers want to pop him over noise
Q. What do you say when you can hear a co-worker popping their gum while they chew? O.H., Long Beach, Calif.
Ignoring the phone after hours could hurt business
Q. What time can you stop answering the work phone if the company doesn't have set office times? P.C.M., Queensland, Australia