My husband sent me this theory on friendships by the wife of a prominent ESPN blogger.  He doesn’t remember where he found it, so I’ll just have to quote rather than link:   “I have always said that female friends are ''pursuers'' or ''pursuees.'' I am a ''pursuee.'' You have to pursue me to be my friend. I don't like planning ...

I love watching George Carlin specials on HBO.  Even after all of these years, his cynical, grumpy-old-man schtick is still funny to me.  The other night, I saw an episode in which Carlin commented on how ridiculous it is when you are in mourning, or going through a hard time, and someone says, if there’s anything I can do to help you, ...

I like to advise people on the topic of coping with difficult people at work because we’ve all been there and inevitably will be there again.  In most cases, I recommend that you confront the problem head on and talk about it with the person who is giving you agida.  In the event that you are experiencing true abuse, though, it might ...

A reader e-mailed the following question:   I recently gave my company a month’s notice as I planned to move to a new city and pursue a new career.  A few weeks later, the company gave out the second installment of our bi-annual bonuses, and I did not receive mine.  The company did well this year and my accounts posted increased ...

Every year, I get asked by one media outlet or another how to handle the office holiday party.  This year, I decided to share the advice I and others provided to the Wall Street Journal last weekend:   “We spend so much time communicating on Blackberries and e-mail, the office party is a rare opportunity to really meet the people who ...

In the business world, the nonprofit world, academia, you name it, there is something known as “the system.”  The system is a set of rules for how things must be done, and how people must conduct themselves.  “The system” is associated with bureaucracy, and we who must work within its confines often find ourselves frustrated and angry. ...

The following is an e-mail that came my way this week.  Dear Alexandra: I graduated from college last year, so I’m still at the bottom of the totem pole at my company.  I have four senior colleagues who delegate work to me, and they have no problem doing so…all day long.  Trouble is, there aren’t enough hours in the day to do ...

Thanks to Seth Godin and ExecPundit for sharing this insightful piece titled “Note from Boss to Employees.”  Some of the highlights: I am sometimes under enormous pressure from upper management; pressure that you seldom see. Anything that you can do to make my job easier will be greatly appreciated. Your interests are important, but ...

[ImageAttachment] A topic that’s been coming up a lot in my discussions with twenty and thirty-something employees is empowerment.  Today’s younger workers want to come into a job and have the autonomy to take hold of projects and run with them self-sufficiently.  However, their baby boomer managers, more often than not, hold them back ...

[ImageAttachment]   It’s that time of year again – the time that tacky lights and grating music assail us everywhere we go, and the time that we all get to worry about the awkwardness of gift-giving in the workplace.  The questions are endless and unavoidable.  Do you get your boss a gift?  If so, how much should you ...