The Office: how to negotiate the daily minefield
LONDON (Reuters) - Sharing an office with my ex-lover is hell. I fear the cleaner stole my Nike trainers. I pressed "Send" without thinking. Help!
Have no fear. Lucy Kellaway is here to steer bewildered workers through the minefield that today's office has become.
As the weighty voice of big business, the Financial Times seems an unlikely haven for an "agony aunt." But Kellaway's newspaper column is bombarded by lost souls trying to find their way in the moral maze of office politics.
How do I tell my employee he smells? Do I have to fire a friend? How do I stop panic attacks before making a speech?
Today's workers, as the letters reveal, are confused on how best to behave -- and get ahead.
"The workplace has become more of a minefield than ever," said Kellaway in a Reuters interview to mark Thursday's publication of "The Answers: All the office questions you never dared to ask."
It reproduces the most intriguing letters sent to the columnist followed by Kellaway's advice and then tips from Financial Times readers.
Confusion often reigns. "Companies used to be very hierarchical and it was obvious what position people were in. Now it's much more fluid," she said. Continued...
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