Product Description

Should I tell my boss what I think of him?"How can I be more political and still be myself?"I have to sack my friend or fire someone better."I am a foreigner and my views are ignoredTypical conundrums faced by many of us, and just a few of the hundreds sent every week to Lucy Kellaway's popular 'agony aunt' column in the Financial Times. The sharp down-to-earth advice is invaluable for anyone negotiating the minefield of the modern office. Whether it's a problem of working with an ex-lover, firing a litigious employee or dealing with accusations of racism, Kellaway's advice is always simple and practical, and essential reading for those trying to cope with troublesome co-workers. Better still, there is the wisdom, rage, expertise and folly of the managers and self-appointed experts who add their thoughts. This is like Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? for business. And very funny too.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139885 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
'covers the gamut of problems that can crop up in office life...her answers will also offer much needed help and balm to soothe the troubled office waters.' - Publishing News'...how to survive the awkward dilemmas of office life.' - Radio 4 The Bottom LineIt dispenses water-cooler wisdom, not motivational gobbledygook...Traditional management advice has not addressed the nitty gritty of everyday office life. But a new book gets to the heart of those tricky questions that employees, rather than employers, want answered.' - Sunday Times

Sunday Times
'It dispenses water-cooler wisdom, not motivational gobbledygook...Traditional management advice has not addressed the nitty gritty of everyday office life. But a new book gets to the heart of those tricky questions that employees, rather than employers, want answered.'

Radio 4 The Bottom Line
'...how to survive the awkward dilemmas of office life.'

Customer Reviews

Office problems - entertaining, practical answers
As somebody who hasn't worked since December 2002 and has only bleak prospects of working again, I may not have any practical use for this book, but having spent many years working in offices, I can at least relate to some of the problems raised in this sometimes serious, sometimes funny, book that attempts to answer some of the problems that arise in office life. The book begins with an introduction by the author, who has written an office agony column for the Financial Times, from which the best problems have been selected. In the process of writing her column, the author found that bosses never wrote in with their problems, so she took suitable opportunities that she got to talk to bosses as an excuse to identify their problems. The problems are classified by type, with a chapter each devoted to bosses, underlings, workmates, sex (and love), ambition, children (and wives) and, finally, office life. For each problem selected, the author provides her own answer, but also includes a selection of answers from Financial Times readers.

Among the 43 problems, here's a few that might tempt you to read this book.

My new boss thinks I'm a waste of space.
My ageing boss is a slacker who won't quit.
My boss is an out-and-out bully. What can I do?
Should I tell my boss what I think of him?
Can I fire a woman without her suing?
Do I have to fire a friend?
I did something silly at the office party.
Is my close friendship with a female colleague dangerous?
Why do I have to choose between love and interesting work?
I never wanted to be a lawyer, but now I'm stuck.
I love my work, but the money is rubbish.
My baby is ill and my boss couldn't care less.
No one wants to hire my clever daughter.
I'm discriminated against at work because I'm childless.
I pressed SEND without thinking. Help!
Do I dare to take a lunch break?
Should I join the company cricket team?

When one looks more closely, the problems are more specific than the headline suggests. As an example, take the one that asks Should I tell my boss what I think of him? This was raised by somebody required to do an appraisal on their boss. Appraisals are one of those ideas that have become fashionable in business in recent years. When I started work, appraisals didn't exist. When they were introduced originally, bosses appraised their workers. Later, it became common practice for everybody to be given somebody - or maybe a few people - to appraise. Although the appraiser's name is supposed to be anonymous, the person being appraised can usually work out who has appraised them, especially if criticism is involved. Therein lies the problem that is discussed in this book. If the appraises, who doesn't like the boss, explains why in the appraisal, it is likely to backfire. If the appraiser lies to protect their career, nothing changes. I never liked the appraisal system anyway, but reading about this problem tends to confirm what I always thought - that appraising bosses can never work.

The appraisal problem showed the serious side of this book. The office party problem, though also serious, has a funny side to it for anybody not involved. Some of the responses are decidedly unsympathetic.

This book is far from comprehensive when it comes to the problems encountered in office life, but it covers a lot of important issues. (Maybe there will be a sequel someday?) If you work in an office, or have ever done so, you should find that this book makes very entertaining reading.