The Vulture Swoops In
Our department is great about sharing food with each other. What we hate are colleagues from other departments grabbing our food before everyone on our team has had a bite. Q: I read your advice about the food pushers, those…
Author: Powell Berger
Career Advice: My Divorced Boss is on the Make
She is looking but I need to focus on my job. How do I say no and still stay on her good side? Q: My boss recently finalized her divorce and she’s now back looking for love. I wish her luck,…
My Company’s Bennies Only Cater to Old Folks
Reader asks why local companies don’t offer the 21st century benefits offered by progressive Mainland companies Q: I’m back from college and grad school on the Mainland and really trying to make my way in Hawaii. I turned down better-paying…
How to Beat the Troll In the Nearby Cubicle
Q: I’m coming up on my first annual review in my new job and I’m really nervous. I’ve got a good relationship with my boss and our clients, and delivered on the projects I worked on. But there’s one guy…
"Networking's for Suckers, Not Me"
Q: I swear I hear the word “networking” a hundred times a week. My co-workers insist it’s the only way to climb the business ladder. My parents tell me it’s how to meet friends. My boss tells me it’s a…
Pot is Legal in Many Places but Workplace Testing is Legal Everywhere
Q: My girlfriend and I spent our vacation in Colorado, skiing, hanging out with family and smoking some of their legal and beautifully packaged weed. Back home now, I heard my company is doing random drug testing this week. I’m…
Time Warp: My Boss is Half My Age
Q: I’ve been in banking for over 30 years and worked with all sorts of people, all kinds of bosses. But I think I’ve met my match with my current boss. He doesn’t seem to think it matters that he…
The Careerist: Don’t Tell Anyone, but I’m Terrified I've Been Promoted Too Quickly
Q: I’m one of the lucky ones. While so many of my friends came home after college with lots of debt and no job, I got through school with minimal debt and landed a sweet job with the company I’d…
The Careerist: You'll Live, Despite No-Phone Meeting
Q: I run weekly team meetings with our field staff so we can stay abreast of everyone’s projects, deadlines and possible crossovers. It’s one hour, and I try to run a tight agenda that covers all the ground without bogging…
The Careerist: The Strange Case of the Disappearing Boss
Q: My current boss has this persistent habit of disappearing during the few days before a big deadline, leaving us worker bees to do all the work and (of course) take all the blame. If the project goes well, he…
The Careerist: Help! Gift Collectors Are After Me Again
Q: What’s with obligatory office gifts? I love my job, but it seems like I get a couple of emails every month “asking” me to donate money for the office gift for someone’s shower – bridal, baby or whatever. Often,…
The Careerist: Toughest Interview Question: “What are your salary requirements?”
Q: Help! I changed jobs recently and now I work from home three days a week. I thought it would be amazing, staying in my pajamas, working on my own schedule, tossing a load of laundry in occasionally. But the…
The Careerist: Help! Food Pushers Are Stalking Me!
Q: I’m a vegetarian in an office that worships food. Daily spreads of manapua, brownies (not the kind from college), casseroles with ingredients I don’t recognize, and slow cookers of kalua pork (with a rice cooker on the side) fill…
The Careerist: Am I Too Old to Change From White Collar to Blue?
Q: I’ve been in middle management for 25 years, and I have a closet filled with aloha shirts, khaki pants and work shoes to prove it. I’m good at what I do, but I’m bored. And I worry, that as…
The Careerist: Mentors Are Real, Not Mythological
Q: I just landed my first professional job, and I love my work and colleagues. Now that I’ve settled in, I want to set a career path and goals, but feel I could really use a mentor to help me…
The Careerist: Are We Never Ever Getting Back Together?
Q: I’m a freelance graphic arts designer who is completely baffled. One of my best clients has gone radio silent, ghosting me without even so much as a “I’m just not that into you.” I’ve done all the standard stuff…
The Careerist: The Dreaded Christmas Party
Q: The dreaded holiday party is upon me, and I’m panicking. My boss is a great guy, but he can get a little flirty. I usually just ignore it and go about my job, but I’m worried that at the…
The Careerist: I Screwed Up - What Do I Do Next?
Q: I’ve got a great job with a real estate development company, but I’m afraid I’m about to get fired. I screwed up a project, missing a deadline, mixing up job orders and costing the company real money. I’ve done…
The Careerist: Should I Jump Into the Gig Economy?
Q: I’ve got a steady job making decent money, but it’s 40 hours/week in a cubicle. Some of my buddies are skipping the “office grind” for freelance work or are jumping on with Uber and Lyft. They’ve got flexibility and…
The Careerist On: Bring Your Own Device? Hillary Did and It Hurt Her
Q: I just interviewed for a job and was told the company has a strict policy against BYOD. I nodded sagely as though I understood, but what is that and why should I care? A: If you take the job,…
The Careerist: Policies Evolving on Kids at Work
Expert careerist, Powell Berger, gives her input answering questions about kids at work, fancy fundraisers and unlimited vacation. Q: There’s a single dad who occasionally brings his two kids to our office. I feel for him, but I don’t think…
Can The Boss Vet My Facebook?
Q: My boss and I have very different views, and I’ve discovered he’s monitoring my Facebook posts and tweets. He came to my cubicle yesterday and said, “You’d better watch that stuff you post online.” These are my personal views and my…
Did You Know?: Shearwater Protection Extends Out to Sea
YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT Newell’s shearwaters, the birds native to Hawaii that are also known as Hawaiian shearwaters, are a protected species. But did you know their protection extends beyond the shore, including enforcement on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of…
Still Cruise'n
10 years after Norwegian Cruise Lines went all-American with its around-the-Islands cruises, the Pride of America still sails every week, each time at…
Condo Sales Start This Year for Latest Office-to-Residence Conversion
The transformation of the Davies Pacific Center will create mostly one-bed apartments, while leaving a few floors of offices.
How to Give On-Site Teams the Flexibility They Want
Some jobs need to be done in person. But that doesn’t mean employees can’t have more control of their schedules and hours.
