Dear LFTP: the Michigan sweater problem
- My coworker's college-football rivalry obsession is affecting the workplace — should I recommend counseling?
Dear LFTP, letter two. A listener is afraid to wear his maize-and-blue Michigan sweater to work because an Ohio coworker is obsessively hostile about the Michigan–Ohio State rivalry, demanding everyone say 'the M state.' The hosts' verdict: this is not a real problem — wear the sweater, lean into the rivalry, get the guy to storm off so you can work in peace. The secular answer calls it bullying and a hostile work climate and advises going to HR; a host who has worked HR says not to call her.
More on Work
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Dear LFTP 1: loud coworkers, the joining-in manager, and the Psalm 126 follow-up
- How should employees handle loud, disruptive coworkers whose manager joins in?
Mike reads the first Dear LFTP letter: a shared workspace where one department talks nonstop about non-work topics, and their manager joins in rather than correcting them — the writers are desperate for a reasonable work setting.
From No. 593 · Do You Hear What I Hear
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Dear LFTP: the rain cloud and the value of work
- How can I get out from under this rain cloud at work - do I want too much out of life?
Mike reads the second letter: a woman in her early thirties, happy in marriage and new house, but miserable in high-stress tech marketing - 'How can I get out from under this rain cloud?
From No. 577 · The Spirit, the Goldfish and the Way
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Dear LFTP: the boss who assigns personal errands to his only employee
- How do I refuse my boss's personal errands without losing her job?
The second Dear LFTP letter: a single mom of two, the only other employee in a small office, says her boss increasingly assigns personal tasks unrelated to the business — the…
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Dear LFTP: the paramedic's overtime fight
- How do I address my wife pushing me to work more overtime while spending her own vacation without me, without starting a fight?
A paramedic writes that his wife pushes him to pick up twelve-hour shifts while taking none herself, citing housework, and spends her vacation at theme parks without him.
From No. 516 · Pastor Rico Suave