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Some writers strive to develop one area of expertise over the course of their careers. Anna Holmes has done the opposite, following her curiosity wherever it leads: politics, relationships, sex, women and gender issues, race, culture, and children’s books.
“Let’s put it this way: I have no rhythm,” Mrs. Holmes said.
But with a new assignment she may come close.
Ms. Holmes is the new author of Work Friend, a column published by the Sunday Business section of The New York Times. Twice a month, she offers advice on money, careers and work-life balance. (The first issue of Ms. Holmes will be published this weekend.) It’s a format she’s accustomed to, having explored workplace culture in Sad desk salada column for Bloomberg Businessweek.
Ms Holmes takes over from Roxane Gay, who has led the column since May 2020, advising readers on issues such as whether to air their political views in the office, what to do when colleagues exercise during video calls and how to respond to overly ambitious, driven colleagues.
Readers may recognize Mrs. Holmes’s byline. She has contributed to Bookends, a column for The Times Book Review, and to other sections including Opinion. In 2007, she founded Jezebel, the popular feminist online magazine.
In an interview, Mrs. Holmes on the changing workplace, the process of choosing which letters to address and more. This interview has been edited and condensed.
You have covered a broad spectrum of topics. What is unique about the workplace that makes you commit to it?
I like to think about interpersonal problems. I don’t always pretend to know how to navigate it, but sifting through the ideas expressed in the letters readers write – that’s an education for me, too. It’s not like I immediately know how I want to respond. I have to think about what I’m feeling, but also about how the letter writer might respond to what I have to say, and how the audience might respond as well.
The workplace is changing, and we are changing with it. The most obvious example of course is how Covid-19 ushered in the era of remote working. How will that affect the way we interact with our colleagues? Or how we think about our work? Or how we plan our days? Some of these can be nerve-wracking to think about. For example, will AI take our jobs? Technology and creativity can complement the work we do, but they can also have a negative impact on us. How do we work through that?
What do you think your experience is like? at different levels within the media – will inform you about how you advise readers?
Well, I’ve worked as a low-level employee, a high-level employee – a manager, the boss, etc. – and also in a fair number of media: digital publications, video documentaries and print. So I have to trust my own voice and opinion.
Ultimately, being authentic is all I can do. If I overanalyze my responses, I become paralyzed. I look forward to building a relationship with readers that is tied to a column, as opposed to my articles here and there.
What topics do you hope to cover? How do you choose which letters to answer?
When I review the submissions, I try to answer the questions I have something to say about. I am often pleasantly surprised at how erudite and thorough the letters are, and how open and trusting their writers are. I go through them and highlight which ones are the most intriguing or challenging. I don’t choose them because they adhere to a certain idea of what I think I am should talk about work.
Then I send my favorites to my editor, Sharon O’Neal, and we have a back-and-forth, and some of them will make the paper. Maybe after I’ve had more time to familiarize myself and see what trends are emerging, it’s possible that I might gravitate toward certain trends in the future.
What are some topics readers can expect to see in your first few columns?
One early letter is about a coworker who giggles too much. Another is about being thrown under the bus by your manager in front of the higher-ups, which happened to me once. There’s another about a coworker who fasts during the workday, and the letter writer is worried that it’s affecting their mood in the workplace.
