CONFRONT ISSUES IN THE WORKPLACE AND TALK TO TEENS ABOUT FESTIVAL DANGERS, SAYS NENE

QI am becoming increasingly frustrated by a colleague’s irritating habits in the office. He’s constantly talking really loudly, typing really loudly and brings a big bowl of lasagne for lunch every day that has a strong smell. How can I confront him about the issue, because it’s all really grinding my gears.

ELANOR, VIA EMAIL.

AYou will have to take your colleague aside and tell him what is irritating you. He constantly talks loudly and the lasagne he brings in everyday smells. You will have to tell him to lower his voice and to keep the lasagne in a tight-lid container. He sounds a bit of a nuisance, but he needs to be told he is disrupting the office.

QI am worried about my teenage daughter. She is 16 and went to a music festival over the weekend where her friend was hospitalised for alcohol poisoning and had to be picked up from the event. I am worried about the influence on my daughter. She hasn’t done anything to break my trust but I feel like it is a slippery slope, especially if this is how her friends are behaving.

SARAH, VIA EMAIL.

AI would be worried, too – her friend was hospitalised for alcohol poisoning and had to be picked up from the festival. You worry about the influence her friends have on your daughter, but so far nothing has happened to break your trust. You should watch your daughter, as her friends sound unreliable. These music festivals can be venues for drug taking. Perhaps you and another adult can take the girls to the festival

and pick them up next time? It’s important that the girls know the pitfalls that take place at these festivals. Your daughter would have seen her friend taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning. This is a warning to all the girls in the group. I’d give the music festivals a wide berth. There’s been a lot of publicity about festivals and teenagers overdosing, so I’d be very strict about your daughter going to these events and be careful about her friends.

QI am finding the work-life balance between being a mum and my career incredibly difficult to manage. Whenever I am at work I worry about my 3-year-old (who is looked after by my mum), and when I’m at home, I‘m stressed with the bombardment of work emails and looming deadlines. I want to speak to my boss about amending my hours, but I don’t know if this will be enough. What can I do to make my schedule more manageable?

EMMA, VIA EMAIL.

AYou need to speak to your boss about amending your hours. When you’re at home, you should not be bombarded with emails and looming deadlines. Your mother cares for your little boy when you’re at work, so you should be able to concentrate on your duties for the day. You need to try to calm down and plan your days. Make lists of what you have to do for work. Speak to your boss about pulling back on your duties and to not to be bombarded with work when you’re at home. You’ve chosen to be a working mum, which is not an easy thing, so you need to organise your days. However, you mustn’t feel guilty that you’ve gone back to work – you just need to efficiently organise the workdays better.