Anna Holmes, the incoming writer of Work Friend, shares what to expect from the column now that so many of our relationships with the office have changed.
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Some writers aim 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 don’t have a beat,” Ms. Holmes said.
With a new assignment, though, she may be close to getting one.
Ms. Holmes is the incoming writer of Work Friend, a column published by the Sunday Business section of The New York Times. Twice a month, she’ll dole out advice on money, careers and work-life balance. (Ms. Holmes’s first edition will be published this weekend.) It is a formula she’s used to, having explored workplace culture in Sad Desk Salad, a column for Bloomberg Businessweek.
Ms. Holmes takes the reins from Roxane Gay, who has steered the column since May 2020, advising readers through conundrums such as whether to express political views in the office, what to do when colleagues exercise during video calls and how to react to overly ambitious, go-getting co-workers.
Readers may recognize Ms. Holmes’s byline. She is a former contributor to Bookends, a column from The Times Book Review, as well as to other sections, including Opinion. In 2007, she founded Jezebel, the popular feminist online magazine.
In an interview, Ms. Holmes spoke about the evolving workplace, the process of choosing which letters to address and more. This interview has been edited and condensed.