She worked various jobs for six years, including theater publicist, stand-up comedian, and volunteer at a battered women’s shelter, before coming to Massachusetts for a 2002 PhD in research psychology at Boston University.
[1] Abrahams works as a research associate at Harvard Business School, primarily writing case studies.
[6] Abrahams authored the "Miss Conduct" column for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine from 2005,[2][7] through February 2, 2025. and has hosted the Social Studies etiquette segment on the WGBH radio Emily Rooney Show since 2010.
[8] She has appeared on the NBC Today Show to discuss her book and give advice on unemployment etiquette.
It was praised by both the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Washington Post for amusing writing and common sense advice, though the latter said the author was "a little too fond of the latest advances in pop sociology".