“required” to attend the holiday party? by Alison Green on December 6, 2007 A reader writes: We have one employee who is not interested in attending our annual holiday party. We only have 3 employees; the other 2 are coming, and several of our clients and other business associates are coming. Is there anything I can do as a manager to suggest that the employee consider his actions? […] Read the full article →
old boss blackmailing reader after new job offer by Alison Green on December 6, 2007 A reader writes: I gave my two weeks notice this week at my current company. However, there is now some sort of issue. My boss said yesterday she would like me to stay until after the holidays. I already accepted the offer for two weeks from now and I had told her this when I […] Read the full article →
office holiday party tips by Alison Green on December 6, 2007 I’m lucky enough to work in an office of people I really like, but it has not always been that way. In previous jobs, I had my share of coworkers I preferred not to mingle with. In the spirit of those Christmases past, I bring you these patented Ask a Manager office holiday party tips. […] Read the full article →
update from reader being lowballed by her boss by Alison Green on December 1, 2007 I just received a fantastic update from the reader who wrote in recently about being ridiculously lowballed on salary by her boss, despite getting glowing feedback and being told she was a model employee. She felt she didn’t have enough experience yet to get hired anywhere else, so she felt trapped at a company that […] Read the full article →
male and female bosses judged differently? by Alison Green on November 30, 2007 Management Line reports that a new study finds that “female bosses who are seen as unkind or insensitive are judged as worse managers. People, however, are prepared to overlook the same traits displayed by male managers. In other words, male and female managers are judged by different standards.” This adds yet another frustrating layer to […] Read the full article →
Incompetent people may have no idea by Alison Green on November 25, 2007 A fascinating Cornell University study a few years ago found that people who are incompetent tend to dramatically overestimate their own competence, and people who truly are quite competent tend to underestimate their own performance. This makes a certain sense: After all, if you’re incompetent, you’re inherently more likely not to be able to competently […] Read the full article →
offensively low pay increase by Alison Green on November 20, 2007 A reader writes: I’m a 24 year old black female working for in D.C. This is my first job out of college and I’ve enthusiastically worked there for a year and two months. I will admit that I agreed to work for an offensively low hourly-rate when I started (in terms of cost of living […] Read the full article →
announcing an employee is leaving by Alison Green on November 18, 2007 A reader writes: We are a medium size company with around 500 employees. I need your advice on how to handle and communicate the fact that the HR head is quitting without triggering any negativity. (The HR head is an average performer, joined as an Assistant Manager HR 5 years and is now Manager of […] Read the full article →
Carnival of HR by Alison Green on November 15, 2007 The next Carnival of HR is now up at Guerilla HR. Check it out. Read the full article →
deathbed advice by Alison Green on November 14, 2007 I’m taking Etienne at The Happy Employee up on his challenge to list five things I’d tell managers if I were about to die. Here they are: 1. Look for trouble. Assume things will go wrong and poke around to find out what they might be. You’ll often uncover problems this way and have an […] Read the full article →