February 2017

I’m sick — why are you calling me?

A reader writes: I work directly under my boss, who is the director of my department, as the scheduler and office manager. I don’t manage anyone. Every time I have ever had a day off, whether it is a scheduled vacation day or a day I’ve had to call out sick (while being actually sick […]

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anonymous complaint about politics, student workers keep interrupting my lunch, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I received an anonymous complaint about politics I’m a relatively new manager at a nonprofit where the nature of the mission means that most people share liberal political views. The new administration has specifically stated that it intends to dramatically curtail our ability to do […]

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my coworker keeps coming to my office and interrupting my work

A reader writes: My coworker works in a building across the street from my building, but has frequent interactions with employees in my building. The structure of her position is such that she needs to get information or make requests of people in my department and other nearby offices on a daily basis. Her preferred […]

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is it okay to hang target practice sheets up at work?

A reader writes: I work for a large multinational company, and recently an executive made a visit to the office I work in. She held an informal Q&A which everybody in the office attended, and which took place in a section of the office I very rarely visit since the department that works there does […]

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did I err by reprimanding my direct report’s employee, revolving door on another team is causing problems, and more

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Did I make a mistake by reprimanding my direct report’s employee? I’m in a senior management position at my workplace and I supervise a handful of managers. One of these managers (Sansa) is currently dealing with a challenging employee (Arya). Due to some recent changes, […]

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dealing with customers is making me miserable

A reader writes: I wear many hats at my job and manage various areas such as office administration, finance, customer service and special events. Customer service is probably the least favorite part of my job, but I do fairly well because I am friendly, personable and at least appear to be patient (even though on […]

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