updates: the thermostat wars, the stripping boss, and more by Alison Green on December 14, 2021 It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. Thermostat wars with a classist twist I took your advice and stood my ground, allowing the cleaning lady to have […] Read the full article →
update: should I tell my bosses they need to work more? by Alison Green on December 14, 2021 It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Remember the letter-writer wondering if they should tell their bosses to work more? Here’s the update. It feels like so long ago since I wrote in about my […] Read the full article →
employee wants to bring a fired coworker to the holiday party by Alison Green on December 14, 2021 A reader writes: We recently fired an employee, Doug, after a series of serious errors. We gave him extensive training and retraining, verbal and written feedback, and multiple warnings. We even simplified his work and left him with only the most basic work assignments possible but, in the end, his mistakes angered multiple clients and […] Read the full article →
update: “I will confront you by Wednesday of this week” by Alison Green on December 14, 2021 Several years ago, a reader shared with us this epic email that was sent by their company’s boss after a holiday party gone terribly awry, and every year I reprint it during the holidays. This year, the person who originally shared it sent in this “update” (or rather, additional details on the original situation). Every […] Read the full article →
update: a creepy customer complained my employees aren’t friendly enough by Alison Green on December 14, 2021 It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Remember the hospitality director whose creepy customer complained her employees weren’t friendly enough? Here’s the update. This incident gave me the opportunity for some personal reflection because I realized […] Read the full article →
throwing a coworker a grandmother-to-be shower, missing donations, and more by Alison Green on December 14, 2021 I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. Should I throw my coworker a grandmother-to-be shower? We work in a small-ish office 15- 20 people. My longtime coworker “Jane” is about to become a first-time grandmother. I was one of […] Read the full article →
updates: the anonymous criticism, the secret second job, and more by Alison Green on December 13, 2021 It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. My boss won’t talk to me and gave me a document of anonymous criticism Your advice helped me to see […] Read the full article →
updates: work fun scheduled on my behalf, the awful morale solutions list, and more by Alison Green on December 13, 2021 It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. I’m too large to participate in work fun scheduled on my behalf (#2 at the link) Thank you for answering […] Read the full article →
update: my company is requiring us to travel because “they miss us” by Alison Green on December 13, 2021 It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Remember the letter-writer whose company was requiring them to travel because “they miss us”? Here’s the update. My follow-up is that I did get to use your advice, […] Read the full article →
how do I reject a difficult internal applicant? by Alison Green on December 13, 2021 A reader writes: I am building up a new team and struggling with how to handle an internal applicant. The job I’m hiring for is fairly customer-facing and requires mostly independent work. One internal applicant who’s currently on another team, Marion, is a train wreck. She is barely competent in the fundamentals of our work. […] Read the full article →