my boss wants me to be positive and upbeat all the time … we work in disaster relief by Alison Green on January 25, 2022 A reader writes: My new manager started in August. We’ll call him Sam. Sam is quite experienced in the field of government in which our team works, but hasn’t had a lot of supervisory experience to date. In addition to my regular duties as part of Sam’s team, I get deployed to support disaster response. […] Read the full article →
my coworkers told my boss I talk about my baby too much by Alison Green on January 19, 2022 A reader writes: I’m still processing the conversation I just had with my boss, so I’m sorry if this is a mess. I’m a new mom. My baby is going to be four months old later this week. I took 12 weeks off and returned to work a month ago. I manage a small team […] Read the full article →
my boss is unreachable when I need him by Alison Green on January 11, 2022 A reader writes: I’m on a team that is still working remotely due to Covid. I mention the remote aspect because this problem didn’t come up in person. Often, probably 1-3 times in a typical week, I’ll find myself in the following situation: I finish a stage in a project and need my boss’s feedback […] Read the full article →
my boss was furious that I went to a work party after calling out sick by Alison Green on November 17, 2021 A reader writes: This situation happened several years ago at a company that I’ve already left, but I still find myself thinking about it from time to time and wondering if what I did was really so egregious. I was working my first job out of college at a fast-paced start-up. My team (just me […] Read the full article →
my boss says he can’t hire me at his new company because he’s attracted to me by Alison Green on November 9, 2021 A reader writes: I’m a woman who works for a large company in my field, on a fairly small team. I’ve always felt like I’ve gotten along great with my (male) manager and my coworkers. It’s always been professional, no socializing outside of work, but I’ve enjoyed working for my manager. About a month ago, […] Read the full article →
my boss pays me an extra $500/month from her own money — but didn’t pay me this month by Alison Green on November 8, 2021 A reader writes: I have been in my current position for about two years now. As the pandemic has eased and the job market opened up, a vast majority of my colleagues at my level have left for other companies, meaning that I am one of the employees who best knows the ropes and has […] Read the full article →
I walked in on the company owner having sex in his office by Alison Green on November 2, 2021 A reader writes: I started a new job last Thursday at a small consulting company. I’m very excited about the company and the role, and it’s a better fit than my previous opportunity. It’s an eight-person team, consisting of the owner, two VPs who report to him, an executive assistant who reports to him, and […] Read the full article →
my employers want to pay for my surgery — but I want a raise by Alison Green on November 1, 2021 A reader writes: I work in a large company (not in the U.S.) in a somewhat managerial position. I am in charge of three different crucial departments and work alongside the owner of the company and his lovely kids. It is a multi-million dollar family-owned company with approximately 35 employees. I have been extremely lucky […] Read the full article →
are better managers … ever actually worse? by Alison Green on October 27, 2021 A reader writes: I have a big-picture workplace question. I was at my previous company for five years, three years with Jane as my boss, and two years with Jack as my boss. Jane and Jack had very different management styles. Jane was extremely hands-off, while Jack fit the textbook definition of a “good manager” much better […] Read the full article →
what’s the most unreasonable thing you’ve ever been asked to do at a job? by Alison Green on October 21, 2021 On the recent post about office supply drama, several people shared stories of wildly unreasonable things managers have asked them to do. For example: • “I temped for a small NFP and the director was bananas. She was filthy rich (like own private jet and multiple homes rich); her husband owned a hedge fund, which […] Read the full article →