my boss’s stress is out of control by Alison Green on January 12, 2021 A reader writes: What can employees do when their managers are projecting tons of stress? I’m my manager’s only direct report, and I’m the first full-time person she’s managed. She’s always been bad at keeping her stress under wraps, but it’s gotten much worse with COVID. For the past month, in every one of our […] Read the full article →
I accidentally threw a sandwich and it caused a work crisis by Alison Green on January 5, 2021 A reader writes: OK, this is a ridiculous situation, but it’s also serious and spiralled out of control (we think?) and my coworker and I dug ourselves into a hole by staying silent. Our grandboss is, let’s say, frosty. Elegant, always in glorious suits, not-a-hair-out-of-place Anna Wintour type. Renton is a younger (30ish) lad-type. He’s […] Read the full article →
my boss keeps inviting herself to my house by Alison Green on November 24, 2020 A reader writes: Three months after I started a new job as an executive assistant, my position was eliminated. Fortunately, the company offered me a 12-month contract in another department with a new boss, which would help me out financially while I looked for a permanent job. When I met my new boss, “Carrie,” I […] Read the full article →
can I refuse to meet with my boss until he sends an agenda? by Alison Green on November 18, 2020 A reader writes: I am a teacher in a K-12 school. Like most teachers, I entered my profession believing that it was appropriate (and even necessary) to bury the lede when asking one of my students to have a conversation—you know, the old “Fergus, could I see you after class?” line that has set students’ […] Read the full article →
my boss never praises my work by Alison Green on October 20, 2020 A reader writes: I work as an assistant for the development team of a nonprofit. I’ve been in this role five years. My manager, Jane, who is far and away the most influential person in the organization, never praises me. Ever. She’s very good about addressing my mistakes (articulating what I did incorrectly, giving me […] Read the full article →
my manager has a million questions about EVERYTHING by Alison Green on October 19, 2020 A reader writes: Please help me identify some strategies to appropriately communicate with my new supervisor (“Jane”), who excessively questions *everything*. For context, I am a mid-level manager in the U.S. government, and she is my new supervisor who has never managed before. The excessive questioning covers almost all aspects of our work, but a […] Read the full article →
my boss tells weird lies about all of us by Alison Green on October 14, 2020 A reader writes: My boss, Valerie, makes up little lies about people who report to her. She never lies about anything work-related and while those of us who report to her all know she is a fibber about things, our clients and other people have no idea. Valerie would have no reason to lie about […] Read the full article →
should I warn someone he might be fired? by Alison Green on October 7, 2020 A reader writes: I have a new employee who has performance issues — bad communication, loads of errors, very slow pace, among other things. I am working on improvements, both on his and my side. But if no improvement happens, this employee will be let go. I am wondering if I should tell him that. […] Read the full article →
my boss told me that I smell by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 A reader writes: I recently started a position and my boss just called me in for a meeting that was really embarrassing: My boss told me that someone in the office had told them I had body odor. My boss told me that this wasn’t something they had noticed, so maybe it was just an […] Read the full article →
my boss is rude to waitstaff by Alison Green on October 5, 2020 A reader writes: I’ve recently left an extremely toxic workplace (so toxic that I’m pretty sure it gave me some form of trauma that I needed three weeks off to cope with), and I’m happy to leave that part of my career behind. However, I’m remembering a situation I ran into while there that flabbergasted […] Read the full article →