my old boss trash-talks my new boss by Alison Green on September 25, 2019 A reader writes: Until three months ago, I had major problems with my manager, who in my opinion bullied me. After taking the issue to her manager and to HR, I was assigned the same manager as she has, which was communicated as a reorganization. This has also meant that she has had product responsibility […] Read the full article →
my boss excessively Photoshops herself on our company’s social media by Alison Green on September 23, 2019 A reader writes: I work at a respected firm in a niche industry. I graduated college this year so I’m the newest person here. Besides my manager (I’ll call her Elizabeth), everyone else has worked here for 15 years or more and has decades of experience in the industry. When Elizabeth was hired as a […] Read the full article →
my boss spends too much personal money on us by Alison Green on September 18, 2019 A reader writes: I work at a nonprofit institution, and my coworkers and I are paid far below market value for our skills. My manager Sam knows this and has advocated for us, but our industry and salary bands being what they are, this is unlikely to change anytime soon. In light of these facts […] Read the full article →
my boss’s angry husband calls multiple times a day for her by Alison Green on September 18, 2019 A reader writes: I work in a customer service type role where I routinely deal with people face-to-face and also answer queries on the telephone, and I am required to be considerate about taking calls if I have customers waiting in line to talk to me. The working environment can be very busy but it’s […] Read the full article →
I’m my boss’s favorite — and it sucks by Alison Green on September 17, 2019 A reader writes: I’ve had my current position at a small nonprofit for about nine months. My coworker, Liz, and I have the same boss, but she has a slightly higher-level position than me and has reported to our boss a few years more than I have. Neither of us like our boss very much, […] Read the full article →
my boss has 10,000 unread emails by Alison Green on September 11, 2019 A reader writes: Is it ever normal to have 10,000+ unread emails in your professional inbox? Yesterday I inadvertently saw that my boss had 10,965 unread emails. She is a general counsel of a medium-sized company and does not seem to be overloaded with work. The majority of her team (around six people) are very […] Read the full article →
when giving good news, my boss first pretends to be upset as a “joke” by Alison Green on September 11, 2019 A reader writes: Recently, I was called into an “emergency” meeting with my grandboss, supposedly to discuss budget problems on a program I am leading. This worried me, because I hadn’t thought there were any budget problems, and I hardly ever talk to her (and, wouldn’t expect to, unless something was Very Wrong). When I […] Read the full article →
my boss wants me to take on a new task – and I don’t want to! by Alison Green on September 3, 2019 A reader writes: I started a new job about four months ago in my field, but in an entirely new role. I have been in customer-facing tech support for the past six years, and was extremely excited to have my first non-customer facing role. Now I do mostly technical writing and lots of project-based content […] Read the full article →
my boss has ideas all the time — and I don’t know which ones she’s serious about by Alison Green on September 3, 2019 A reader writes: I have a problem with my boss. She is really good at the substance of what we are doing but has a random approach to management. She is very much an Ideas All The Time person; I am her unofficial deputy and I manage a lot of our department’s planning and all […] Read the full article →
my boss gave me critical feedback without any specifics by Alison Green on August 21, 2019 A reader writes: I was having a difficult conversation with my boss regarding career development when she interjected that someone on another team that I work with, she couldn’t say who, said that I “wasn’t working with enough urgency.” I asked for clarification or a specific example of a project I did not complete on […] Read the full article →