did my positive response to negative feedback make my boss worry I missed the point? by Alison Green on October 5, 2023 A reader writes: Last year I started a new job doing exciting work at a great company. Unfortunately, in the first few months several things made my performance crater. I got Covid the weekend before I was supposed to start and struggled with brain fog for months, insurance stopped covering the medication I took for […] Read the full article →
my boss is abusive and blames it on PMDD by Alison Green on September 26, 2023 A reader writes: There’s no easy way to say this so I’ll be blunt: My department director, Katherine, has created a horrible work environment because of her unmanageable PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder). As a woman, I do not want to reduce Katherine’s education, expertise in this field, and actually great work she’s done down to […] Read the full article →
can I ask my boss for feedback about how I’m doing? by Alison Green on September 20, 2023 A reader writes: I am fairly new to the workforce. I’ve been at my current job for close to two years and I cannot shake the feeling that I’m bad at it. Rationally I think there are parts of it that I am indeed not-so-great at; rationally I think there are parts that I’m decent […] Read the full article →
can I turn down business lunches as an intern? by Alison Green on September 18, 2023 A reader writes: I’m in the last semester of my junior year at college and just started an internship this month that I’m really enjoying. For context, I applied for a different internship that was not customer-facing, and after my Zoom call with HR was asked to interview for an internship on the team who […] Read the full article →
can I learn to thrive under a hyper-critical boss? by Alison Green on September 6, 2023 A reader writes: I work in a competitive, technical field where I need to be able to research, think critically, propose solutions, and write persuasively. I’ve always gotten good feedback on these skills, except in my current role from my boss, Jane. Jane’s style of feedback entails questioning every single detail, where it came from, […] Read the full article →
is it fair to give no notice when your boss has threatened to push resigning employees out early? by Alison Green on August 22, 2023 A reader writes: I’m writing about a situation a friend/former coworker (Barbara) is in, and I’m wondering if there is any nuance we’re missing. As background, I used to work at this location but the boss was pretty unbearable for a lot of reasons that I won’t bother to get into. Since I left, two […] Read the full article →
my boss keeps leaving her kid with me by Alison Green on August 21, 2023 A reader writes: I work at a tristate chain. My location manager is the owner’s wife, Jane, but rumor has it that he recently cheated on her and ran out on her and their kid. It’s a terrible situation that should be none of my business. The issue is that when summer break started, Jane […] Read the full article →
the top boss wants to meet with me and I don’t know why … is this bad? by Alison Green on August 17, 2023 A reader writes: I work as a college instructor. I got an email request for a meeting with the president of our college for this coming Tuesday. I called to confirm the meeting with his secretary and also to ask how I could prepare for the meeting. Her response was he just wants to have […] Read the full article →
am I supposed to thank my boss for paying me? by Alison Green on July 31, 2023 A reader writes: I’ve just had a mid-year profit share conversation with my boss (who majority owns the company, and note that we do not bring out the best in each other so perhaps this is just interpersonal friction) where he told me what my payment would be. This is an established, formal profit share […] Read the full article →
how much transparency does a manager owe employees in an internal hiring process? by Alison Green on July 26, 2023 A reader writes: I recently went through a hiring process for a promotion within my department. The interview phase has been over for five weeks, and I suspect that another colleague, Micah, was unofficially offered the role — and unofficially accepted it — about four weeks ago, but due to what’s been described as HR […] Read the full article →