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 →
how to professionally say “I told you so” by Alison Green on July 18, 2023 A reader writes: I work at a small-ish company in a creative industry that has a lot of issues with changing/inconsistent expectations and management that isn’t in the habit of really listening to employee feedback. My direct manager and grandboss also have a habit of saying one thing in team trainings and then doing the […] Read the full article →
my boss wants to hire us out for our “unique talents and skills” that have nothing to do with our jobs by Alison Green on July 18, 2023 A reader writes: I am self-employed. But I also have one teeny, tiny job (2-5 hours a week) working in a secretarial-adjacent position for another small business. It’s someone I’ve known and they have a great mission, and I work from home so I thought it would be some nice side money. I am highly […] Read the full article →
my boss says she has the right to come by my house unannounced by Alison Green on July 17, 2023 A reader writes: My supervisor and I both work hybrid schedules and she lives in the same neighborhood as me. Recently we were on a work call and she said, “You know, I almost just popped by to talk about this in person with you at your house.” She went on to say it is […] Read the full article →
my boss’s boss forced us to do a “grievance circle” targeting our manager by Alison Green on June 28, 2023 A reader writes: I have a question for you about a scenario that happened several years ago, but still sort of haunts me. I work in the medical setting, under a new manager, Jane, and a relatively well-established director, John, who has a reputation for pushing shortcomings off onto other individuals. There was some friction […] Read the full article →