Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Unauthorized visitor won’t leave our cafe I work for a university research department, and we have run into an issue with a stranger repeatedly remaining in our office cafe/kitchen space, and it is proving surprisingly difficult to resolve. The building we are in houses many […]

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. How can I advocate to work from home in an interview when it seems against company culture? I have been a full-time remote employee since late 2017. This organization has always been fully remote and I have thrived in this environment. I do good work […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Coworkers are very concerned that I’m not wearing a coat I am a relatively young woman (late 20s) in a workplace in which many of my coworkers are twice my age or more, and the profession is heavily skewed female. I’ve been at this workplace […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager constantly talks about her personal finances I am the only direct report to a manager who constantly talks about how much money she is spending in her personal life. Her spouse owns an international company, which allows her to have a pretty nice […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Asking my wife not to attend a work dinner Am I wrong for not wanting my wife to attend an after hours dinner where I’m excluded? Probably, yes. It’s very, very normal to have work dinners where spouses and partners aren’t invited. These are business […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. We can’t have couches anymore I work as a staff member at a college. The other day, the HR director told us he is getting rid of all of the couches around administrative offices and lobbies. When asked why, he said, “Title IX. We want […]

I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. My coworker is wearing jewelry that signifies a dominant/submissive relationship I recently realized that one of my coworkers wears D/s jewelry every day. (Funny enough, I wouldn’t have recognized it had I […]

I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. I saw a coworker’s “people I need to hit” list In a meeting last week, my coworker Tony shared his screen while his OneNote was still visible and the title of the […]

I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. My coworker keeps making minor corrections to my work I am experiencing a weird feedback situation at work and don’t know how to handle it. One of my coworkers, Jane, frequently corrects […]

I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. Two coworkers are attacking people over grammar At my company, we have a couple of grammar fanatics who go out of their way to correct people even when they’re not in the […]