Ask a Manager

I’m doing a column for Slate answering questions about holidays at the office, and I want your questions! Maybe you’re wondering how to get out of buying gifts for all your coworkers, or you want to avoid being shafted in the Secret Santa this year, or you’re terribly afraid your boss is going to hand […]

A reader writes: I’m in a position where I do some industry event hosting and public interviewing. I don’t arrange any of the events, I’m just a speaker/host (I work in a related field too, but these gigs are freelance and paid separately.) I had agreed to interview someone very prestigious in their field who […]

I’m off for a few days, so here’s an older post from the archives. This was originally published in 2018. A reader writes: I have an ongoing concern that has a lot to do with mental health but also has to do with work. I am seeing a therapist regularly to deal with the mental […]

In last week’s question about burning out doing work that you love, I wrote this: I used to think the cure for burn-out was lots of downtime and relaxation — and sometimes it is — but what’s worked better for me personally is regularly using my brain for something completely different. Otherwise you’re just wearing […]

In last week’s speed round, a surprising number of questions requested updated info on the cats — in particular, an update to the personality profiles and photos from last year. So here we go. Olive 11 years old, the grande dame of the house. She is very beautiful and requires that you treat her like […]

Last week we talked about coworkers cheating on coworkers, coworkers cheating with coworkers, and related drama. Here are 11 of the most bananapants stories you shared. 1. The poorly kept secret At OldJob where I was an intern, there was a couple (Bob and Barbara) who were having an affair. They were in the same […]

It’s the annual Ask a Manager speed round! Until 3:30 pm ET today, I’ll be answering questions live. How to ask questions: Submit a question using the form here. (Don’t leave your question in the comment section; I won’t see it there.) If you submitted a question yesterday, there’s no need to submit it again; I’ve got it […]

Tomorrow is the Ask a Manager speed round! On Wednesday from 2-3:30 pm ET, I’ll be answering as many questions as I can live on the website during that time. To submit a question in advance, use the form below. These will be short answers, obviously, so this is better suited for questions that don’t […]

Remember the letter-writer who wanted to speak up about a portrait of a child abuser in their office (#2 at the link)? Here’s the update. A few days after I initially wrote in, I heard statements from my boss that made it pretty clear they wouldn’t support me speaking up about The Portrait. Shortly afterwards, […]

Here’s a success story from a reader. I just wanted to share a quick success I had today. I’ve seen a lot of comments/posts on your site about reference companies that are very pushy about trying to get their long surveys completed. I got an email this morning asking me to provide four references to […]