some Ask a Manager books by Alison Green on June 29, 2022 You need an Ask a Manager book! Here’s what’s available: Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work In this book, published by Ballantine/Random House, I tackle more than 200 of the tough conversations you might need to have during your career and give you […] Read the full article →
being direct as a Black woman, coworkers identify people by race, and other questions with Michelle Silverthorn by Alison Green on June 27, 2022 I’m thrilled to welcome Michelle Silverthorn back to Ask a Manager to share her answers to some of readers’ toughest questions on race. Michelle’s new four-part interactive e-learning series, Inclusion LAUNCH — covering DEI fundamentals, unconscious bias, communicating across difference, and allyship at work –will be released later this summer. You can find out more […] Read the full article →
letters that make you say, “wait, what?” by Alison Green on June 14, 2022 There’s now a new category in the sidebar: letters that make you say, “Wait, what?” It’s here: Wait, what?! It’s currently got 165 letters in there. Happy reading! Read the full article →
15 years of Ask a Manager by Alison Green on May 30, 2022 Fifteen years ago this past Saturday, I launched this site. I wasn’t sure if anyone would read it, but I thought I had a few months of posts in me (little did I know the letters you had in you). A decade and a half later, here are some highlights year by year. In 2007, […] Read the full article →
interviews with a prison librarian, a brothel receptionist, an Arctic Circle lab worker, and other interesting jobs by Alison Green on May 26, 2022 Do you know this site has a whole section of interviews with people with interesting jobs? Here’s the complete list: a former receptionist at a legal brothel a lab worker at the Arctic Circle an incredibly diplomatic person … or how to agreeably disagree a former professional matchmaker a prison librarian a children’s entertainer a […] Read the full article →
I gave notice to our daycare provider and she freaked out by Alison Green on May 2, 2022 A reader writes: My three-year-old daughter has been going to the same in-home daycare provider since she was very young. Her daycare provider, let’s call her Amy, is very good at what she does, has 25 years of experience, and is well-respected in our community. We have always been happy with her as a professional. […] Read the full article →
interesting jobs: interview with an ombuds by Alison Green on April 27, 2022 I was recently contacted by someone from the International Ombuds Association, suggesting that Ask a Manager readers might be interested in learning about the work that ombuds (previously called ombudsmen) do. I learned a little more, and it is fascinating! Ombuds help employees navigate workplace conflicts and organizational processes, including helping them identify their concerns […] Read the full article →
my new job isn’t what I was promised — can I quit? by Alison Green on January 25, 2022 A reader writes: I recently finished my second week at a new job, and I absolutely hate it. It was sold to me as an editorial writing role, and it’s turned out to be essentially admin and data entry, with most of my time spent on the phone trying to get information from people who […] Read the full article →
about medical practices that can’t pay enough to keep their employees… by Alison Green on January 19, 2022 After last week’s letter from a medical practice manager struggling to hire staff and unable to pay more because of tightly regimented insurance company payments, I received this letter offering a different view that I wanted to share here. Hi LW #2, As a fellow small medical practice owner, I feel your pain. The feedback […] Read the full article →
calling out racism, supporting a Black manager, and other questions with Michelle Silverthorn by Alison Green on January 18, 2022 Today Michelle Silverthorn, founder and CEO of Inclusion Nation, returns to Ask A Manager! Michelle is the author of the best-selling book Authentic Diversity: How to Change the Workplace for Good (read an excerpt here) and talked with us last year about the work she does to help build more equitable companies. Now she’s back to take readers’ […] Read the full article →