my coworker thinks I should be available 24/7 since I work from home by Alison Green on September 18, 2023 A reader writes: I work at a small company, almost completely from home. I go into the office about twice a month, and for the most part, it’s been a dream. I am vastly more productive and have found that my mental health has improved drastically. Since the transition, I have done everything I can […] Read the full article →
my employee demands to know where I am at all times by Alison Green on September 13, 2023 A reader writes: I started a new management role three months ago and am managing a small team. One of my staff was under-performing when I started, and one of my directives was to get them on a coaching plan, which I have. As a result, they have made complaints that I’m out to get […] Read the full article →
my employee says she has “pregnancy brain” by Alison Green on September 12, 2023 A reader writes: My lead administrative assistant, who is normally fantastic, is pregnant. In the past few weeks, she has made some very significant errors, two of which in particular have ended up causing a good bit of drama, increasing workload for others in my department, and also costing our organization a not-insignificant chunk of […] Read the full article →
how to tell my employee I made a mistake with a client by Alison Green on September 11, 2023 A reader writes: My employee, Joe, met with a client, Alice, who had previously met with me before Joe started in his role). I know that my meeting with Alice went poorly — she was making unreasonable requests and displayed a level of inflexibility that I knew would not get her where she needed, but […] Read the full article →
the federal government has proposed new overtime rules that could boost your paycheck by Alison Green on September 7, 2023 Last week, the federal government announced a big proposed change to the rules that govern who must receive overtime pay. If it becomes law, your employer would be required to pay you overtime (time and a half for all hours over 40 that you work in a week) unless you earn at least $55,068 annually – […] Read the full article →
a coworker I’m helping with a project is wasting my time by Alison Green on September 6, 2023 A reader writes: I’m helping a colleague, Lucinda, with a project – something we need to do, but it’s tedious and never urgent so it’s dragged on. Lucinda is bright and does great work, but we have different styles. She talks a lot without saying much, whereas I prefer a short, direct email. I’ve heard […] Read the full article →
my employee’s reading and writing skills aren’t good enough by Alison Green on August 30, 2023 A reader writes: I have an employee who is chomping at the bit for a promotion that she’s not currently qualified for. Luckily, my company has processes in place for that: I wrote up a plan, outlining what she’s already doing well and where I need to see improvement in order to recommend her for […] Read the full article →
is there a hidden message in that email from your interviewer? by Alison Green on August 28, 2023 “My interviewer said she looked forward to talking soon. Is that a sign I’m getting the job?” “My job interview seemed to go great – but then they said they’d get back to me even if I don’t get the job. Is that a bad sign?” “They said they were looking for someone with more […] Read the full article →
my employee disappeared with our data and won’t answer any messages by Alison Green on August 23, 2023 A reader writes: My team employs several part-time remote employees who conduct field research and submit data summaries back to us so that we can report out to our clients. Recently one of them has fallen out of communication before finishing his work — he completed the required field visits but has not turned in […] Read the full article →
my employee keeps making meaningless edits to my work by Alison Green on August 21, 2023 A reader writes: I am a new manager who is quite a bit younger than my employees. One employee has developed an annoying trait of “doctoring” all my documents that I send out. For example, if I write a policy and procedure for one of our tasks, he’ll go through and make minor changes — […] Read the full article →