how to ensure a religious new hire won’t proselytize at work by Alison Green on November 21, 2022 A reader writes: I just completed a second interview with a job candidate who is looking like a great fit. However, she doesn’t have much recent job experience, so has used her demanding and rigorous volunteer work with her religious organization very heavily to highlight her strengths and flexibility. While I am impressed, some of […] Read the full article →
should I let someone who no-called no-showed come back to work? by Alison Green on November 16, 2022 A reader writes: The last two weeks have really made me question myself as a manager. Without getting into details, I had three of my staff of six quit within 10 days without notice. They’re for unrelated reasons, but we were already down one staff member so our schedule was devastated. One of the employees […] Read the full article →
how can I stop my office’s “I’m sorry” culture? by Alison Green on November 14, 2022 A reader writes: Do you have any advice on how to stop the “I’m sorry” culture in the workplace? I’m finding my colleagues have created an extreme case of this culture, saying they’re sorry for being out sick, sorry for asking a question, sorry for needing to leave early to pick up their kids. Even […] Read the full article →
how to say no without sounding negative by Alison Green on November 9, 2022 A reader writes: I’m by nature an over-thinker/highly analytical person. When I make a structural or wording choice, I put a huge amount of thought into which of the many options will be clearest and easiest to understand. When I then bring the draft to my client or to colleagues, they will often have many […] Read the full article →
my employee always gets other people’s help on his work by Alison Green on November 8, 2022 A reader writes: I’m a little stuck on how to handle one of my analysts. He’s reported to me for about six months and I have some performance concerns that I’m working to address. He procrastinates a lot, and he doesn’t ask me for help, even though I have encouraged him to do so on […] Read the full article →
my employee gets stressed out and snaps at me by Alison Green on November 7, 2022 A reader writes: One of the people I manage is a recent graduate; this is his first office role and he struggles with anxiety. When I assign him projects, he is immediately overwhelmed and panicked. No amount or type of support mitigates this, but the next day he comes in feeling much better. We then […] Read the full article →
how to respond to “sorry” when you were inconvenienced by Alison Green on November 3, 2022 A reader writes: Recently, I had a meeting scheduled at two colleagues’ request to help them work through some challenges in an area where I have more expertise. They were about 10 minutes late, with no notice that they were running behind. When the first person arrived they said, “Sorry I’m late, my previous meeting […] Read the full article →
my employee’s colleagues don’t like him by Alison Green on November 2, 2022 A reader writes: I was manage a small IT department. My reports have been with the company for several years and are extremely knowledgeable. Unfortunately, one of them has much less respect from many other employees. We’ll call him Josh and the other tech Steven. I was looking into an issue with a user who […] Read the full article →
where are you now? (a call for updates) by Alison Green on October 27, 2022 At the end of each year, I publish a slew of “where are they now” updates from people whose questions I answered here in the past. In past years we’ve had several hundred each December and it’s been magnificent. If you’ve had your question answered here in the past, please email me an update and […] Read the full article →
my employee’s mental health is affecting her work by Alison Green on October 25, 2022 A reader writes: My employee has been working with my team for nearly two years. She’s bright, friendly, willing to learn, and hard-working — when she’s well. We have a friendly relationship, and she has disclosed to me that she suffers from bipolar disorder. She has not asked for official accommodations, but she’s been taking […] Read the full article →