Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My office has a regular “Drinky Day” Every Thursday afternoon, the CEO at my job hosts “Drinky Day,” where he and/or other employees bring in beer, wine, hard liquor, etc. This is a mandatory meeting where we “debrief.” We do work that’s adjacent to addiction […]

I’m off today. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. I got in trouble for saying “bite me” in a meeting I recently attended an intense work group meeting with my boss and a coworker. The coworker responded to one of my […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. “Girl boss” artwork appeared in the women’s bathrooms A few days ago, new artwork appeared in all of the women’s bathrooms in our building (and we’ve confirmed that it’s only the women’s bathrooms). This artwork is of the inspirational “girl boss” variety, with phrases like […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker wears pro-gun t-shirts I work at a financial/banking company where we have a “dress for your day” dress code. Most internal employees wear jeans everyday. My coworker has started to wear NRA apparel in the office. He’s always struck me as an odd […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Do my full-time coworkers think I’m a lady of leisure because I work part-time? I work part-time at an elite private high school that my oldest child attends. How our very middle-class family ended up with a kid at this school is a long story, […]

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. I don’t see the point of taking PTO I work a customer-service-heavy role, and my manager has been wonderful about encouraging us to take PTO if we’re feeling burnt out. Except … I don’t see the point. Yes, I’m burnt out from work, but taking […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker constantly changes her schedule I am member of a small team with four core staff, including my manager and me. One of my core colleagues is part-time, three days a week. My manager gives her flexibility on this, so she changes her hours […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Interviewing with a manager who wanted to lay me off My manager at my last company had me on his layoff list. Another manager showed me the list looking for the name of someone who got laid off not realizing I was on it, and […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Managing an interruptor during an urban foraging class A dear friend of mine teaches classes on urban foraging for edible weeds, such as dandelions, creeping wood sorrel, and stinging nettles. She’s written a book on how to identify, ethically forage, and cook common urban weeds. […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Employee is unhappy that a coworker with an accent is “mispronouncing” her name I supervise a small team in a large nonprofit. Our organization is very big on DEI and ensuring we have an inclusive environment. Using other people’s preferred names is a non-negotiable for […]