My company has no reporting structure and no training
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
4h ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I work for a professional services company that currently has no real reporting structure and it’s driving me insane. The company is relatively new and for the first few years, it was about five people who all functioned as one team: my boss, Malcolm; his second-in-command, Wash; and several junior staff working under them. The company grew very fast and in about two-three years went from five people to 15. Malcolm is still the director, Wash and I are managers, there are three people with the “team lead” t ..read more
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Update: an employee is out to get my star performer, and no one else cares
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
8h ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. Remember the letter-writer who managed a star performer who was being targeted by a coworker and no one else in the company’s leadership cared? Here’s the update. First, the best news! Tina earned a huge promotion to a different department a couple of weeks after you published my letter. She’s now an AVP for retail sales strategy. It came with a big raise, annual bonus, and an extra two weeks of PTO. I still chuckle when I think how much more money we are paying her than if we would have just given her the 5 on her performa ..read more
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Let’s discuss sacred office supplies
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
8h ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. Thanks to a reader for this idea: “What supplies or equipment at your office are as untouchable as a holy relic, despite having no discernible function in the 21st century? What supplies do people inexplicably hoard, or somehow lead to epic battles for control?” Let’s discuss in the comment section. You may also like: will my taste in office supplies seem weird or unprofessional? my boss wanted to go over my personal budget my ex-boss threatened to contact my husband, his coworkers, and my father-in-law if I don't return $4 ..read more
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Should we have “fun” out-of-office messages, managers trash-talk my old job, and more
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
21h ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should we really have “fun” out-of-office messages? At a company-sponsored women’s networking event last year, a speaker suggested that people should make their out-of-office messages more “fun” — i.e., include details about where you’re going, who you’re going with, fun facts about the location, etc. The thought was it would make you seem more human to the receiver, and they would then be more likely to respect your time off. I find this advice grating for a few reasons ..read more
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Should our office kick everyone out at 5 pm?
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
1d ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I would like to ask you and your readers about a discussion my organization had about working late. I don’t work in the office late. I have worked late at home occasionally, but I do not stay in the office longer than close of business. Some team members do though, to a ridiculous extent. In other teams it varies. One team during the pandemic worked late frequently, but I understand that they’ve now returned to normal. In a staff meeting and in my own team’s meetings, I’ve suggested that the organization co ..read more
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I found a perfect candidate — do I need to interview others?
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
1d ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I recently posted a position that’s a bit above entry-level. People from various backgrounds could do well in the role, but I had a pretty specific profile in mind when I wrote the job description. I was thinking I’ll never find someone who checks all these boxes, but I did! This person has the right education, the right work experience, lives in the right place, and comes with a glowing recommendation from a former colleague who I couldn’t respect more. Our first phone conversation was the professional equ ..read more
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I sent a text about my problem employee to the wrong person
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
2d ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I find myself in a pickle and am a nervous wreck. I have been a manager for two years and it has not been easy. The manager before me was stepping down and badmouthed me during a staff meeting she held with the employees prior to my arrival. It was hell when I arrived. One particular employee undermines everything I say and new rules that I put into place. She is very passive-aggressive and nothing is ever her fault. I have been fed up with it and I asked my sister, who is a minister, to put a request on he ..read more
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My coworkers are obsessed with talking about their kids … and I’m the only childless one here
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
2d ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I work in a small public-facing office of a government agency. Due to some staffing changes in the past few months, my coworkers are now exclusively mothers of young children, with one exception who is the grandmother of young children. I am now the only man and only non-parent in the office. I have no problem covering shifts when people have childcare needs, but the amount of baby-related conversations at the office is driving me crazy! In the past few months, I’ve heard detailed play-by-plays of potty tra ..read more
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The plant saver, the altruistic horse, and other stories of kindness at work
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
3d ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. Last week we talked about kindness at work. Here are 15 of my favorites of the stories you shared. 1. The teachers I’m a teacher. Ive been at schools where our faculty has arranged housing and supplies for families after devestating fires. Currently, we’re gathering money to support one teacher (medical bills, heating issues) and another (family medical emergency). We regularly feed and cloth our students. I buy books and supplies for kids. I’ve had one student our entire department “adopted” from K-12. We bought her books ..read more
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The surprising agony of office coffee culture
Ask a Manager Blog
by Ask a Manager
3d ago
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. You would think supplying employees with coffee would be a relatively straightforward task and yet … sometimes it’s anything but. At Slate today, I wrote about office coffee wars — from workplaces with intense bureaucratic in-fighting over coffee supplies, to meetings that get hijacked to debate coffee issues, to outrage when people bring in their own coffee makers. You can read it here. You may also like: our admins hate all the coffee I buy the office, but they insist I have to keep trying my boss is out of her gourd and ..read more
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