Ask a Manager
my employee regularly forgets important details and entire conversations
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes: About four months ago I hired a new employee, Arnold. He interviewed very well, and the other interviewers on the panel agreed he was the best candidate. However now I am starting to see some serious gaps in ability. The biggest issue is that Arnold totally forgets entire conversations we’ve had. Some […]
13 hours 11 minutes ago
Checkout newscoworker swears angrily during the day
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes: My office is next to a person who swears a lot during the work day. I assume it’s frustration with his computer, but a least a couple times an hour I’ll hear an onslaught of expletives coming from his desk. It’s pretty disconcerting to hear and it’s also really distracting. Otherwise, he’s […]
14 hours 41 minutes ago
Checkout newsmy company announced a “biggest loser” weight loss contest
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes: My company announced a “biggest loser” weight loss challenge today and immediately my stomach sank. This was sent by the owner/founder of my small civil engineering company (about 40 employees). This is still so fresh for me I don’t even really have the words to express how many ways this is a […]
16 hours 11 minutes ago
Checkout newsmy coworker keeps raising his voice, is it true that you can’t take any time off when you’re new, and more
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How to work with a jerk who raises his voice, when “that’s just how he is” I work with Fergus, a senior engineer who has a reputation for being “crotchety,” a term I am starting to push back on because it seems to explain away […]
1 day 3 hours ago
Checkout newsshould your resume list the city/state for each job?
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes: As resume advice continues to evolve with the times (e.g., not including your street address on your resume), I’m wondering how important the location of each job is. Do employers really care if I worked in San Francisco, California, or in Dayton, Ohio? Would it be better to include in-person, hybrid, or […]
1 day 13 hours ago
Checkout newsmy interview with Weekend Edition about the attack on federal workers
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
I was interviewed by NPR’s Weekend Edition yesterday about the Trump administration’s attack on federal workers. You can listen here or below:
1 day 14 hours ago
Checkout newsdid everyone know the real reason I was at an office party with a married couple?
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes: This letter involves a very sensitive topic and some backstory, so bear with me. Would you consider it weird if a coworker brought along an unrelated college-aged girl to a work party where you could invite family? I ask because I was that college girl. When I was 19, I was a […]
1 day 16 hours ago
Checkout newsshould you get fired for bad behavior at a football game, I’m worried my boss is laying a paper trail to fire me, and more
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 you get fired for (even really bad) behavior at a football game? I’m a big football fan and a feminist and civil liberties advocate. So I am really struggling with the question of a fan at the Eagles-Green Bay Wild Card game. He is […]
2 days 3 hours ago
Checkout newsweekend open thread – February 8-9, 2025
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: Perfume and Pain, by Anna Dorn. A cancelled writer searches for inspiration and develops a surprising relationship with her new neighbor. Funny and […]
4 days 8 hours ago
Checkout newsopen thread – February 7, 2025
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to […]
4 days 16 hours ago
Checkout newsI’m supposed to live with my boss and her husband, bad coworker is finally leaving, and more
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. I’m supposed to live with my boss and her husband for months I have been working at my company for two years, and I get along well with my boss, who is a woman in her early thirties. Her husband also works for the same […]
5 days 3 hours ago
Checkout newshow do you write an ad for a job that can be very unpleasant?
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes: I was working on writing up a job ad today for temporary research assistants for a field biology project, and noticed trends in my ads and in others’. It’s common for early career employees applying to assistant or technician jobs to think that they want to do fieldwork and then quit in […]
5 days 13 hours ago
Checkout newsupdate: my coworker screamed at me and HR hasn’t done anything
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
Remember the letter-writer whose coworker screamed at them and HR hadn’t done anything? Here’s the update. I wrote to you back in 2020 about an incident from 2019 where a coworker had a screaming tantrum. I very much appreciated your input, and that of your commentariat. Nothing much happened regarding HR and my yelling coworker, […]
5 days 14 hours ago
Checkout newslet’s talk about carpooling for work … and how it can go wrong
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
With more people working more days in their offices, let’s talk about carpooling for work. Did you have to share a multi-hour car ride with a coworker who insisted on listening to a bad recording of his own choir practice? Get stuck carpooling with a disgusting nose picker? Fall in love with your carpool partner […]
5 days 16 hours ago
Checkout newscan I use a wedding photo as my work avatar, I sneeze constantly, and more
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can I use a wedding photo — with a veil — as my work avatar? My company is fully remote, so they really encourage us to upload a headshot to our company chat service so people can put a face to the name. Would it […]
6 days 3 hours ago
Checkout newsmore on the federal government’s “deferred resignation” offer (spoiler: it’s definitely a trap)
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
Just sharing this tweet from Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein about Elon Musk’s “deferred resignation” offer for federal government workers. (Don’t take it! It’s still a trap.) Also, if you remember the letter-writer who worked at Twitter when Elon Musk took over, that same person has sent in this note: I just wanted to thank […]
6 days 11 hours ago
Checkout newsthe luxury cabin, the clueless Christmas card, and other stories of wildly out-of-touch company executives
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
Last week we talked about out-of-touch executives. Here are 12 of the most outrageous stories you shared. (Also, if you’ve never wanted to eat the rich before, warning that you might after reading these stories.) 1. The renovation The head of the org I work for has been complaining about his home renovations for months. […]
6 days 13 hours ago
Checkout newsdo job titles matter?
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader asks: I work for a small company of 25 employees. We still call ourselves a start-up (with all of the cultural elements that brings), but we’ve been around almost 10 years now. The founder believes “titles don’t matter” and it’s more important to focus on the responsibilities each person has. So most people […]
6 days 14 hours ago
Checkout newsmy job wants me to hit up everyone I know for money and other help
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes: I work for a small-ish (100 people) British nonprofit. The work we do is similar to helping disabled people find homes and jobs, coaching them in social and life skills. We have developed a network of connections with local businesses who help us make this all happen. All good so far. I […]
6 days 16 hours ago
Checkout newsshould we get the day after the Super Bowl off, asked out on LinkedIn, and more
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 give everyone the day after the Super Bowl off? I live in Chiefs territory and run a small business. My colleagues have requested that I close the office the day after the Super Bowl. I’m not inclined to grant this request, as our […]
1 week ago
Checkout news