my boss reprimanded me for not answering an email … in four minutes by Alison Green on February 21, 2024 A reader writes: I’ve been at my new job for just over a month and have very grave doubts about whether it’s going to work out. I’m finding it impossible to make my supervisor, Martha, happy. Her criticism is frequent, harsh, and, in my opinion, often very unreasonable. The incident that has me writing to […] Read the full article →
my boss keeps asking if I’m OK by Alison Green on February 20, 2024 A reader writes: My manager is overall a decent boss, and is reasonable and kind. However she has this one habit that has started to eat away at me. She constantly asks if I am okay. Even typing this, it seems so inane/nice, but it is a pattern that is wearing me down. A couple […] Read the full article →
my boss and my employee won’t stop asking me to spend the night at their houses by Alison Green on February 12, 2024 A reader writes: I am a mid-level manager at a medium-sized company. I have worked here for four years now, and this problem has been happening since I started. About six months after I started, my boss invited me to a Halloween party at her house. I felt like I should go because she is […] Read the full article →
boss wants us to do early-morning and evening meetings so he can attend from his vacation by Alison Green on January 29, 2024 A reader writes: I work on a small team that has daily meetings at 10 am, usually lasting 30-60 minutes. I personally don’t think daily meetings are even necessary, but they are my boss’s way of keeping up with our work as he rarely meets with any of us individually and he likes for us […] Read the full article →
my soon-to-be-ex manager wants to be my friend … I’m leaving because of him by Alison Green on January 24, 2024 A reader writes: I have worked for the same organization for eight years and been promoted or laterally transferred multiple times. I just accepted another transfer and am moving teams within the organization at the end of February. For the past three years, I have been reporting to my boss, “Joe” (a mid-50s man), who […] Read the full article →
someone made a mean “self-evaluation” for my boss, and she’s punishing us all by Alison Green on January 23, 2024 A reader writes: Last year, a new manager, Rhonda, took over my team. In my company, it’s quite common for deadlines to be extended, and the manager decides which projects should take priority. Rhonda prioritized some projects that typically allow for many extensions and did not prioritize some that were more critical. Some team members […] Read the full article →
my boss renegotiated my new job’s start date behind my back by Alison Green on January 11, 2024 A reader writes: I’ve just given notice to leave a job that I love because my manager has become intolerable. I’ll spare you the details, but for context, this manager (let’s call them B) has a negative reputation in the company and the two previous departures from my team have cited abuse from B as […] Read the full article →
my boss wants a “guide to getting the best out of me” by Alison Green on January 10, 2024 A reader writes: My boss, the head of a foundation with 10-15 employees, switches up annual review questions each year. The past three years, the questions have been reflective and mostly for staff’s benefit, according to him, and which I mostly experience as true. This year, there were three short reflective questions and then a […] Read the full article →
my boss wants to do walking meetings and I can’t keep up with her pace by Alison Green on January 9, 2024 A reader writes: My grandboss (my manager’s manager) is on a “wellness journey” (her words) and has suggested doing skip level 1:1s as walking meetings instead of in her office. On the one hand, I love the idea, because I am trying to avoid spending time in small spaces with unmasked colleagues because I don’t […] Read the full article →
how can I get what I need from my flaky boss? by Alison Green on January 9, 2024 A reader writes: I graduated from college last year and since then I’ve been working at my first full-time job. I am in a client-facing role at a small-ish nonprofit, and mostly I love it. Lately, though, I’ve been having some issues with my boss, Gillian. She has always been kind, open, and accommodating; in […] Read the full article →