am I supposed to return missed calls from coworkers if they don’t leave a message? by Alison Green on April 30, 2015 A reader writes: I work for a large organization (10,000+ employees) in a role that involves a good amount of staff engagement. My team tries to be supportive and responsive to our colleagues, which is kind of unique in our organization. I think we do a pretty good job of this overall, but there’s one […] Read the full article →
how to manage someone you don’t like by Alison Green on April 30, 2015 You’ve got someone on your team who you just don’t like. Maybe their personality grates on you, or they remind you of a despised ex, or there’s just something about them that gets under your skin. How do you fairly and effectively manage someone who you really don’t like spending time with? 1. Admit the problem to […] Read the full article →
how to interview long-winded job candidates who won’t stop talking by Alison Green on April 30, 2015 A reader writes: While I try to be understanding of job candidates who give 5-minute responses to several interview questions that should never ever take that long to answer, I just can’t get past it, and it makes me want to fidget uncomfortably. Would it be rude to phrase the first question with, “In 90 […] Read the full article →
does it matter who you report to, I don’t want to hear about my friend’s mistakes, and more by Alison Green on April 30, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Why am I hearing how my friend is messing up at work? I recommended a good friend for a job at my company in a completely different department from me. He’s now been working there for a year. He’s in his mid-20s and is a good […] Read the full article →
my employee keeps working long hours even though I’ve asked him to stop by Alison Green on April 29, 2015 A reader writes: One of my employees who I manage is a very hard worker – he is reliable and always gets the job done. He has a great reputation in the company, and everyone just goes straight to him for help with projects (something I came into when I started, and has been working […] Read the full article →
what to do when your coworker won’t put down her phone by Alison Green on April 29, 2015 A reader writes: I work at a fairly large university and one of my responsibilities is meeting new adjunct faculty to complete hiring paperwork. (We do this to save them the trouble of traveling all the way out to our main campus, which is quite a drive from where we are.) There is a new […] Read the full article →
a pay disparity in my office is causing a drama-filled crisis by Alison Green on April 29, 2015 A reader writes: Two people got hired for a small new engineering job in our work, a supervisor/engineer and an engineer. They’re both quite young (in their mid-late 20s), and both were interviewed at the same time. One, a woman who I’ll call Debbie, has about 7 years of experience. The other, a bloke I’ll […] Read the full article →
my manager’s boss wants us to complain about my manager to his face, inconsiderate meeting times, and more by Alison Green on April 29, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager’s boss wants us to complain about my manager to his face Next week, my coworkers, my supervisor, and my supervisor’s boss are going to have a meeting to discuss any complaints we have about my supervisor. I feel that this is inappropriate. I […] Read the full article →
I shared a complaint about a coworker with her manager — and then she shared my complaint with that person by Alison Green on April 28, 2015 A reader writes: I forwarded a voicemail to a VP of my company (I’m not her direct report) as she is the supervisor of another employee who often is very, very delayed in responding to things. The voicemail was basically complaining about this employee who is delayed, so I mentioned in the forward that this […] Read the full article →
5 ways to lose your team’s respect by Alison Green on April 28, 2015 If your team doesn’t respect you, you’ll have a hard time getting things done. They’re likely to doubt your decisions, push back when you need them pulling in the same direction, and even eventually leave. And when you’re in a leadership position, trust can be easy to lose – it only takes one or two […] Read the full article →