a stolen work laptop, employee wants me to fire her coworker, and more by Alison Green on August 18, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How to tell your boss a sex worker stole your work laptop I have a question on behalf of a friend (yes, I promise it is actually a friend and not me). He was staying overnight on a business trip and decided to hire a […] Read the full article →
Ask a Manager speed round by Alison Green on August 17, 2022 It’s the second-ever Ask a Manager speed round! (The first was last year and it’s here.) Until 4 pm ET today, I’ll be answering questions live. Last year I answered 76 questions in two hours; we’ll see if I can match or beat that this time! How to ask questions: Submit a question using the form here. (Don’t […] Read the full article →
my employee keeps trash-talking herself by Alison Green on August 17, 2022 A reader writes: I manage an employee who engages in constant defeatist self-talk, even though her work is stellar. It’s clear that she is a very anxious person and that’s distorting her view of reality. But it’s frustrating and upsetting as a manager. Every interaction, even routine ones, is about her feelings: Instead of “Should […] Read the full article →
I flashed my entire team during a video call by Alison Green on August 17, 2022 A reader writes: I would love any and all advice on this because I’m sincerely lost on what to do. To preface this, I do have a privacy camera cover which makes this mistake even more avoidable. I work remotely and during a morning meeting with our entire team, I noticed an incessant knocking at […] Read the full article →
can I bring my dog on a business trip, manager made up fake reasons for a firing, and more by Alison Green on August 17, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can I bring my dog on a business trip? I work for a small firm that operates in two cities in the same state: one main office with the majority of employees and business, and a smaller office with one VP and myself about four […] Read the full article →
speed round — submit your questions by Alison Green on August 16, 2022 Tomorrow is the Ask a Manager speed round! On Wednesday from 2-4 pm ET, I’ll be answering as many questions as I can live on the website during that time. To submit a question in advance, use the form below. These will be short answers, obviously, so this is better suited for questions that don’t […] Read the full article →
how do I manage an employee who’s terrified of me? by Alison Green on August 16, 2022 A reader writes: I’m a relatively senior manager who just moved to a new location within my organization, and have been having one-on-one meetings with some key team members as I try to get a handle on how this new location works. One of these team members, Tasha, is clearly terrified of me. Tasha is […] Read the full article →
a real-life salary negotiation, with emails by Alison Green on August 16, 2022 A reader writes: I wanted to share my success story with negotiating a higher salary for a job offer I received. I work in the social services/addiction/mental health field. I’ve worked in this field for 11 years. I was working as a front-line supervisor for a program for adults who had major mental illnesses when […] Read the full article →
I sent my boss a long, angry email … but I turned out to be wrong by Alison Green on August 16, 2022 A reader writes: I jumped to conclusions after misunderstanding someone else’s statements, and responded quite badly. I have worked at my current company for six years, under the same manager. The first five years were virtually incident-free, and we had an extremely positive working relationship. Last year, he lost some faith in me after I […] Read the full article →
I disagree with my partner on how to run our business, another manager dislikes my employee, and more by Alison Green on August 16, 2022 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My partner and I disagree on how to run our adult business I am a partner in a social club for “like minded adults.” When my partner and I first started this club, we agreed on “no sex with our members while we were open.” […] Read the full article →