Ask a Manager

In the spirit of the season, let’s hear about workplace gift debacles. Did a game of Secret Santa end in tears? Did a coworker throw a tantrum when she didn’t win a raffle? Did your boss try to give you Hanukkah balls? Were you given a jar of mold as a gift? These are all real […]

We have once again entered the season of forced workplace merriment, holiday party disasters, and other seasonal delights! Thus it is time to hear about your office holiday debacles, past or current. Did you pass out naked in the break room? Did your manager provide you with a three-page document of “party procedures”? Were you given a […]

It’s more holiday stories! Tradition dictates that as we head into the holiday season, we must revisit holiday stories previously shared by readers. Here are some favorites. 1. The magic I once worked at a small nonprofit with a lot of team spirit — people truly seemed to love staff gatherings, staff outings, etc. We […]

Over the years, readers have submitted a tremendous number of amusing stories about holidays at work. Here are some of my favorites. 1. The thief and the hero At a temp secretarial job back in the day, the owner had a buffet set up for the employees as an appreciation lunch for completing a particular […]

All this week to get us in the holiday spirit, I’m going to be featuring holiday work stories readers have shared here in the past … and then updates season will start next week! To kick us off, here are 10 of my favorite stories you shared about potlucks and other food gatherings at work […]

One of the most popular “ask the readers” posts last year was on unusual but fun office traditions. Here’s some of what got shared last year: • We had The Team Plant. It was a nice ordinary office houseplant in a basket, and it didn’t belong to anyone in particular. Most of the time it […]

Last week we discussed territorial behavior at work and here are 12 of my favorite stories you shared. 1. The Rolodex I worked with a manager that kept customer information in a Rolodex to prevent any one else from making calls to them. And I mean a classic Rolodex, the big spinning thing that had […]

Let’s talk about territory-marking behavior at work: people with a high need to make sure you know they they own this work area or this desk or this project (whether or not they really do). Think for example, of this person who left ridiculously excessive “rules” for the person covering her maternity leave (including “do […]