my resigning employee is spreading lies about me by Alison Green on April 9, 2020 A reader writes: I manage a large medical practice. One of my leads gave her notice about two weeks ago. At the time, we congratulated her because she has gone through some rough times lately and we were excited that a new job would give her a new outlook, plus a nice raise. She told […] Read the full article →
what’s reasonable for managers to expect of parents working from home? by Alison Green on April 6, 2020 A reader writes: What are reasonable expectations for managers whose employees are now working from home? For myself, I can adhere to my normal schedule while homebound, but I have a great employee who, having gone above and beyond in normal times, pleads child care issues now that she is home. She is productive, but […] Read the full article →
my employee gave notice and now is slacking off by Alison Green on April 2, 2020 A reader writes: An employee of mine put in his two weeks’ notice a week ago. During that conversation, I outlined the tasks for his remaining time, and checked in with him again on the Monday after that conversation. However, for the past week, he has been coming in late, leaving early, and from what […] Read the full article →
my employee overdoes everything and it’s costing us money by Alison Green on March 25, 2020 A reader writes: I run a small business that supplies a product to major companies that you’ve heard of. To keep the details anonymous, let’s say that we supply garments to a few mid-tier clothing retailers like Banana Republic or J. Crew. The problem is that one of my grand-employees (reports to someone who reports […] Read the full article →
my employee calls in sick after negative feedback by Alison Green on March 12, 2020 A reader writes: For the last two years, I’ve managed Fergus, who had been doing the same tasks day in and day out for about a decade. He hadn’t adapted to new technology, best practices, or industry trends. My first order of business as his manager was to coach him on the fundamentals and challenge […] Read the full article →
my employee keeps asking if she’ll be fired by Alison Green on March 2, 2020 A reader writes: One of the people I manage is about one year into the position and is doing okay most of the time. She does make mistakes and has trouble remembering or picking up certain concepts. I am really hoping she will improve as she gains more experience. She has one habit I find […] Read the full article →
what to do about a chronically late employee by Alison Green on February 19, 2020 A reader writes: Time is of the essence with our business and so we emphasize punctuality. We have a low-performing employee who is under performance review and is habitually late, as well as a few other late employees who are otherwise stellar performers. These top performers also work after hours, and the low-performing one does […] Read the full article →
I just found out my great employee lied on her resume by Alison Green on February 12, 2020 A reader writes: We recently hired an employee for a non-professional position who told me after she was hired that she lied on her job application. She said she had her high school diploma when she doesn’t, and if she had answered that question in the positive, the online application would have booted her from […] Read the full article →
how can I get my employee to stop condescending to me? by Alison Green on February 11, 2020 A reader writes: I am a fairly easygoing person with one major weakness: I cannot handle it when men are condescending. After years of weathering many insufferable male friends, colleagues, boyfriends, and family members, I have simply had a lifetime’s fill of being condescended to. My tolerance has reached its limit. Now, when men in […] Read the full article →
my employee lied about meeting with a client — to take a nap by Alison Green on February 4, 2020 A reader writes: I caught my employee skipping work to nap at home when she said she was meeting with a potential client. It was total happenstance — I happened to meet the potential client at a social event that night. When I asked my employee the next day why the potential client had no […] Read the full article →