former employee is lying about her job with me … to cover up her time in jail by Alison Green on April 22, 2024 A reader writes: A couple years ago, I managed an employee who was arrested at work for stealing from a former employer, among other charges. She was put in jail for a considerable amount of time. She is apparently now out, because I received her resume. I’m no longer at the previous company. I did […] Read the full article →
my employee shuts down when I give her feedback by Alison Green on April 17, 2024 A reader writes: I manage “Mandy” and have needed to give her feedback a few times on the same topic. Think something like, “When you present a proposal, you need to avoid vague explanations of the client problem your proposal addresses and include detailed, quantified specifics of its impacts on the client.” I usually then […] Read the full article →
I promoted one employee instead of her coworker, and now my whole team is upset by Alison Green on April 15, 2024 A reader writes: I am a long-time manager, but promotions are a rarity on my team. When an unexpected opportunity for a promotion arose earlier this year, there were two obvious candidates: Annie and Beth. Annie was more of a star individual contributor than Beth, and also had more experience covering the open position. But […] Read the full article →
I manage my sister, and she overshares about her breaks and sick time by Alison Green on April 10, 2024 A reader writes: I’m hoping you can help me with this conundrum. This situation is complicated by the fact that this is a family business, and all employees are my relatives and/or their romantic partners, but we have virtual assistant team members (independent contractors or third party services) who are party to these conversations. Background: […] Read the full article →
my employee quit over a misdirected email by Alison Green on April 9, 2024 A reader writes: I have two employees who can’t stand each other but they’ve managed to be civil and professional. Sarah is a mid-top performer with a consistently good work product. She’s not a superstar but she is dependable. Dani is temperamental, doesn’t always listen to peers, and has created problems for her teammates when […] Read the full article →
am I sabotaging my former intern’s job prospects? by Alison Green on April 8, 2024 A reader writes: A while back, I supervised an intern for the first time. She produced good results and was eager to learn, but she worked slowly, needed a lot of coaching, had little initiative, and there were complaints about finding her asleep or on personal calls. However, because we were close in age and […] Read the full article →
my father keeps responding to my employee’s Facebook posts by Alison Green on April 3, 2024 A reader writes: My father keeps responding to my employee’s political posts on Facebook. My father is very conservative and my employee is very liberal, so you can guess that their opinions go together like oil and water. I feel that it is inappropriate for my father to be interacting with someone I supervise, and […] Read the full article →
my employee is too buddy-buddy with me by Alison Green on April 2, 2024 A reader writes: I manage a team of 10 in a hybrid (mostly virtual) environment; we’re part of a larger team that we interact with on a daily basis. I have very good, friendly relationships with everyone on the broader team, but I do try to keep it more professional with my direct reports (still […] Read the full article →
I sent a text about my problem employee to the wrong person by Alison Green on March 26, 2024 A reader writes: I find myself in a pickle and am a nervous wreck. I have been a manager for two years and it has not been easy. The manager before me was stepping down and badmouthed me during a staff meeting she held with the employees prior to my arrival. It was hell when […] Read the full article →
does my staff resent me for being frequently out of the office? by Alison Green on March 11, 2024 A reader writes: I am the director of a small organization. Since we’re so small, I have day-to-day tasks along with more responsibilities such as board meetings, weekend and evening events, media relations, and external meetings. As we grow, I am finding more demands on my time, and I am often on the run, headed […] Read the full article →