being the boss

All your questions about being the boss, answered — like dealing with low performers, lateness, weird feedback, and more.

I think my employee is being maliciously compliant

A reader writes: I manage a team of about 20 part-time employees. We work in a creative field, but my department is strictly customer service oriented. I like to think I’m a fine manager; my employees like and respect me and they make for a kind and wonderful team. But I have one employee, Eric, […]

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my employee is pregnant but hasn’t said anything

A reader writes: I recently found out through the grapevine (social media) that an employee is pregnant and expecting later this year. However, she hasn’t said anything to me or management (but she’s known for at least a few weeks). How should I proceed? I answer this question — and three others — over at […]

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how do I recover after an employee took advantage of my trust?

A reader writes: I manage a small team of remote, non-exempt employees. One of them, Jane, recently resigned, right before being put on a formal improvement plan for performance issues. On her last day told the rest of the team how she was able to take care of personal matters (e.g. attend happy hours, nail […]

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is it OK for my employee to do needlepoint in meetings?

A reader writes: I manage an engineer, Jane, who is doing an excellent job during the first six months in her new role on my team. Two weeks ago, I joined her for a technical meeting. As I walked into the conference room, she was working on a needlepoint project. I’ll admit I was initially […]

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my employee is job-searching — should I tell my manager?

A reader writes: I was transferred to a new team a few months ago, along with a colleague who now reports to me, and given responsibility for the company’s capybara program (obviously, a fake name for anonymity). The team we’re now part of is great and supportive; our manager is great and has our backs. […]

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my employee pressures coworkers for rides everywhere

A reader writes: Your recent post about an intern who wanted rides to work made me think perhaps you might have some insight into my present situation. Unlike similar posts I’ve seen, it’s not the chauffeurs who are asking about the situation, but the manager (me) who sees someone taking horrible advantage of coworkers. I […]

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my coworker quit as soon as I became his boss

A reader writes: Soon after I started in my current job, “Bob” joined our team in a similar role as me. He was noticeably very anxious and insecure, and he struggled with getting the basics down. The job includes giving feedback on others’ work, and I noticed that I kept having to ask him to […]

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my assistant is using my title on LinkedIn

A reader writes: When updating my LinkedIn profile today, I noticed that my assistant has himself listed in my position and has since February of this year (while the position was vacant). Because I’m new to this company, I don’t want to rock the boat or make him think I consider myself to be “better” […]

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