Ask a Manager

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. I’m drowning in work and don’t know if my expectations are unreasonable I finally got a job in my field after graduating in 2020. It’s my first entry-level role in marketing, and in the beginning (nine months ago) I enjoyed it so much, but in […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Religious decor in a shared work space I share an office with the rest of my small team — one coworker and our supervisor. Due to the nature of our work, even when all three of us are working at the same time, we are […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can I ethically hire when the company is a mess? I love(d) my job! Great executive leader, great team, great work. However, our beloved leader has departed and the replacement that has been hired is a tyrant. All kinds of red flags – executive assistants […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Hiring manager set up a video call to reject me I applied to an internal job at my current company that would be fully remote. I went through the first and second round interviews and felt I did pretty well, but continued to apply to […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How do I explain why I’m not donating blood? My medium-sized company is hosting a blood drive on site in a few weeks and HR has really been pushing for people to sign up. I would love to donate blood but because I am a […]

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Is it weird that my coworker expensed drinks? I have a colleague, Fergus, who is very close to me in age but senior to me at our company (not my manager, though). We have interacted at a few work events and had a great time […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How much am I obligated to help a coworker who guilt-trips me when I don’t? How much help am I obligated to give to a coworker who has a long history of struggling to manage their own life? We have a coworker, “J,” who, because […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Do I have to wear concealer to the office? I (they/them) am an early/mid-career professional who used to work in nonprofit. I recently switched into the luxury beauty industry, and I have a question about my appearance. In my previous organizations, there were various degrees […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Our performance evaluations penalize my highest performer It’s annual performance evaluation season where I work, and I’m wondering if I’m being soft in my expectations or if my company is being unreasonable. One person on my team has been with my organization for over a […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I tell my coworker she’ll never get the promotion she deserves? I have an ethical dilemma and I feel like I’m definitely in the wrong here. I have a coworker, Sammy, who is absolutely incredible at her job. She’s been here for six years […]