Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Are laws encouraging people to come to work with COVID symptoms? My sister works in a nursing home that had been COVID free for months. They got their first outbreak a few weeks ago and traced it back to a new hire, who came to […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I need time off work because of my husband’s alcoholism My husband is a severe alcoholic, something he has been “dealing with” for 4+ years. He used to be the best spouse and then something happened when he lost a job he had been in […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Playing “never have I ever” at work Like many offices, my team has been hosting regular happy hours and social events in the afternoon on Zoom. Our boss supports this and usually we have a great time! Normally I’m not one to object to having […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is it OK to ask a coworker to swap pants with me? During college I enrolled in a program that we call Junior Enterprise, where the students have to, on their own, maintain a company. It is an awesome experience because we have the daily […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Did I get offered a job because I can bake? I recently applied for a job after not working for a few years due to looking after my children. As I started the interview, I could tell the interviewer was asking me questions very formulaically. […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I’m my boss’s favorite and it’s awkward I have been at my job for two years and have a difficult, narcissist boss. However, he and I usually get along pretty well and he definitely realizes I am a valuable asset to our growing office. I […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is it okay to breastfeed my baby on video calls? I had a baby in late March and will be returning to work next week, which means working from home in my case. My mother will be watching him while I work. One of the […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker demands my attention when I’m busy I work with a woman who is senior to me in title. There are several of us and we each work for different bosses, but we all have the same grandboss. She is awesome when it comes […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My bosses won’t give me deadlines I work in a small department and mostly for two people. Jill is my supervisor and Jack is her equal. Both of them hate giving deadlines, but both of them will send me follow-up emails or ask “Where are […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Who was in the wrong on this interview assignment? I recently had an experience with an interview assignment that left me confused about whether I was in the wrong or not. Last week I had a screening call with an HR person and then a […]