Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. VP says people working from home haven’t developed as much My company has announced a return to office plan for January. After the announcement last month, my VP held a meeting with our group, during which he said, “People who have been working in the […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Our trainer wants us to “get emotional” with each other I work in education. Specifically, in an urban high school with a high proportion of disadvantaged students with trauma and/or learning disabilities. Work and professional development events can get kind of touchy-feely (emotionally) because so […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can my employer require me to wear a bra? I am a woman with large breasts. When I go to work, I wear a shirt/blouse and pants that are not transparent and don’t show excessive skin so private body parts are covered up. About a […]

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. My boss is refusing to talk to me during my notice period I’ve been at my company now for over five years. It’s a very small company (less than10 employees), and my role is second-in-command to the company’s founder. Late last year, I accepted a […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Our board member’s husband should not attend an event for children I work for an advocacy nonprofit and we are in a delicate situation with the spouse of a board member and organization co-founder, Beth. A few months ago, Beth’s husband, Tom, was arrested on […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I’m being used as free doggy daycare I feel I may be being used as free doggy daycare. I like dogs, and don’t mind walking an office dog occasionally. But a lawyer who no longer works at my office sometimes drops her dog off without […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My employees constantly interrupt me and I can’t focus I recognize that my employees generally want to do a good job and not waste a lot of time. For them, it is easier to come and ask me something that may take five minutes, instead […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My company says only moms can work at home My company has been back in the office full-time, five days a week since September 2020 (when it was deeply unsafe). Our jobs can be 100% completed from home, which we did from March-September. Productivity was […]

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Overreaching employee wellness trainings I work in a public facing setting. Today was the first of 12 monthly training sessions focusing on employee wellness. I know our administration means well, but today’s topic and subsequent sessions I regard as triggering, cringey and irrelevant to my […]

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is it rude to leave a coworker waiting for the elevator? I recently got into a sort of mini-dispute with a friend from work about manners, and I’m wondering if you could weigh in. I work on the second floor of my building. It’s a […]