Ask a Manager

Here are updates from four people who had their letters answered here in the past. 1. How do I know when it’s time to give up on a promotion? Thank you so much for answering my question. Your response and the feedback in the comments was really helpful, and is actually pretty close to what […]

Remember the letter-writer who was promoted over the person who hired her, found out he’d been promised that promotion himself and was afraid he’d quit over it? Here’s the update. Thank you so much for answering my question! I have an update that is pretty much what you expected… Tom gave notice this week. He […]

Remember the pregnant letter-writer last year who shared an office with a temp who smoked — and the smell was making her sick? Here’s the update. The temp was spoken to again by HR not too long after my letter was posted, after she brought in an essential oil diffuser (!). She was told she […]

Here are four updates from people who had their letters answered here in the past. 1. Office parties where the destination/activity is a secret The party came and went last Thursday, so I can now update you on how it went. I was glad to read that I wasn’t alone in being annoyed by not […]

Remember last week’s letter from the PhD student whose colleague invited herself to move in, tried to take credit for her work, and was complaining to their department head that the letter-writer wasn’t collaborating enough with her? Here’s the update. Here’s the update. Since the semester has just started and the students are back, things […]

Here are three updates from people whose letters I answered here previously. 1. My coworkers are joking that I’m pregnant when I’m not Firstly, thank you so much for publishing my letter and for your thoughtful response. I was intensely frustrated when I wrote to you and worried I was overreacting, but your response along […]

Remember the letter-writer whose boss got weirdly aggressive about winning a game and then kept taunting her about it — waving her plastic medal around and insisting our letter-writer was angry about losing? Here’s the update. A few weeks after your advice and kind words from the readers, the medal showing continued but generally I […]

Remember the letter-writer earlier this year who had fallen way behind on her work (due to a lot of factors outside her control, like bad management decisions and a husband with cancer) and was afraid to tell her boss? Her first update was here, but here’s a new one. Right after I sent off my first […]

Remember last week’s letter from a teacher whose boss wanted to go over her personal budget to spot places she could cut in order to buy classroom supplies with her own money? Here’s the update. I just left a faculty meeting and thought I’d give an update with some discoveries made. Earlier, when my boss […]

Here are four updates from people who had their letters answered here in the past. 1. I have no motivation to do my job I didn’t see the email from Alison saying she was answering my question because I’ve been so busy at MY NEW JOB and generally being social/seeing my friends and not fretting […]