Ask a Manager

Remember the letter-writer asking whether there was anything they could do about their nightmare workload? Here’s the update. I wrote in about getting through a staffing crisis after both my coworkers quit right when one of my company’s two owners went on maternity leave. I wanted to make sure that my “this is awful but […]

Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. Random people use our lactation room for breaks and lunch (#3 at the link) I really appreciated seeing your response and those of the commenters. It helped me feel validated and affirmed for me that I was not being overly entitled or too demanding in my attempts […]

Remember the letter-writer whose employee retired, but then wouldn’t leave, even after she had been replaced? Here’s the update. To summarize what happened after my letter was published: 1. Boss reminded Fiona to work part-time only. 2. Fiona complied reluctantly, blaming Sally (her replacement) for this arrangement. 3. Fiona gradually increased her own working hours […]

Remember the letter-writer who was dealing with a problematic member of a board games group? The first update was here, and here’s the final installment. I am the letter writer who runs a board games group and used Alison’s excellent advice about communication to deal with a problematic member of the games group and the […]

Remember the letter-writer who lied to their boss and said they attended a meeting when they really hadn’t (#4 at the link)? Here’s the update. Thanks so much for publishing my question, and for your commenters’ advice along with your own. I do have an update on this, although ultimately the meeting didn’t matter as […]

Remember the letter-writer who managed a star performer who was being targeted by a coworker and no one else in the company’s leadership cared? Here’s the update. First, the best news! Tina earned a huge promotion to a different department a couple of weeks after you published my letter. She’s now an AVP for retail […]

Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. We got a complaint call about a new hire before she started Thanks so much for the reassurance that we’ve done our due diligence on the ED hire. Our board president and I had a Zoom call with the new ED and let them know of the […]

Remember the letter-writer whose boss kept asking them to do things that aggravated their community partners? Here’s the update. I wanted to wait to offer my update after I was settled in my new job. As you and the commenters predicted, this was a bad situation. Fergus was a bully, but one thing I realized […]

Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. My company is issuing new work-from-home standards because we should have the hang of it by now (previous updates:1, 2, 3) I have a happy update for you! I ended up needing to pause my job hunt as I ended up having surgery and being out on […]

Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. Is it reasonable for our office to go so fragrance-free that we have to change every product we use at home? On the basis of your advice, I did raise the issue with my immediate supervisor, who felt that the guidance was clearly advisory rather than mandatory, […]