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This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts.

• all of my 2023 and 2024 book recommendations
• all of my book recommendations from 2015-2022
• the cats of AAM

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are five updates from past letter-writers. 1. My coworker keeps complaining he didn’t get promoted — but it’s his own fault I figured I would give an […]

• coworker keeps complaining he didn’t get promoted, my boss increased our work sevenfold, and more
• I'm starting to hate my customers, employee wants a month off in our busy period, and more
• my coworker won't stop complaining about work

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to […]

• my new hire built a blanket nest in her office
• I walked in on the company owner having sex in his office
• need help finding a job? start here

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s the final round of the Worst Boss of 2024 voting. We’ve narrowed the pool from eight nominees to two (see results from the first round and second round). The two finalists go head-to-head below. A Frightful Face-Off our boss is a jerk about bereavement leave for miscarriages my mother-in-law manages my sister-in-law and covers […]

• the worst boss of 2023 is…
• the worst boss of 2022 is…
• the worst boss of 2020 is...

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. My boss sits at my desk and goes through my things I just started a new receptionist job with a very small company. This is my first time in any kind of […]

• customers are ignoring our male receptionist
• is working from an armchair hurting my credibility?
• someone is violating our bathrooms, coworker takes over my desk when I'm out, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. Birthday celebrations are zooming out of control (#3 at the link) The birthday celebrations continued for the next few birthdays […]

• is "thanks in advance" rude, interviewer kept saying he liked my smile, and more
• the Leap Day employee finally gets her birthday off this year
• company will offer paternity leave but not maternity leave, intern makes nearly as much as me, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are four updates from past letter-writers. There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day. 1. Work doesn’t interest me […]

• I didn't even get interviewed for an internal role I was told I was a strong candidate for
• how do I stop myself from getting overly attached in the application process?
• updates: un-retiring, the paranoid employee, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day. Remember the letter-writer who was stably employed but internally screaming (#2 at […]

• I lied to my interviewer about being employed
• employee writes overly casual emails, employer told me to remove TikTok from my phone, and more
• my boss is abusive and blames it on PMDD

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

All year long, I’ve made a weekly book recommendation when kicking off the weekend open thread. These aren’t work-related books; they’re just books I like, mostly fiction. Sometimes they’re books that I’m in the middle of reading, and other times they’re just long-standing favorites. Here’s the complete list of what I’ve recommended this year (maybe […]

• all of my 2018 book recommendations
• all of my 2017 book recommendations
• all of my 2022 book recommendations

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: I manage a team that has moved to remote work. We are now holding all of our meetings through virtual interfaces. Recently I have noticed one of our employees vaping during our meetings with me and during all-staff meetings. Do you think this is appropriate or should I say something? I answer […]

• my terrible intern is a VIP's son and can't be fired
• my employee is patronizing when I correct his work
• requiring a doctor's release after medical leave, vaping on video calls, and more

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

In the spirit of the season, let’s hear about workplace gift debacles. Did a game of Secret Santa end in tears? Did a coworker throw a tantrum when she didn’t win a raffle? Did your boss try to give you Hanukkah balls? Were you given a jar of mold as a gift? These are all real […]

• coworker sent me his racy photography page, do I need to give my coworkers gifts, and more
• my office Secret Santa gave me a gift from a pornstar
• a resigning employee gave me the best gift

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. I have regular happy hours with only one of my staff members I manage a specialty niche team of four within a larger department that otherwise doesn’t have specific teams. My direct […]

• an employee 2 levels down refused to meet with me
• how much should I tell a team whose boss is on a performance plan?
• my team doesn't ask managers to hang out with them

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. My boss keeps bringing her sick child to work I tried to talk to my boss about her bringing her […]

• my boss keeps bringing her sick child to work
• I think my coworker is lying about having a sick kid
• my boss drops his sick kid off in our small office

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

Several years ago, a reader shared with us this epic email that was sent by their company’s boss after a holiday party gone terribly awry, and as we enter the holiday season we remember its glory. “This happened about ten years ago, but the email I received from our boss was so epic I preserved […]

• my coworker yells and is disruptive -- and we're afraid to confront her
• my employees are out-of-control and their relatives are confronting me at home
• coworker confronted me when I mistakenly assumed another coworker was his wife

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day. Remember the letter-writer whose coworker was working alone overnight despite explicit instructions […]

• my coworker is working alone overnight despite explicit instructions not to
• how do I interrupt a senior colleague's monologue during my meeting?
• my coworker thinks she trained me more thoroughly than she did

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day. Remember the letter-writer whose patronizing coworker kept interrupting meetings to explain basic […]

• my patronizing coworker interrupts meetings to explain basic things to me
• my employee is patronizing when I correct his work
• I'm sick of being the office printer lady

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: I manage an employee who’s in his first year out of college. He’s a great employee and has impressed people at all levels of the company and has received recognition for his good work. But there is one thing recently that has been driving me up a wall and I can’t tell […]

• my boss keeps pretending to punch me in the groin, my reference got a weird phone call, and more
• mistakes at work: a round-up
• is it safe to share at my company's "courageous conversation" on menopause?

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. There will be more posts than usual this week, so keep checking back throughout the day. Remember the letter-writer whose anti-bullying consultant accused her of bullying him? Here’s […]

• our anti-bullying consultant accused me of bullying him
• my coworker says I bullied her ... should I tell her boss she needs more of a backbone?
• how to answer "how are you?" when you're grieving

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

It’s round 2 of the Worst Boss of 2024 voting. In the first round we narrowed the pool from eight nominees to four (see results here). The four winners from round one are paired off in two match-ups below, as we move closer to declaring a winner. 1. Repulsive Rivals my mother-in-law manages my sister-in-law […]

• the worst boss of 2023 is…
• the worst boss of 2022 is…
• the worst boss of 2020 is...

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.

I’m on vacation. Here are some past letters that I’m making new again, rather than leaving them to wilt in the archives. 1. I sent an adversarial email — and replied-all I’ve seen plenty of articles about how to respond to someone who is unprofessional, but what do I do if I was the one […]

• I replied-all with an adversarial email, my boss and I dress alike, and more
• a recruiter used my dad's death to try to get me to accept a job offer
• I'm furious that my boss refused to interview my partner