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Posts by Ask a Manager

my manager and coworker are fighting, a recommendation I didn’t want, and more It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My manager and coworker are fighting and I’m stuck in the middle My manager, Rose, is not good at her job. She routinely forgets things, does a terrible job advocating for the department, plays favorites, and isn’t proactive at solving problems. My coworker, Donna, is […] The post my manager and coworker are fighting, a recommendation I didn’t want, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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weekend open thread – April 11-12, 2026 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. Book recommendation of the week: Dear Committee Members, by Julie Schumacher, which is told entirely through letters — mostly letters of recommendation, but also some emails to colleagues […] The post weekend open thread – April 11-12, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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open thread – April 10, 2026 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 […] The post open thread – April 10, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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I confessed my crush to my manager, carpenter treating colleague poorly, and more It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I confessed my crush to my manager I’m asking for advice about my manager. He’s a tier above me, and it’s frowned upon to hangout with different tiers outside of work hours, though it still happens. My manager told me he takes the rules very […] The post I confessed my crush to my manager, carpenter treating colleague poorly, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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how can I keep my boss as a mentor when she leaves? A reader writes: I’m doing an internship at a nonprofit. My current boss is getting a promotion and changing jobs. She was a great boss and I want to thank her and keep the mentorship going, but I’m not sure how to do so without being awkward. Any ideas? Tell her! Let her know that […] The post how can I keep my boss as a mentor when she leaves? appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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how do I interrupt a monologuing coworker during a meeting? A reader writes: I would love some feedback/advice for how to deal with a difficult colleague in a different department. We work with this department to handle legal mattes for our group, so we have to liaise with him occasionally. He is a terrible communicator. Every time we meet, he goes on long, irrelevant tangents […] The post how do I interrupt a monologuing coworker during a meeting? appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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it's back up now!

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it was! back up now

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Whichever way seems most logical for your situation is fine!

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people who don’t realize they definitely don’t want THIS job A reader writes: Can we have a thread on “people who do not want this job”? Notable entries for me include the person who applied to be our lobbyist who was extremely clear that he was going to use our contacts and access to lobby for legalization of psychedelics (dude, we are educators, that’s not […] The post people who don’t realize they definitely don’t want THIS job appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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should you fire someone you wouldn’t hire now, coworker wanted to step back and then changed his mind, and more It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should you fire someone you wouldn’t hire now? I recently attended an event where a speaker said that if a manager is evaluating to let go a lower-performing employee, they should ask themselves, “Would I hire them now?” And if the answer is no, then […] The post should you fire someone you wouldn’t hire now, coworker wanted to step back and then changed his mind, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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yeah, it doesn't really work well for freelancers, unfortunately -- just a different category of pay altogether!

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You could add it in the additional context field!

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my long-time employee pushed to become a contractor … and the relationship fell apart A reader writes: I run a small healthcare practice and recently had a difficult transition with a long-time employee that I’m trying to learn from. Sarah worked for me for about five years as our director of business development and marketing lead. During that time, I invested heavily in her development through training, tools, and […] The post my long-time employee pushed to become a contractor … and the relationship fell apart appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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It's the annual Ask a Manager salary survey! Every year, vastly fewer men fill this out than women. Men, please share your salary info (anonymously) so we have concrete salary comparisons to inform pay negotiations and fight the pay gap

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employment lawyers won’t talk to me until I’ve already been fired — how do I find a legal consult now? A reader writes: I’m a long-time reader. I often see you advise writers to get advice from an attorney. You even once covered how to tell your current employer you are bringing in an attorney. I’m seeking advice on an ADA matter, but I’ve run into a weird issue. It seems these days, most firms […] The post employment lawyers won’t talk to me until I’ve already been fired — how do I find a legal consult now? appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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should I contact my old boss, who’s in prison for a terrible crime? A reader writes: I spent most of my 20s managing a business, eventually becoming more or less second-in-command. The owner was an older guy in his 60s. He was a bit of a grumpy guy and more conservative than me in many ways, but we overall got along very well. I found that he was […] The post should I contact my old boss, who’s in prison for a terrible crime? appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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boss blames my employee for getting stuck in the Middle East during the war, I’m about to get promoted but I want to quit, and more It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss blames my employee for getting stuck in the Middle East during the war My employee used six weeks of vacation to go back to his home country with his pregnant wife and toddler. It was the first time he’d be with his parents […] The post boss blames my employee for getting stuck in the Middle East during the war, I’m about to get promoted but I want to quit, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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my boss asked the life expectancy of my terminally ill father A reader writes: My father is terminally ill with cancer. I was clear when I disclosed his diagnosis to my boss that I did not want to tell anyone else at work and didn’t want to talk about it. I try to maintain a surface-level friendly relationship with my boss, but I have observed him […] The post my boss asked the life expectancy of my terminally ill father appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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our breast-feeding employee is spending too much time pumping A reader writes: We recently hired a nursing mother with the understanding that she would be taking time to pump three times a day for about a year. She is being paid for the time used to pump. She was provided a comfortable private space in which to do so and she logs the time […] The post our breast-feeding employee is spending too much time pumping appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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how much money do you make? It’s hard to get real-world information about what jobs pay. Online salary websites are often inaccurate, and people can get weird when you ask them directly. So to take some of the mystery out of salaries, it’s the annual Ask a Manager salary survey. Fill out the form below to anonymously share your salary and […] The post how much money do you make? appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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I work with my spouse, losing sick days I was given when hired, and more It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I work with my spouse, and it’s affecting me at work My spouse (“Sam”) and I work in an agency that is a smaller arm of a large national corporation. Sam began working here five years ago, made close friendships with others in the program, […] The post I work with my spouse, losing sick days I was given when hired, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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am I supposed to cover 100% of a coworker’s job when they’re out? A reader writes: I’d like advice for keeping your sanity when acting as someone’s PTO back-up. I had a former coworker who I was paired with for many of our responsibilities. When she took time off, she would set her Teams message to “do not disturb” for two days prior to going on PTO and […] The post am I supposed to cover 100% of a coworker’s job when they’re out? appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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my team wants to work from home, but some of them are terrible at it A reader writes: I oversee a medium-sized department who are all required to be on-site, although we were remote for quite a while following the pandemic. My staff is pushing very hard for hybrid working, and while I am open to it, I have concerns. In the past, when that the majority of our team […] The post my team wants to work from home, but some of them are terrible at it appeared first on Ask a Manager.
6 days ago 11 1 0 0
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the office with the cardboard coworker, part 2 Remember the letter last month from the person asking how their office could hire people who wouldn’t be uncomfortable with their culture and quickly leave? Among other things, they mentioned a cardboard cut-out coworker (Robert), a celebrity death betting pool where winners would get an extra day off, and a lunchtime discussion of whether aliens […] The post the office with the cardboard coworker, part 2 appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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my boss isn’t doing her job, employee is freezing us out since they didn’t get promoted, and more It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss isn’t doing her job and things are falling apart I work for an accounting firm where I am the only full-time employee to my boss, Katie. She inherited the business from her father and is within a few years of retiring. I am […] The post my boss isn’t doing her job, employee is freezing us out since they didn’t get promoted, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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weekend open thread – April 4-5, 2026 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. Book recommendation of the week: Whidbey, by T Kira Madden. Three women connected to one man navigate the aftermath of sexual assault. (Amazon, Bookshop) * I earn a commission […] The post weekend open thread – April 4-5, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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open thread – April 3, 2026 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 […] The post open thread – April 3, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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oh my goodness. i notice he hasn't signed it

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should my boss message me before calling on Teams, how to accommodate an autistic meltdown, and more It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Should my boss message me before calling on Teams? My boss recently called me very early in the morning (7:50 am) through Teams without notice. I was working already; I got online at 7 (my work hours are 7 am – 4 pm) but it […] The post should my boss message me before calling on Teams, how to accommodate an autistic meltdown, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
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