Performance Tracking and Feedback

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. How can I manage digs about remote working and return-to-office? I’m a woman in my 60s, and before Covid I was doing a long, multi‑leg commute five days a week. Working primarily from home has dramatically improved my health, energy, productivity, and ability to manage everyday life. However, now my workplace is requiring us to be in the office more, and I’m not sure how to handle a few friends who make unsupportive comments about it. Most of my friends understand and are considerate, but a small group repeatedly dismisses my concerns. They tell me to retire, “suck it up,” or insist that office work is better for coll…

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 other readers. * If you submitted a question to me recently, please do not repost it here, as it may be in my queue to answer. The post open thread – March 27, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

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: Lake Effect, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. When two neighbors have an affair, the effects reverberate on their families, and particularly their children, for years. (Amazon, Bookshop) * I earn a commission if you use those links. The post weekend open thread – March 28-29, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss is getting rid of everyone’s favorite part of my program for no good reason I manage an educational program that is part of a larger organization. My boss is medium crappy. He’s not abusive, but not a good manager or leader. Thankfully he doesn’t interact with my program more than occasionally. Right now, he is making me get rid of the most popular part of my program. For the sake of anonymity, let’s say it’s a small bouncy house (it’s not). Adults and kids love the bouncy house. People comment on it walking by. It takes minimal money to run. Admittedly it requires some daily labor, but I’m on site anyway and …

A reader writes: About three years ago, we had a new manager start at my job, Fergus. Fergus is a very nice guy, but has never been a manager before. He delegates some of his core tasks to us, and seems to struggle with things like project management, clear and proactive communication, and HR-type stuff. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when he has a tricky situation, he will come to me and ask my opinion on how to handle it, and I coach him on what to say and what actions should come next. (Before I started here eight years ago, I’d been a department head at my previous company. That place was toxic as hell, and I happily took a step down out of management to get out…

If you could earn thousands of dollars more a year just by having a two-minute conversation, would you do it? That might sound like an easy “yes,” but for a lot of people, the answer, surprisingly, is no. At Slate today, I wrote about people who literally never negotiate their salary when they’re offered a job or haven’t had a raise in a long time. Instead, they accept the first number an employer offers, because they’re worried that they’ll look greedy or mercenary — even though the whole reason we work is for pay! You can read it here. The post there’s only one way to get more money at work, and some people won’t do it appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full …

A reader writes: This happened a few years ago, but I would appreciate knowing how I should have handled it in the moment as all my supervisor training was patchy and on the fly and definitely had gaps. We had an internal promotion opportunity and two candidates: Abby and Bella. Both were in the same support role where Bella had more experience, but Abby had natural aptitude. The new position was much more technical in nature, needing a lot of spreadsheet and database work, instead of document formatting and people skills. We were all surprised when Bella applied, as none of this role played to her strengths or interests, but we interviewed both. She could have been tak…

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can I subscribe to my coworker’s OnlyFans? One of my coworkers has an OnlyFans. I found out because she was talking about it to a small group of us at lunch, so she’s not going out of her way to hide it at work, although I doubt she would want everyone to know, especially our managers. I looked it up out of curiosity and its nudes and the type of photos and videos you’d expect from an OF. My brother said I shouldn’t subscribe because she’s a coworker, but she told us about it. It’s not like I went searching on my own and found it, so I think it’s no big deal if I do. What say you? You should not subscribe to your cowo…

A reader writes: I own a small (but growing) tax service. Recently I hired Cara, who moved to the area and was able to step right in, and during our busy season to boot. Much of the year, we work 4-10 hour days with Fridays off. During tax season, we are busier and work 5-10 hour days. On Fridays, I buy the staff lunch. Because of dietary restrictions, allergies, etc., I let them order from whatever place they want, within reason on price, and pay for delivery or they turn in their receipt if they leave the building. Cara does not eat lunch, maybe a can of Diet Coke but nothing else. I have asked multiple times if she would like to order and stressed that it is okay, t…

A reader writes: I am a high-performing, respected, well-liked senior contributor on a 25-person team at a global tech company. Since Covid, we have all been successfully working remotely. Recently, the company has enacted a “hybrid work” policy, which for me means I am supposed to go to the office three times a week. Because our team and those we work closely with are scattered around the globe, this means we are often going to the office to sit on virtual calls. Our team also has 12 contract workers who are not required to be in the office due to the terms of their contracts and desk availability. Additionally, the director of our team, Scott, is considered a teleworke…

A reader writes: The company I currently work for was perfect for me when I started in the corporate world — low-key, the owner is very hands-off, and my bosses let me work without micromanaging. But recently we’ve become a lot bigger while still keeping that “small business” mindset. Our profit has more than quadrupled in the past seven years, but the number of employees in headquarters has not increased in response (we’re still fewer than 20 people). A daily catch phrase is, “It’ll slow down eventually … right?” It’s wearing me down to a point where I need to find another job, and I have started to activity job search. My concern is, I honestly do the job of three pe…

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker was upset that she wasn’t told to go home early after getting bad news I have a coworker who recently found out she’d likely have to put her dog to sleep. She was crying at work, understandably so, and it was quite upsetting to see. I went through something similar about three years ago and losing a pet is devastating. For the rest of the day after finding out, she was berating management for not offering her the opportunity to go home early. The thing is, it’s common knowledge at my job that if you need, or even just want, to go home early, management always says yes. All she had to do was ask but, but sh…

A reader writes: My manager, Athena, has pretty poor soft skills and often comes across as aggressive, interrogating, micromanaging, and dismissive. This happens both in person and over email and instant message. In writing, her spelling and grammar are also inconsistent and her phrasing is often curt or abrupt. Lately, my coworkers and I have noticed a huge improvement in some of her emails and chat messages. Emails and messages that previously would have been curt and aggressive are now warmer and softer, with perfect spelling and grammar. It’s theoretically the exact change her direct reports have all been desperately wishing for, except that her in-person communicat…

A reader writes: A few years ago, I appeared in a series of videos about “how I got my job.” My job is pretty niche and there really isn’t a ton of institutional information about it yet, so it got a lot of attention. Since then, I’ve consistently gotten two to three LinkedIn messages per week from people looking to break into my field. About 20% are just saying that they found the videos inspiring (which I love to hear!), 30% are just asking to connect, and the remainder are asking for more career advice — but in a very general way. Think “I’d love to get your thoughts on how to break into the industry/get hired at your company.” I’m of two minds: I really want to hel…

Recently we heard from people who work at events — their horror stories and wins — and here are 10 of my favorite stories they shared. 1. The applause I was part of a round of lightning talks. The event organizers told us we had five minutes apiece, and for enforcement they told the audience to applaud violators off the stage. I was done in 90-odd seconds because I’m cool like that. “Blowhard Bob” the CISO, however, adored the sound of his own voice and did not believe time limits applied to him. He was barely halfway through his slides when the applause started. He tried to talk over it, being Blowhard Bob, but the audience only raised the volume of clapping until he…

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How do I change a company’s culture as the owner’s son? My father owns a production company with roughly 200 employees, multiple factories, and a strong international client base. We are based in a country with limited workers’ rights, but are trying to adopt American labor standards to attract higher-profile clients. I work here part-time with largely undefined responsibilities, but usually end up handling emails, editing product photos, interviewing potential interns, and arranging internal events. My position alone raises red flags, as I make more than my work would merit any other employee. My father has asked for…

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I am looking for advice on managing ADHD at work, but the caveat is that I’m still nursing a baby, so most medication is off the table and when I do stop (hopefully soon – he’s over a year old and I’m actively working on weaning), I know it may take me months to find something that works. So I am really looking for non-medication strategies in the meantime. I recently got diagnosed with ADHD (in my late thirties) after having my second child and going off the executive functioning cliff deep end (thanks, hormones!). I’ve always had symptoms and have nearly always managed okay enough, but after coming back to…

Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. My boss made me verify that I’m really exercising (first update) A happy update. Today we had our spring quarterly all-staff meeting, where HR announced the return of the flex-time exercise program. Two changes were made to the program: 1. Structure around verification requests, include who may request verification and why. (Only your direct manager may initiate the request, which must be routed through human resources.) 2. A “exercise program log” is now the only document that we must produce for a verification request. This is a spreadsheet provided by HR that we can complete electronically or by hand, and simply i…

A reader writes: I’m a relatively new manager, and I’m still finding my footing when it comes to shifting from being an individual contributor to overseeing a team. One thing I struggle with is knowing when it’s appropriate to delegate tasks to my team versus doing them myself. I manage a communications team of four at a university. When my manager assigns me work — things like drafting communications on a specific topic or reviewing copy from another department — I’m never sure whether she expects me to do it personally or for me to assign it to someone on my team. I feel like she is expecting me to delegate them: these tasks fall squarely within my team’s remit, and I…

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 bothered me and got me a little anxious. I let it go as a missed call and wrote to her immediately after saying that I was ready now. Was that okay or is it okay for her to call without messaging me first to ask if I’m available? Or just because she’s the boss is accepted? The fact that was so early caught me by surprise, because she’s usually online later, but I think it would have bothered me reg…

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 other readers. * If you submitted a question to me recently, please do not repost it here, as it may be in my queue to answer. The post open thread – April 3, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

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 if you use those links. The post weekend open thread – April 4-5, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

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 looking to leave this job this year but until I am able to, I am having trouble dealing with a lot of issues she is having. We are in the middle of tax season and she is falling so far behind on processing tax returns. Many clients have called to ask the status of their return, and I have had to stretch the truth of their status so they do not get upset at me. I always inform my boss when t…

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 can have orgasms. The letter-writer provided more info after response, and agreed I could share it and respond here: Thank you for responding to my letter. After reading the response and comments, I realized that the alien orgasm example drew more attention than I expected, even though I had meant it as one particularly bad exam…

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 worked from home, some of the staff really excelled at it, while others were frankly awful. Literally, the staff who were excellent outperformed the worst by a factor of ten to one. Unfortunately, the lower performers didn’t always recognize that they were not being productive. The culture in my organization is very much one of equity, and I am trying to balance that with the k…