Performance Tracking and Feedback

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Company said I could move after my husband took a new job and now they won’t let me I work for a large corporation with a Remote First policy, and compensation is location-based with three tiers. While their policy says permanent relocations must be approved, there is no employee-facing material that says relocation is not allowed up a tier. For example, there is nothing saying someone in a lower cost of living city (Tier 3) who needs to move to a high cost of living city (Tier 1) will not be approved. My husband applied for and got a job in a Tier 1 location. He flew out to start the job (his start date was four days…

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. Employees don’t participate in our community outreach activities I’m a part of the “good will” committee for my office location, as well as the large committee for the whole company. Lately I’ve been feeling a struggle of getting other employees actively involved in our initiatives. Good will is a named tenet of our company, and we have a pretty healthy annual budget to go along with it. We try and have one or two initiatives per month that have varying degrees of involvement. Sometimes it involved volunteering onsite (during work hours or directly after). Sometimes it’s asking for donations (gently used books or unex…

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: Famesick, by Lena Dunham. The incredibly talented creator of HBO’s Girls writes about how fame devoured her as she was increasingly losing a battle with chronic illness. I love Girls (as well as her amazing adaptation of Catherine Called Birdy) and, while I haven’t always rooted for Lena’s choices, this book blew me away and I’m glad I read it. (Amazon, Bookshop) * I earn a commission if you use those links. The post weekend open thread – May 2-3, 2026 appeared first on Ask…

A reader writes: I work in higher education, in an area that is particularly under political fire. Due to anti-DEIA legislation, there have been people who have been targeted and fired due to anti-diversity advocacy. Some of the incidents have involved video that had been taken clandestinely and then edited for maximum damage. This has led to people losing their jobs and created a space of paranoia. I work in an environment that requires collaboration and collegiality in order to complete work. During a casual meeting with a friendly colleague, they mentioned that another colleague showed them a piece of tech that they were now carrying that allowed them to record the p…

A reader writes: At my company, we have an instant messaging system. A lot of people will send an initial message that says nothing but “you free?” or “hi.” In addition to making me irrationally annoyed (just tell me what you want already!), I have no idea what the appropriate response is. Is it “yes,” “hello Bob,” “what’s up”? All of these seem terrible. What is appropriate IM protocol? I like to start with, “Do you have time for a question about X?” Or just the question if it’s short because that’s what I’d prefer to receive, but maybe people find this rude? I am aware that I am overthinking this but I also can’t stop overthinking it. I answer this question over at …

A reader writes: I saw an ad for a job at a company that says they ask candidates to spend 3-5 paid days working with them before they’ll make an offer. Their ads reads, “Spending 3-5 days in person working together on a real problem is so much higher signal than interviews could ever produce.” They also say that almost every candidate they hire says they love the experience and wouldn’t want to take a job without a work trial in the future because they learned so much about how the organization operates. Curious for your thoughts on this. It seems like a great way to screen for desperate folks without current jobs? Or is it just obvious rage-bait? Well, on one hand, o…

A reader writes: I work for a medium-sized, family-owned business. We all work from home. Some of us live in the same metro area but we’re not friends. We have an office culture of sensitivity and compassion when someone is going through a difficult time. For the last few months, every staff meeting somehow functions as an open mike for stories about horrific things that have befallen us, going back to the 1970s. I can’t give examples without needing a wall of trigger warnings. All are totally unrelated to the work we are there to discuss. We often end up with two or three people needing breaks to gather themselves, or being unable to pay attention when we do get to wor…

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How can we convince employees to care about showing up to work? Part of my job involves working with seasonal employees who are hired in the summer to work as 1-1 aides to kids with disabilities. We have a persistent problem of staff suddenly calling out or announcing late arrivals/early departures. In some ways I’m sympathetic — this is just their summer gig, we aren’t able to pay the rate I wish we could, and life can be complicated. In other ways, I’m not. The impact of suddenly disappearing on these kids seems so self-evident I feel ridiculous explaining it. The shifts are 9-3, so there is time at the end of the d…

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go… 1. I’m drowning at work because of a family situation — how do I talk about it? My father passed away this past summer from pancreatic cancer. The complications of his illness had slowly escalated throughout the year prior, and I needed to take increasing amounts of time off work to fly to my parents’ home across the country. I work for an extremely small nonprofit and am in a director role. My work is project-based and I report to the board. No one keeps track of how much I’m working and when; they only care if the projects are done on time and well. The summer is our “off” season, and it’s when I usually get the bulk …

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Endless interviews with no hiring decision Twice now, at different companies, for different roles, I have gone through five rounds of interviews. This includes panels, work assessments, presentations, in-office visits, the whole works. Then, after hours of work and weeks of process, the company calls back and says, “We’re still very interested in your candidacy, but we’re not ready to make a decision yet. We’ll get back to you in a few months.” I understand that companies advertise for jobs and circumstances change. I have been a hiring manager before — I know how much nonsense goes on behind the scenes! But is this a…

Two questions, similar answers. The first one: I am hiring my first ever direct report, and I live in a salary transparency state. My HR department notified me that, legally, you have to post the entire salary range possible for the role and you cannot limit it to your preferred hiring range. This puts me, as the hiring manager, in a tough spot because candidates see a range of $75,000-110,000 and immediately believe one of two things: 1) They can start at $110,000 if they meet the basic requirements or 2) The role automatically starts at $75,000 and I’m a horrible hiring manager for pricing it so low (yes, I got that comment on the job posting) The reality is, the $7…

Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. Should I tell my boss about an employee who’s claiming overtime when she’s not working? (#4 at the link) Your response and the comments gave me the courage to bring this up again with the manager. I used the morale and budget angles (my director is currently keeping an eye on the budget due to the current instability) and it seems to have worked. Manager actually agreed they could no longer sanction (turn a blind eye to) 5+ hours of overtime a week. It is fine if the employee wants to come in early and hang out, but they need to clock in when the work begins. Thank you for giving me the confidence and courage to push …

A reader writes: My position was recently eliminated. Now former colleagues are texting me to ask questions. I don’t feel obligated to answer. What are some response options when I want to politely say no? You’re not obligated to answer questions when you’re no longer working there. That said, it’s also true that if you want to keep good relationships with these colleagues and might need them for job leads or references (informal or otherwise) in the future, you might not want to take a completely black-and-white line on this. You definitely shouldn’t do work of any real substance when you’re no longer getting paid — like a detailed update on the history of a project …

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 – May 1, 2026 appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

A reader writes: As part of a leadership development opportunity offered by my organization, I’ve been given the chance to participate in a 360 review process. For context, I report to a member of the C-suite and have been angling for a promotion (which would entail a new role basically being created for me), and the 360 was brought up by my supervisor and our CEO as a growth investment. I consider myself to be very self aware, so most of the things that came up in the process are not surprising to me, but I’m also very sensitive to criticism, especially from higher-ups. I am very professional and am able to calmly hear the feedback when it’s given, but with this 360, I…

A reader writes: I know you say that it’s not a big deal for candidates to leave short jobs off their resumes. But I have an applicant who left a short job off their employment application and changed the dates on their prior position to hide that time gap. (For example, on the application, their resume lists their present job as starting in April while their past job ended in April. But the past job actually ended in January, and there was a different job they omitted that was from January through April.) I’m asking the applicant for an explanation, but I’m very uneasy about the judgment that the applicant showed in misrepresenting their employment dates regardless. Sh…

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I don’t want employees to give me gifts I’ve just switched employers and am now heading up a company’s legal division. I value your advice to gift down, not up, but do you have any scripts on how and when to communicate this expectation to subordinates? I don’t want to sound like, “Listen up, peons! Spare me your humble offerings.” Nor do I want to say it so early that it feels like I was expecting them to shower gifts at my feet if I didn’t say something. And if someone ignores me and gives me a gift anyway, how should I handle that? I’m working remotely for a region of the country that’s very different culturally fro…

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I have been with my current employer for 20 years. We have been fully remote since 2020, though we do have in person meetings roughly once a quarter. And I travel for business frequently so also often spend times with colleagues this way. I have very close friends at my current role, but that is a reflection of my long-term tenure and the old days of lunch in the cafeteria and chats by the photocopier. I’m starting a senior manager level position next month at a new company and I’m looking for advice on how to develop relationships with coworkers. I will lead high profile cross-functional projects and will n…

Years ago, I used to do occasional round-ups of things I like, just for fun. I haven’t done one in years, so here’s a new one. 1. Alyssa Limperis’s mom videos. Hilarious. 2. Riki Lindhome’s take on So Long Farewell from the Sound of Music. Also hilarious. 3. Catalog Choice. They unsubscribe you from catalogs and I love them. 4. This chicken and her kittens. 5. The charity Undue Medical Debt, which buys and erases the medical debt of people who can’t afford to pay it. 6. This illustrator. 7. The Bloggess’s mortification series. 8. Alley Cat Allies, which is an excellent charity helping cats without homes. Feel free to share your own random sources of joy in the co…

A reader writes: I work in a museum for … let’s say antique Scandinavian teapots (made up to keep me anonymous). The museum was founded about 20 years ago by a married couple who are major collectors. In the past few years, the couple has decided to make our museum their lasting legacy. They have set up a generous endowment and stepped aside so a fiduciary board can take the reins. Our staff has doubled and now includes seasoned professionals with nonprofit and museum experience. Amazing, right? Less amazing is Fergus, the founders’ right-hand man of 30 years. Fergus is a world-class expert on Scandinavian teapots. The founders trust him implicitly with their prized (an…

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Coworker threatened me and HR isn’t doing anything Last fall, a coworker made an inappropriate comment toward me (called me a “ho” out of nowhere) and also made a statement about using a gun on me. She made these comments in front of several coworkers, who reported the incident. Around that same time, it had been announced that she was receiving a promotion, which added to the confusion. The following week, we were told this employee was no longer with the team. About a month ago, we learned she had actually been on leave and has now been reassigned to a different team within the organization. While I have not had di…

A reader writes: I recently moved across the country to be closer to my partner’s extended family. We went from a large metropolitan area to a smaller town, where I transitioned to a new industry. My new job entails answering the phone, which, frankly, is something I have always excelled at. However, for whatever reason (geography, industry, or the simple increased prevalence of AI), I’m now confronted several times each day by people who assume that I am AI. Their reactions range from treating me as non-human (gruffly yelling, “GET AN ESTIMATE!”) to questioning my humanity (“Are you real?”) to hanging up and calling back several times before asking to speak to a “real h…

A reader writes: I’m about six months into a job and I’m having an issue with someone on my team, Sally. She is very lovely, kind, and a team player. Our roles are similar, except I am part-time and she is full-time. She’s been in this job for almost 20 years and I think she thinks I’m much more green than I am. While I’m new to my role, I’ve done very similar, and often much more complex, versions of this role at other organizations. Our team’s projects are similar and we help each other as needed, but at the end of the day they are fully owned by each team member. Sally seems to think there is one right way to do things and only she knows what it is. She seems incapab…

A reader writes: My coworker, Chuckie, has concerns. A lot of concerns. They aren’t necessarily unfounded — I would say about 50% are completely justified, 40% have some foundation but are overblown, either mildly or significantly, and 10% are ridiculous — but he tends to bring them up with the attitude of a beleaguered martyr airing grievances rather than a professional colleague addressing work issues. He often talks at length about his own stress and frustration and implies (or even outright states) that no one outside of our department cares about the work we do or the people we serve. My main problem is that sometimes Chuckie raises issues in a way that implies he …

A reader writes: I own a small takeout restaurant. We have four employees, plus me and my business partner. It’s hard to hire and when we find employees who show up every day and meet our expectations, we try to keep them happy. We’ve had one employee for about 2.5 years now. Slowly over time, she has started taking more and more liberties in regards to food and ignoring our requests for her to do a task. I’ve had conversations with her three times, and things always get better for a period and then she starts to slip again. Recently, she’s started taking more than the $10 meal we provide per day (covers a sandwich, side, and drink). She’ll take an extra drink once or …