Ask A Manger

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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

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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

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Content warning for upsetting discussion of sexual abuse of children.

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

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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

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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,

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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