Use this page to scan recent stories from Askamanager, see the themes that keep appearing, and jump into complete story briefs.
Two letters on a similar theme. The first: I’ll be interviewing for new jobs soon, and at this point in my career, flexibility is more important to me than money. For the types of roles I’m interviewing for, it seems like it may be very company/manager-dependent as to whether or not flexibility is there. The […] The po
A reader writes: I work at a public university and wasn’t actively looking for another position. Another department recently reached out to me about a management position that aligns well with my long-term career goals and encouraged me to apply. I decided it was worth exploring, and I’ve now been invited to interview.
Here are four updates from past letter-writers. 1. Should I give professionalism feedback to a “nepo baby” summer intern? Things with Reece last summer got worse, not better. I’d thought he was just rude, but it turns out he was also lazy and incompetent. Any time his project lead would ask him to do anything, […] The
A look back at what we were talking about around this time in previous years: One year ago… my coworker mansplains via ChatGPT HR says our horrible coworker is “unfireable” how long does someone’s agreement to be a reference last? Two years ago… coworker sleeps too deeply when she’s on-call employer made us take fake [
Let’s discuss tantrums at work. To start us off, here are some stories that have been shared here in the past: • “Paraprofessional quit her job (totally normal!) but then kept coming in just to do the parts of the job she liked, and had a MELTDOWN when she was told to stop because she […] The post let’s discuss coworke
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My employee is unreliable and bad at her job — but she’s temporary My employee, “Amara,” has been in the company for several months in a two-year secondment. There’s been a lot of relatively small issues over this period, but they have culminated in a […] The post my
A reader writes: I’m relatively new to management. All of my friends who have been people managers say the worst part of their day is dealing with people who do nothing but complain. That was a fear of mine as well, but instead I am finding myself complaining about the lack of complaints from my […] The post how can I
A reader writes: I have a question that is kind of a follow-up question to the one I sent last year regarding inviting coworkers to a religious wedding. I still did not find my Mr. Right, so no update there. However, one of my employees just got engaged! Super exciting. Like me (and about 50% […] The post what can we o
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker was a jerk about my idea, and I’m having trouble getting past it I work in a research lab where everyone owns different projects but everyone also collaborates, shares expertise and advice, and lends a hand on experiments when necessary. About a year […] T
A reader writes: A coworker recently approached me for help on a job application, and I sent over my cover letter and resume for reference. They ended up rewriting their cover letter to be nearly identical to mine, even taking my statistics on successes. Their current role helps with mine a lot, but I am […] The post m
A reader writes: I work in a licensed profession and supervise several staff members with a wide range of experience levels. I have been in this field for 12 years and spent about half that time as a staff-level employee. I am struggling with what feels like the parentification of my job as a professional […] The post
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: The Bright Years, by Sarah Damoff. Alcoholism and an early secret affect four generations of one family. It made me cry at
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