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I was just reprimanded by my manager in front of our whole department. She was yelling and screaming about my project being late, but I told her several days ago that I needed more help to get it done. She wouldn't listen to me then, and there was no way to get a word in today. What should I say to her now?
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I have been really overworked here. Whenever someone quits or gets fired, I have to assist in taking over that person's job. If I comment that I need more help, management just gives me more work. I am quitting and there are two other people here who are afraid their workload will increase when I leave. What advice should I give them?
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I am rather new to management, and I am spending so much time in meetings and on committees that I hardly have enough time to actually do my job, especially when you add in the time I spend with my staff. What's a manager to do?
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My manager was piling work on me over the last few months, to the point that I could not get everything done. Finally, I told him that enough is enough, and I refused to take on any more. He said that he understood, but now I sense that he views me as a marginal employee and that's not true. How do I win him back?
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I have an employee who does a good job on the parts of his job that he enjoys, but he puts off the work that is less enjoyable and then does not handle it particularly well. We have gone over this, but he hasn't changed. Do you have any suggestions?
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My manager kept rushing me on my project, and when it was done, it was not very good. Now he is upset with me, but I don't think it's my fault. He pushed me too hard to meet his deadline, and I think it's his fault that the project fell short. What do you think?
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Part of my job is to do administrative work that is needed by employees in other departments. When the work is done, I send it to them. There is a manager in one of these departments that sends me email every other day asking if I am done yet. I cannot stand seeing these emails from her, but I politely respond that the work is in progress and I'll send it when I'm done. How can I stop her from sending these annoying messages?
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I am at my wit's end. I have never worked so hard in my life, never put in so many hours, and never been so frustrated on the job. I feel like I am unappreciated by management, getting nowhere, and on one big treadmill. I'm ready to leave, but the thought of a change is a little scary to me. Do you have any suggestions?
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I am salaried and work long hours, and many times when I am about to leave, my manager stops me and says that he needs to talk about some issue or another. This can take an hour or more, and it's late in the day and I'm ready to go. How can I tell him?
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I took on an additional project that I was certain I could handle, even though I am busy with all of my regular work. The problem is that the project is far more difficult than I thought, and I am not getting it done. And, it's getting in the way of my other responsibilities. I have probably waited too long to let management know, and now I am in a mess. Is there a graceful way out?
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I work in a restaurant in a management position, and I typically work 10 hours or more a day, 6 days a week. In addition to my management responsibilities, I cover other positions, and I am helping the new sales manager. My biggest problem is that my boss is always on my case when something goes wrong, and he never seems to see that I do so much for the company. Should I quit?
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There is one person we work with who does practically no work at all. She's often absent, and when she's here, she's either on the phone or wandering around doing nothing. We have talked to her, but she ignores us. We discussed this with our manager, but he hasn't done a thing about it. What else can you suggest?
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Our company has many social gatherings and parties during work hours, and people from just about every job level attend. I am a friendly and sociable person, but I have a lot to do and I usually skip these events. The other day, my manager told me that I should stop being so aloof and come to more of them. I'll go because she wants me to, but I think it's ridiculous. What do you think?
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I work in the Human Resources Department of a large corporation. There are four of us, three females (myself being one) and one male. Our boss gives us many projects with unreasonable deadlines, doesn't help with the work, but takes all the credit. She just bought a new house, so she is gone a lot. We work 60+ hours every week, but our male co-worker only works around 40. The president is completely snowed by our boss, but one of the vice presidents is slowly becoming aware of the problem. If we go over our boss's head, we fear retribution. Would you please make some suggestions?
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I am a young, salaried professional, and I am concerned about the long hours that I am putting in at work. As demanding as it is, I like my job, but I am stressed out because it is destroying my relationship with my fiancÈ. I want both, but I am thinking that's impossible. What are your thoughts?
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What do you do when one person works harder and faster at busy times, and a second person throws up his hands and demands help? This means that the first person ends up doing all of his own work and part of the second person's too. There is supposed to be teamwork, but the concept of teamwork seems to assume that employees are identical in skills, judgment, and work ethic. It also absolves management of a lot of responsibility because problems can be blamed on lack of teamwork. Please explain.
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Our company did a reorganization of a few areas, and I have kept all of my past responsibilities, plus I am now over an area that I know very little about. The manager of the area seems competent, and I am taking the place of her former boss who left the company. I'm very busy as it is, and I don't think this department should have been placed under me. Is there a way to say this to my manager without looking weak?
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Our former supervisor gave us a lot of freedom because he knew that when things got busy, the job always got done. We have a new supervisor who is always walking around assigning frivolous tasks to people who don't appear to be engrossed in some project. Is there something we could say to him without jeopardizing our jobs?
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Several months ago, one of my associate's desk drawers was jammed. No one could open it, but I have a small set of tools in my office. I went over, unscrewed part of the drawer, and got it open. The problem is that since then, I have become the informal office handyman. This is a major interruption, but it is hard to say no. What can I do?
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I was working on a challenging and interesting assignment when my manager pulled the project and gave it to someone else. Then he gave me this awful assignment that has been hanging around here for months. I am working on it now and I am very annoyed. What do you suggest I do?
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We have a new assistant supervisor, and the first thing she did was to rearrange people, causing our production to slow and errors to occur. Her newest plan has people standing around for three-quarters of the day, and the regular supervisor could not care less about this. Should we just wait for the boss to realize what is going on?
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I am not in a low level position, but my manager is giving me more and more routine and time-consuming chores. He treats me with no respect, and if I say anything about these assignments, he gets hostile. What should I do?
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I recently moved into supervision, and one of my employees works on a popular math puzzle in the newspaper before work and during her breaks. The problem is that she sometimes brings them to her cubicle and works on them when she should be doing her job. I told her not to do this, but she said she practically never brings them to her desk, but even if she does, they are beneficial for her thinking. How do I get this to stop?
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When I receive awards from the company, I put them up in my office, just like most people here do. One person I work with came into my office and said that people who truly accomplish something at work don't need to put awards on their walls. He said I am doing it for my ego. What do you make of his comments?
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My manager is slowing taking away the most important and creative parts of my job and reassigning them to other people or to himself. I have told him that I can handle these responsibilities, but he takes them away anyhow. My job is getting awful and I am wondering what you suggest.
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My manager told me that as part of my managerial responsibilities, I need to spend more time with my employees. I admit that I tend to stay in my office most of the day, and the reason is that I have so much work to do. My door is open if my employees need to see me, and that's about all I can do now. Do you have any suggestions?
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I work in accounting and I report to the controller who reports to the owner. The controller gives me my assignments, but then the owner gives me other projects. My manager insists that I am only to do what he says and ignore the owner's requests. He says he'll deal with the owner. Whose orders should I follow?
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I work with a smooth co-worker who is in very tight with our manager. When work gets assigned, this co-worker does whatever he wants and pushes most of his junk work on me. If I try to push it back, he informs our manager and I end up looking like I am not a team player. This co-worker has convinced our manager that he is always right. What can I do?
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My manager gave me a time-consuming project that requires numerous telephone interviews. After working on it for a couple of days, I discussed it with one of my co-workers, and she said she is working on the exact same project. Our manager is eccentric and very sensitive to criticism. We want to talk to him, but we are unsure about what to say.
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I am being given the worst assignments. They are the most tedious and boring, and they offer the least opportunity for growth. When I discuss this with my manager, he brushes off my comments and says that all of the work in his department is important, and he tries to match skills with assignments. How should I deal with this?
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I was given a very demanding assignment by my manager, and it did not go well. I take responsibility for the failure, but I must say that my manager was unresponsive to my numerous attempts to communicate with him. All he said at the end was he assumed that if I took on a project, I would get it done. What do you think of this and what should I do now?
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I have been a loyal employee at this company for several years, and I am now a vice president. I have a great deal of expertise that has led to many honors for the company. However, in a recent restructuring, my job responsibilities were grossly reduced. I have tried to talk to the CEO, but he will not return my calls. What do I do now?
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All of us work hard, but there is one person in our department who is just plain lazy. Her work is sloppy, she is late on everything, and she causes the rest of us to fall behind. Our manager says we should take care of this ourselves, but we have met with her, and she has made no effort to improve. What should we do now?
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I have worked here for about a year in a senior management position, but my manager keeps giving me trivial projects that are better suited for a lower level position. I am reluctant to tell him for fear of looking lazy. What do you suggest I do?
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I am in sales, and our company just implemented a new system that requires us to complete a huge amount of paperwork. We don't see the value of most of it, but our manager tells us that it will improve our efficiency. When we complained, he made it very clear that the paperwork has to be completed. How does this sound to you?
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My manager often gives me additional projects and assignments, and I manage to fit them in and get them done. In my last review, he said I did not complete several of the main responsibilities of my job. I told him he is right, and the reason is the extra work he gave me. He said he expects more of me, so he gave me a poor review. What should I do now?
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I am a department manager, and my manager has told me that I need to get out of my office more often and meet informally with my employees. I would like to do this, but I don't have the time. If I cannot get my job done, what is the point of walking around? Besides, I see most of them when I arrive and when I leave.
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After one of my fellow employees quit, my manager dumped practically his entire job on me. He said I should be glad to get these extra responsibilities, and he used the term “job enrichment.” Now I have more routine work than ever, and my pay was not changed. I’m already falling behind. What do you suggest?
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I am getting totally stressed out by my job. I feel tense all the time because of the workload and time pressures, and my manager just keeps pouring more on me. I have jumped around in many jobs over the past few years, and I don’t want to quit. What can you suggest?
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Several employees in my department and in departments that work with us have told me that one of my employees has been spending a great deal of time surfing the net. She never does this in my presence. I am concerned about disciplining her because of hearsay, but she has fallen behind on some of her projects, too. Should I just focus on that?
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I gave a project to one of my employees two weeks ago, and I wanted him to complete it within a week. As the deadline approached, he said he was too busy and needed extra time. I gave him an extension, and then another one earlier this week, and now he wants even more time. I don’t want to be a tough guy, but what can I do to put an end to this?
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My manager has a troublesome habit of dropping into my office late in the day and giving me work that needs immediate attention. I’m sure some of this work can be given to me earlier, but he rarely does this. I cannot say “no,” but what can I say?
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I just had a job interview that lasted ten minutes. The interviewer kept me waiting for thirty minutes and did not even apologize for that. He said he was very busy and then rushed through a few questions. I have not heard a word from the company since then. Is this common, and should I take any action?
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My manager keeps piling work on me, and I don’t know how to get it all done. I am afraid that if I say something to him, I’ll look like a marginal employee. Our company has had some cutbacks lately, and I don’t want to take the chance. What do you suggest?
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I feel like the dumping ground in this company. When there are projects that no one else wants, whether important or trivial, they get dumped on me. Many of these projects waste my time and in some cases embarrass me. Is there anything I can do, or should I just sit back and let them rain down on me?
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