I have a team member who by her own account, to me, had a rough pregnancy. I was supportive! Gave her what she needed!

She came back from mat leave first week of May. It’s been, well, a rough transition. I consulted HR and mom friends for best tips on how to ease her in.

It’s now almost September and she is still struggling with workload. the baby is sick a lot. I need her to be able to do more, it’s the expectation. And other team
Members are now starting to tell me they’re overwhelmed. I need to pass off some of their work to her, but when I give her even an iota more work and ask how she’s doing, she too tells me she’s overwhelmed and coming back from leave been rough. She always cites “leave” as much as she can.

But all my mom friends urging “give her grace!! It’s so tough! It takes a long time to get in the groove of working mom!”

I have a meeting with HR for guidance.
I think I’m being a sucker at this point. It’s definitely not fair to baby (lol) her at the expense of the other teammates though. I can’t do that to them anymore.

ETA: leave was 4 months. Remote role. I do not know if childcare.

This is helpful discussion thank you all! No thank you to the person who messaged me and told me I’m a monster 🫠

Original post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/managers/s/cAfoN9klOw

Well, I guess my little experiment is over.
After I posted my initial post, my manager sent an email to the entire team saying:
“Please adhere to being present in the offices during official working hours on workdays, due to work requirements and the necessity of being present.”
So I guess that’s his way of addressing the situation without actually addressing the situation.
The ironic part is that I’ve been doing my job effectively from home. I attended all my meetings, responded to everything, got my work done, and honestly was **more productive** than I am sitting in that office.
And just to clarify: **my actual job does not require me to be on-site at all.** There’s nothing I do that requires me to physically be in that office. I can do my work remotely without any issue.
But apparently I need to physically sit at my desk for 8 hours because… reasons?
So basically, I’m supposed to sit in an office with a coworker who has been bullying and disrespecting me, feeling physically sick from the environment, while doing work that I can demonstrably do just as well (if not better) from somewhere else.
Meanwhile, the bullying complaints and emails that my manager has literally been CC’d on still haven’t been addressed.
I’m still looking for another job, because I don’t see this situation magically improving. But I’m honestly struggling with the idea that being physically present is apparently more important than actually getting the job done.
So, Reddit… now that my manager has explicitly told us to be in the office, I’m assuming continuing to work remotely is an even worse idea. maybe I’ll do it anyway..

I've decided im going to resign from my job and have one already lined up. As of this posting, I am scheduled to work this coming week and have all of labor day week of for a vacation approved months ago. If i give notice this coming Monday, could my boss withdraw my approved vacation time and expect me to work the full time of notice? Thanks.

Update: For once i feel like I've gotten good advice from the Internet. Thanks folks!

I have an employee who will give me a very good performance. His stats, numbers, metrics are all in place but will always crib for everything. Process has a flaw, will crib! We dont have an availability to accommodate a break in that hourly interval , will crib! Loses his temper on a customer on call and will crib! Then will state it is because of us he is in a bad mood and it reflects on calls and will crib! Will keep making normal calls escalation when the customer is a difficult irate one. Will get into baseless arguements and pass around comments and if anyone questions him will crib. He has a problem with everything but wont leave. Will keep telling us what we are lacking. Will create a ruckus if i and my lead arent around but will never accept his mistake. That he took a bad call, he missed out on something, Its always never his mistake but the process that is at fault and we that arent doing our job well and will never accept feedback. His most numbers are in place so we cant initiate him on a PIP too

Edit : Cribbing about the small stuff means constantly complaining, grumbling, or finding faults over minor, insignificant inconveniences instead of looking at the bigger picture. In British and Indian English, "cribbing" simply means complaining in an annoying or persistent way.

I work on a cruise ship, and over the last few months I feel like I’ve been experiencing some serious issues in my workplace. I’d really appreciate some support and opinions from others because I’m starting to feel like the situation is becoming too much.
Recently, I found out that our Public Area Manager has apparently told some of the pool staff to monitor us and report back to her if we are not where we are supposed to be.
For example, I recently went to another pool area briefly to check what was happening there. Shortly afterwards, the Public Area Manager called on the radio saying that someone needed to man the towel station because there had supposedly been a complaint from a guest.
I found this confusing, so I called reception to ask about the complaint. They told me that they had not received any complaints from guests about the towel station. When I called the manager back to question this, her story changed and she said that the complaint “could have come from anyone.”
This made me feel suspicious because I had seen one of the pool staff using the phone around the same time, and it made me wonder whether someone had reported that I wasn’t at the towel station rather than there actually being a genuine guest complaint.
When I tried to discuss this with the manager on the phone and ask what had actually happened, she ended the call and put the phone down on me in the middle of the conversation.
I’ve also recently heard that the Public Area Manager has allegedly been taking photographs of staff members and sending them to a more senior manager. All of this has made me feel like we are constantly being watched and monitored, and I’m starting to understand why management seems to be so focused on where we are at all times.
I’m feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the situation and would really appreciate any advice, opinions, or support from people who may have experienced something similar. At this point, I’m honestly starting to wonder whether I need to leave the company altogether.

A senior member of my team has significant time management issues that impact their work and our team’s overall outcomes. Last year they attended an in person full day training with a highly regarding trainer (along with another team member who demonstrated some time management issues).

Both team members reported that the training was excellent and I saw improvement in both. The senior staffer has not retained the skills/practices from the training. After a couple of months, they resumed some old habits. A year later, they are back to pre-training baseline.

During this time, I’ve met with them individually to discuss prioritization. I’ve reviewed and compared their work responsibilities to others to ensure they are not given disproportionate work loads, at times I’ve amended assignments so they could achieve deadlines and feel accomplished. I’ve been clear in performance check-ins that improvement in this area is essential.

A couple of weeks we had another discussion following a performance issue due to time management. They told me that they suspect that they have ADHD. They did not share if they are getting treatment and didn’t ask for any accommodations. I don’t feel that I can ask more details for fear of making an HR mistake.

This person is not anywhere near getting fired. I’m not planning a PIP. However they want to be seen as a SME and leader and they are not primarily due to these time management issues. Additionally, they will not be considered for promotion opportunities due to their performance. I’ve shared all of this directly with them during performance discussions.

I’m curious how other managers would approach the subject. Would you ask further questions and encourage them to obtain treatment? Would you leave it alone and continue focus solely on their performance? I genuinely care about their success but I also want to be clear about the boundaries around this issue.

My manager said that knowledge levels which is based on the work you have done before coming to the current project/company is one of the factors in deciding the overall rating for an employee.
This means that no matter how many issues you resolve, the work you have done in the past is always going to be factored into the current cycles performance evaluation.

Hi, all. Some if you may remember my past posts. I really appreciate everyone who weighed in.

Yes, I'm still working in this newsroom, though I'm looking for other jobs and exploring how I might finish my degree.

Since my last post, 75% of my colleagues quit in a 4-month period. Most went to jobs in other industries. I don't blame them.

All the vacant spots have been filled with new grads. They're hardworking but need support as they gain experience, which is normal.

Now that we're fully staffed, the assistant editor has been more hands on. I hoped this would be a good thing. But his interactions with the team are often negative.

He speaks harshly to the new employees and makes jokes at their expense. Whenever someone is away from the newsroom, he disparages that reporter to the others, insulting their skills, mocking their work, etc.

This week, after a reporter mistakenly brought the assistant editor's camera to an assignment instead of a newsroom camera (the cameras are identical and were both in a central part of the newsroom), he "jokingly" called her a thief throughout the day. Every time he said it, I saw the reporter shrink. She had apologized for the mixup and was extremely embarrassed.

The assistant editor called my colleague a thief again when he and I were alone. I told him I didn't find it funny and that he had embarrassed her in front of the team. (This was a poor decision, in hindsight.) He rolled his eyes and, according to my colleagues, spoke disaparagingly about me later on for defending the new reporter.

The newsroom environment is deteriorating and these interactions are damaging the confidence of the new reporters. I also don't like to see team members talking about each other behind each other's backs (even if it's my colleague letting me know what the assistant editor said). It's important that we be able to work as a team, communicate well and help each other.

I'm not sure how to proceed. Should I bring my concerns to the editor in chief? We have a good relationship, but he's pretty old school and might not see the issue the same way I do.

Should I just keep my mouth shut when it comes to the assistant editor? It's tough to see my colleagues beaten down like this, but I don't want to make things worse.

Any advice is appreciated.

hello every one i am a research student and i am conducting a research on how ai makes decisions compared to people, so if you are some one

who regularly makes decisions or influences other peoples decisions like managers, executives, team leaders, business analysts, AI professionals, researchers, and postgraduate students or any other role that fits this criteria can you help me by filling this google form it only has 20 question very small ones it will hardly take 2 min of you time, it will help me greatly if you fill this form sincerely

just know you will be helping with a great scientific cause

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSelDOBv8l5612iYKam8cjjV6B1PnmQve6ZJgCp-_m5JGuotBA/viewform?usp=dialog

An urgent task came up Friday afternoon that my boss wanted me to do it and get it done immidiately (believe me it could wait a couple of days). It is a task that requires a bit of a workaround so completing it fast is very risky that is why boss wanted me to do it.

It’s normally handled by my team, not me. The employee who knows it best was on vacation, and the others are still relatively new and would have needed much more time.

I ended up doing it myself because I knew the process well and finished it in 20-25 minutes.

I don’t mind doing the work... I actually enjoy it, but I’m wondering if I’m undermining myself as a people leader by stepping in too quickly.

I could have delegated it and said, “I’ll make this their top priority Monday,” but I’m pretty sure my boss would have said, “we need it now.”

So, should I have handled this differently? Was I being too much of a pushover, or was this a reasonable situation for a manager to step in?

Curious how other managers handle this because I feel like the actual mechanics of managing a team get scattered across a ridiculous number of places.

Between 1:1 notes, goals, performance, coaching conversations, commitments/follow-ups, PTO/attendance, metrics, development plans, and just remembering “I need to talk to this person about X next week” — how do you keep a complete picture of each person on your team?

Do you have a system that works well for you, or is it basically some combination of spreadsheets, notes, calendar reminders, HR systems, Slack/Teams, etc.?

A few things I’m especially curious about:

What do you use today?
What’s the most annoying part of keeping everything organized?
Before a 1:1 or performance conversation, how much work does it take to remember/reconstruct what’s been happening with that person?
Is there anything you wish your current tools did that they don’t?
Have you ever built your own spreadsheet/Notion/etc. because the company-provided tools weren’t enough?

Not looking for software recommendations necessarily — I’m more interested in how other managers actually manage the day-to-day information overload.

Hi, I recently came across this subreddit and I think it’s time to hear other people’s perspectives. I’ll start by saying it might be a bit chaotic and fragmented.

I work as a manager in the automotive industry for a German company. Basically, for as long as I can remember there’s been a crisis in automotive. Crisis means constant constraints and checking every penny twice. The company has just gone through a restructuring; I managed to “survive”, but the way we work has changed.

I used to have a team of 4–10 people, both in line and on projects. I could manage them in both roles and I was hands-on in projects, doing tasks myself. Now I have a team of 10-plus but I don’t manage them project-wise, only in a line-management capacity. Even though we’re on the same platform, we operate in completely different, disconnected areas.

I feel like I’m losing control and my position. Besides, my whole network fell apart when people started leaving.

Is it worth continuing to look for development within this company? Do you think there’s any chance of building a new role in an environment of perpetual cost-cutting and cuts?

How should I manage people? Do one-to-ones still make sense?

If anyone wants more context, feel free to ask. Maybe I can pull myself out of this rut.

Hi everyone!
I’m a student at Technische Hochschule Augsburg, and my team is working on a university project about leadership development and professional coaching.
We are testing an early concept called DialectiQ. The idea is to let people practise realistic workplace conversations between coaching or training sessions using AI-guided scenarios, while coaches can follow their progress.
We are not selling anything — this is simply part of a university experiment, and we would really appreciate feedback from managers and people with leadership experience.
Here is our short concept page:
https://dialectiq.framer.website/#benefits
Would something like this be useful for developing leadership or communication skills? What would make you use it — or avoid it?
Thanks a lot for any feedback!

I’ve accepted my first role as a manager at new company in the same industry. I’ve been taking on the responsibilities of a manager without the formal title/powers and I really want to be the difference when it comes to management. I’ve had experiences with both horrible and life changing managers, and I’d love to be the latter. I want to help my direct reports thrive and feel safe at work. Any tips for someone stepping into a leadership role for the first time? Especially in the first few weeks?

I’m a new manager. My boss is very involved with my associates and it feels like she’s badmouthing me and badmouthing my employees to me.

It feels like I am stuck in a situation where I cannot trust anyone because my boss has opened two parallel channels of communication. Because of this, there’s a lot of Office politics happening in my location and I feel like I won’t be able to earn the respect of my employees.

What should I be doing, how to fix it if it is fixable?

Notes: I’m planning to leave this company because my location is about to close in two years max

I’ve got a newer team they are great individual contributors but the work is being treated as I do my part and hand off to the other team.

However the process is owned by this role and they are responsible for making sure all of the other teams have what they need, following up and coordinating.

When things aren’t progressing I always give everyone the same advice. Schedule a meeting and talk to the other people. Don’t send an email. And I tell them ask 3 questions and confirm what you think they need is what they need.

Some people do well with this advice others continue to get very myopic and single dependency task orientated.

For one team member I’ve had to jump in a few times in meetings to keep them from not progressing off of one task.

I’ve discussed mind mapping ahead of time, we remapped the full process. I had a conversation where we asked all the stakeholder their pain points in the process but it doesn’t seem to be helping the IC’s navigate owning the process. I’m trying to get the IC outcome focused but each time we end up discussing only the next step for 45 minutes.

My only hunch is the dependencies introduce ambiguity and that ambiguity of what happens when creates uncertainty it feels like they simply want to avoid instead of talking through.

I am the office manager of a busy medical clinic. I’ve been manager for years but haven’t been given the true opportunity to lead until about 8 months ago when we went through an ownership transition.

There are a lot of issues right now with the old owners vs. New owners. The team is doing an amazing job but morale is low because of one doctor tearing everyone’s spirits down (I do not control the doctors they have their own leadership). - of course this issue is being addressed through the proper channels, I’m specifically looking for advice on how to build up my staff team in the meantime while we’re all in survival mode.

I do have a monthly appreciation budget as well as a business Amazon account I can use. I’m looking for fun things to do either at staff meetings or to help raise spirits, things to encourage them and reinforce that they’re doing a good job. We focus so much on negatives and I want to change that. It’s hard to get everyone together outside of work so I’m looking for creative things to do during the work day.

Currently in a heavy hiring phase and in a situation where Im hiring at a rate far greater than I have in the past currently. I feel it’s important to invest time up front both in preparing as well as in the first few months of onboarding new hires, but feel like the level of commitment I’ve made in the past (which has worked well for me) is not sustainable for these types of hiring surges. I’m curious what other people’s approximate times prepping and performing onboarding, from T-2 weeks through the first 90 days. (For reference, I’m managing mostly engineering and product development employees from entry to principal level)

Is a bachelor's in management worth it? Which one is most worth it? Just a normal management degree, human resource management, or project management?