Ask a Manager

A reader writes:
I’m a 20-year-old woman working at a locally owned company. I joined when I was 19 and currently hold the role of marketing director. I am the youngest person in the office by a wide margin; most of my coworkers are in their 60s or older and have been...

Although we’ve been told that AI is poised to “revolutionize” work, at the moment it seems to be doing something else entirely: spreading chaos.
At Slate today, I wrote about how, throughout American offices, AI platforms like ChatGPT are delivering answers that sound right even when they aren’t, transcription tools that turn meetings into works of fiction, and documents that look polished on...

A reader writes:
I hold a leadership role and report to the co-founders of a small company, which has both an office hub and a remote workforce. The co-founders work in the office, and my team and I work remotely.
Lately, a fitness tracking device that also monitors sleep and stress levels became popular in the office. It seems like nearly everyone in the office got one, and they started a global group that compares performance and it became a friendly competition...

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. Is it reasonable to ask teams to “host” coffee hours?
My new-ish boss implemented division-wide monthly coffee hours when he started a couple years ago, and it’s been a nice way to get out of your office and talk to others (our division is spread out on a college campus). Due to cost-cutting measures, he...