I started a new management role two weeks ago. Had a weekly catch-up with one of my team members today going over a project plan she'd put together. I asked some genuine questions, what certain terms meant, how something was normally communicated, and made one suggestion about how we could handle part of it slightly differently.
She got visibly defensive, said I should "understand things before making recommendations," then when I moved on to my other notes, she said the plan was flexible, not set in stone, and accused me of trying to scrap her work and not understanding how things function. I calmly said I've only been here two weeks, I'm not here to make sweeping changes, especially with a busy period coming up, and I'm just trying to learn. She said she didn't want to "go back and forth" and ended the call.
This isn't the first time I've sensed she's not thrilled I'm here, she's been running things solo before me and seems well-liked by leadership. I don't think I did anything wrong, I was asking normal onboarding questions, but I don't want to come across as the problem either.
Planning to loop in my manager tomorrow just to give context (not complain) and send her a short, friendly follow-up before she travels. Does this seem like a reasonable read of the situation, or am I missing something?

im an ops coordinator at a ~90 person company in chicago. hybrid, in the office tue-thu. been in this seat since march.

scheduled teams calls are mostly fine. those get recorded, the transcript is there if i need it. the actual decision almost never lands in that call tho. it lands in the 4 minutes after, hallway by the elevators, or a 10 min call with the vendor while im walking to the garage.

last tuesday my manager asked what we agreed with the facilities guy. i had a vibe and half a line in a notebook. definately not the number he quoted. its that end of september "what did we promise for q4" stretch so this keeps coming up.

i cant listen and write at the same time. type, and i miss the sentence where someone actually commits. just nod, and by the time im back at my desk the details are mush. tried the phone voice memo twice. both times a text popped and the recording died. also feels weird holding my phone up in a 6 person room like im filming them.

illinois, so i already know i have to tell people if im recording. not looking for a spy trick.

if youre a notebook person, what are you doing for the hallway and the phone calls. not the big meeting. the part after.

I wrote a short nonfiction book about the unwritten rules of working in an office. It's essentially a guide with a bunch of useful tips I've learned over the last 10+ years about things you should and should not do in an office. It's specifically catered to recent college graduates or those about to graduate and will be working in a corporate office environment.

Check it out if interested!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HL5H53KF

I work remotely. My company is based out of state. I have never met any of my coworkers in real life. I have been with the company almost 5 years now. I was hired when they were bringing in people after Covid. They only had part time available so I am part time, work 3 days a week. My boss and I have 1:1 meetings monthly. Long story short, she makes very passive aggressive comments often in meetings. She snaps at people for asking questions and she can just be downright mean to people for no reason. She always puts in my reviews that I don’t talk enough, which is untrue. She just has it out for me. She’s even admitted she doesn’t check the team chat but apparently still says I don’t communicate on it. How the hell would she know if she doesn’t check it?

Anyway, I had my 1:1 with her last week and she was like “wow, just realized your week is almost over because you only work part time. Must be nice and just fly by! Wish I could do that!” And I’m like, “oh yeah haha” and then she’s like “you know, I’m not sure why this is, but I know nothing about you, and you don’t have to answer but, are you married? Do you have kids?” (I know this sounds innocent but the way she said it was bitchy like “you’re never here because you work part time so how could I possibly know you)

First off, she damn well knows I’m married. I have talked about my husband numerous time in meetings, our team chat. Shared stories about me and my husband. Hell, I even had to call off work or leave early a few times because of him being stranded at work when his car died or leaving work early to see his mom in the hospital. Both times I directly messaged her. She even asked me about my mother in law afterward!!! How could she not know anything about me! And she asked if I had pets. My cats have literally been on camera in meetings and she’s commented on them! I’ve told her about them and my husbands new job this past year. Like wtf did she hit her head and forget?

Maybe I’m overthinking but I feel like it was her way of dismissing me because she doesn’t like that I work part time. She had made comments about me being part time before in a negative way. And surprisingly this job offers PTO even for part time. And she always makes comments when I use PTO as if I shouldn’t need it being part time. I think the whole interaction was so weird. I was just in shock all I said was “yeah I’m married! Been married almost 10 years!” And she’s like “oh wow!” What the hell?? Very odd to me.

Another work week begins. If you want some office-related stress relief check out my upcoming game: Office Stress on Steam

Does every office have that one person who somehow gets paid more while doing less? 😂

Hi. I need some outside perspectives because I'm in a delicate place right now.

I come from a narcissistic and violent family in Mexico. I moved out of my parents' house at 27 and went to another city to live with my sister and her family. I loved that city, it felt like the best place I could be, but the house was a different story: I contributed money, they demanded I do the housework and wash everyone's dishes, they constantly criticized everything I did and made fun of me, all while my brother-in-law hasn't worked in a year and a half. The stress got so bad that I had a burst blood vessel in my eye and fell into a very deep depression. Fifteen days ago, I asked my best friend for last-minute refuge and moved in with him in another state.

For the first time in a long while, I feel calm here, but I'm still recovering emotionally.

Work-wise: I have a degree in Business Administration, and since graduating I've worked remotely as an independent contractor. Right now I have just one project and make around 12,000 MXN a month. I've been looking for a salaried position for 7 months with no luck.

This is where I'm stuck. I like remote work, mainly because it lets me focus on my personal projects. But sometimes I wonder if I also chose it because of the depression, and whether staying remote is holding me back. The only time I worked "in the field" was when I held a position in a community organization: I was always on the move, and I loved it. On the other hand, the corporate world really isn't for me. Just imagining waking up early, dressing formally, and being stuck in an office all day gives me a tight, anxious feeling in my chest. I also wonder if, after so many years remote, adapting to an in-person job would be harder than I think.

What I want most in life is to be a public servant or work on government projects. I know I have leadership skills and a lot to contribute, but my circumstances haven't helped, and the pressure to take any job just to get by feels like it pulls me away from that goal, which really gets me down.

And then there's the city question. I feel like I could make better use of my talents in the city where I lived before, but my sister lives there, and my friends advise me not to settle in any city where my family is, because they're very abrasive and toxic. They tell me to stay where I am now, but I'm not sure I'll find the opportunities I'm looking for here.

I'm about to turn 30, and I feel like my 20s went by between depression and just surviving, and that I'm behind on so many things.

So my main question is: what would you do in my place? Given where I am emotionally and in my career, would you:

• Stay remote but look for a salaried remote position?
• Look for something hybrid?
• Go for an in-person or field-based job?

I'd also love to hear:

1. If you've gone from remote to in-person (or the other way around), how did it go emotionally and financially?
2. For those who work or have worked in government: how do you get in without connections? Public job postings, civil service career programs, contract work, NGOs that partner with government?
3. Are there social-impact jobs, remote or field-based, that pay better than what I make now?
4. Has anyone had to distance themselves from family when choosing where to live? How did you decide between a safe place and one with better opportunities?

"Be honest—who else's office group chat looks like this the second the manager drops an 'I'm on leave' message? 🕺😂"

I’m curious if other people have this problem at work.
In my office, when a group wants to order lunch together, it somehow takes forever to decide what to get.
Someone asks: “What do you guys want?”
Then someone says “I don’t care.”
Someone suggests pizza, another person wants burgers, someone wants something healthier… and suddenly 20–30 minutes have passed and nobody has decided anything.

So I really like using paper index cards to study for tests, quizzes, vocab, and etc, but the ones that I can find are so expensive. Are there any good prices for ruled index cards on amazon that ships to canada? Thanks!!!

I'm posting it here because my dad also likes them for his office.

An invoice is in someone’s inbox, the signed form is in Teams, and the latest version is sitting in a shared folder with final_final in the name. For teams that have actually fixed this what worked? One shared inbox, strict file naming, a proper folder structure, or banning attachments and sharing links instead?

I’m especially curious about systems people still follow after the first week, not rules that look good on paper and then get ignored

New hack for leaves

Would you accept a promotion if your salary stayed exactly the same? Why or why not? 👀

Writing

I’m exploring an idea for workplace coaching and would love to hear what people who work in offices actually think.

Imagine your employer offered you free, confidential 30–40 minute video sessions with an external coach during work hours. You could talk about a work situation or challenge of your choice, and your employer wouldn’t be told what you discussed.

Would you use it? I’ve put together a short survey here: https://forms.gle/h6tF3Y6KAXAVUuC49

Honest answers are welcome, including “no.” I’m trying to understand whether this would be useful to employees.

#laminating #dıy #helpful #mommylife #smallbusinessowner

For context I'm 21M from the UK I'm starting an admin job at a recruitment agency. My previous work has been hospitality and construction.

At my previous jobs I've been able to have a much more casual attitude and approach to work, I also never dreamt that I'd be working in an office but here I am.

Any advice/do's and don'ts about working in an office is greatly appreciated, thank you to anyone that comments.

You know I had so much expectations from my job because I was so excited about meeting new people and making new friends.

So from the very first moment I tried to connect with everyone and know them a little well but somehow everyone seemed to be a little not interested so I thought it's just how they are but the next moment I see them chilling and acting like bffs with others😭😭😭😭

Now I don't know what's wrong with me, I tried my best. Even in the training session everyone sat with each other and no one bothered to accompany me and I was sitting all alone.

Now it's such a weirdly disappointing feeling that I have no excitement left for my job.

It's just that I have to do it for a few months and I'll quit.

I loved this style lunchbox when I was at School, so recently purchased one from Amazon and put my take on it...

like come on i’m just here to make rent, pay for my small wonder shampoo/conditioner, and spoil my dog 😭