What can you do about the younger boss who ignores your experience? That was the question an admin reader posted recently on our
Admin Pro Forum. She writes, “Most of our managers are younger and think they know everything. They tend to listen to the younger, fresh-out-of-college administrators.” Readers weighed in with their advice:
There’s a common type of workplace theft, and it has nothing to do with missing office supplies, reports a recent OfficeTeam survey. Nearly one in three employees interviewed said that a co-worker has taken credit for their idea. “Being proactive in sharing your vision with your manager and colleagues early on can help ensure others know the concept originated with you,” says Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam.
Question: “I feel that I am being ignored because of my age. I am a young employee who recently attained a position in which I have to interact with top-level managers. When I request information from them, I find it difficult to get responses. I believe they are not taking me seriously. How should I handle this?” — Young & Frustrated
“Don’t think your boss is getting overwhelmed with praise,” says Quint Studer, CEO of Studer Group and author of Straight A Leadership: Alignment, Action, Accountability. “Bosses hear what’s wrong all the time. Very rarely do they hear what’s right.”
How far would you go to help your boss? Would you call in a bomb threat? That’s what one admin did in an attempt to delay a flight out of Miami International Airport—so her boss wouldn’t miss it. It’s an extreme example, to be sure. But most of us have felt tempted, at some point, to go overboard to help a manager we’re loyal to.
Lee’s immediate supervisor left the organization, so now she reports to a higher-level director. In their meetings, the director seems distracted and bored, even though Lee takes extra time to prepare. “My preparation is usually met with a very brief response or a push off to another manager,” she says. “What can I do to make our meetings more engaging?”
Liz Jazwiec, author of Eat That Cookie!: Make Workplace Positivity Pay Off, is a big believer in workplace gratitude. Not just the kind that passes from boss to employee, but from employee to employee and to their bosses. Jazwiec offers these tips for hardwiring workplace gratitude from the ground up:
December 3, 2009
Categorized in: Teamwork
Defuse a stressed-out, tense workplace with simple, morale-boosting celebrations. Examples: To celebrate National Pie Day (Jan. 23), get pies for the office. For Make a Difference Day (the fourth Saturday in October), challenge each employee to do one thing for a co-worker.
An administrative assistant recently posted this dilemma on our
Admin Pro Forum: “I know my office co-worker chats on Facebook most of the day … and now I have proof. Do I say something to the co-worker, or do I bring it up to the boss? I am usually not a tattletale, but there are times when I am overwhelmed with work and I know she’s chatting on Facebook and not getting her work done.” Forum readers weighed in with advice:
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