Marie McIntyre is a workplace psychologist who operates an international career coaching business, and the website YourOfficeCoach.com. She has written a workplace advice column, Your Office Coach, for thirteen years and is the author of two business books, Secrets to Winning at Office Politics and The Management Team Handbook. Previously, Marie held management positions in both business and government, including Director of Human Resources in a Fortune 500 company. As a consultant, she has worked with a wide variety of organizations, including Cisco, The Home Depot, AT&T, Walgreens, Lockheed Martin, and the CDC. Marie's career advice has appeared in Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Canadian Business, and many other publications.
Q: “Whenever one of my employees, ‘Gina,’ has personal problems, she describes them to everyone in excruciating detail. Then she calls her friends on the phone to...
Q: “Our new Executive Director wants to change my job title from ‘communications director’ to ‘communications manager.’ I don’t believe the title of...
Q: “Our CEO has always distributed employee bonuses in group meetings. He gives the top performers an envelope containing a thank-you letter and a check. We have...
Q: "In my performance review, my supervisor wrote that I lack patience. She based this conclusion on some comments I made about our CEO during a recent project. This was...
Q: "After ten years in my job, I was called into my boss’s office and informed that I was being fired. He said they were “no longer confident in my ability to...
Q: “Even though I am a top performer, my pay is low based on market comparisons. To be smart about my career, I believe that I should refuse to accept this mediocre...
Question: “My co-workers constantly ask me to assist them with simple problems. Whenever they encounter any minor difficulty, they dump it on me. This makes it...
Q: "I recently learned through the grapevine that an account manager who is assigned to work with me has said he would much rather work with someone else. Supposedly, he...
Question: My boss has a hard time keeping his feelings to himself. For example, he frequently tells us that he’ll probably be fired because management doesn’t like...
Q: “I feel that I have been betrayed by one of my peers. ‘Chuck’ and I are both senior vice-presidents, reporting to the president of our company. In a recent...
Q: “Two years ago, my immediate boss, with whom I had a great relationship, was forced to resign. Shortly thereafter, I had a serious conflict with a colleague who was...
Q: "My boyfriend, 'Doug,' was recently promoted, but he's having a lot of problems. He is now supervising his former boss, who is unhappy about being demoted. On top of...
Q: “My boss, ‘Karen,’ feels the need to control absolutely everything. Ever since Karen promoted me last year, I have been so frustrated that I can hardly stand...
Q: “Ever since I came to work here a year ago, I have gotten nothing but attitude from the woman in the next cubicle. I keep trying to be nice to ‘Mandy,’ but she...
Q: "My boyfriend, 'Doug,' was recently promoted, but he's having a lot of problems. He is now supervising his former boss, who is unhappy about being demoted. On top of...
Q: "I work as an office manager in a pleasant, stress-free environment. The pay is good, the schedule is flexible, and the staff is productive. Everyone gets along...
Q: “For the past five years, I have worked as a reporter for a daily newspaper. My manager corrects my work in front of others and will sometimes intercept my stories...
Q: “My wife works in a production department where only a few employees have permission to work overtime. Everyone else must leave at the end of the shift. The...
Q: “After a recent meeting, my boss called me into his office and slammed the door. He got right in my face, backed me against the wall, and said, ‘Don't...
Question: "We have a boss who doesn't act like a boss. Although he listens to our suggestions, he never follows through with them. He seems hesitant to involve upper...
