Careers and Management - Interview with Margaret Davis

Margaret, your latest how to article is about dealing with a workaholic boss. Why might this be difficult? The main difficulty for people with a workaholic boss is that they often feel pressured to stay late or come in early because that's what the boss does. But even when they do that, it doesn't mean they're accomplishing more. This could lead to present T ism where people are visible in the office, but not necessarily getting more done. So what can you do as an employee to avoid this sort of situation? To start with, you should talk to your boss, be open and ask what their expectations are. Do they actually expect you to come in early and stay late? Or do they not mind provided you get the work done? It's quite possible that they put in long hours because they enjoy it or because they have more responsibilities than you. They may not even expect you to follow their example. How can you convince your workaholic boss that you're doing your job competently? Career experts suggest that you give your boss regular updates, and they say you should check with your boss to find out what sort of schedule works best for them. Do they want daily updates or weekly ones or monthly ones? And is this in person, or should you send a written report? Once you've got details like that sorted out, you're well on the way to more successful communication. What if you have to leave work early but still have an important deadline to meet consultant and author Nate Rig? Ear says it's important to give your boss lots of information about your progress and to show you're committed to the project. Tell your boss that you are aware of the deadline and do this by repeating the date and time to her. Then you can say something like, I will be leaving today at 5 p.m. To attend my son's soccer game and have time set aside tomorrow to finish the project in advance of our deadline. Excellent advice, as always, Margaret, and many thanks for coming in again to talk to us. You're welcome. Thank you