3 ms·

While I was a team manager I really liked the one-on-ones. It was a great way to handle issues while they were still small and manageable. Someone unhappy on

While I was a team manager I really liked the one-on-ones. It was a great way to handle issues while they were still small and manageable. Someone unhappy on a project? I'd do my best to talk to the project mangers and voice the criticism in an impactful way, or possibly reassign the person. Problems at home? I would have never picked that up during our normal interactions. Those meetings gave me the opportunity to help my coworkers with lots of stuff they would otherwise not have mentioned. It was a true pleasure when I was able to help them out, and even when I wasn't, I think it helped a lot that they just had that chance to vent and then get on with stuff. While some one-on-ones might have been a waste of time, I believe that overall they had a very positive impact. Reading the rest of the comments here, I think I might have been in a very favorable position. I started as a developer, and then got promoted at a time where I was the obvious choice. So I always felt like "one of us" during those conversations, and I could very much relate to every work-related challenge.

odshoifsdhfs 5y ago
Why would anyone talk about their problemas at home with their bosses? Is this a US culture thing where work and non-work is blended so much that you mix and match conversations? Both as a worker and a manager, I hardly know about other co-workers lives. Gay or not gay, married with kids, or eternal bachelor, I don't really have (or want) a clue about their private life, much less have a report tell me about his. Just say 'I am dealing with something, need some time off' and there, you got it, but I don't need to know your mother has cancer or you are going through a divorce. You are an adult, take the time and use it as you need.
- thegrasshopper2 5y ago
  I assume the "problems at home" are the ones affecting work performance. It's very difficult to keep productivity up, especially in a creative / complex field like programming, if one's mind is filled with other thoughts. This works especially well if the person doesn't want to take vacation, or cannot, for one reason or another, and can also be in the form you state (I have to deal with stuff, I need a bit of slack at work). Not everybody is comfortable saying even that in a "team" setting.
  - jeppester 5y ago
    Exactly. I wouldn't ask specifically if someone had a problem at home. I asked how they were doing and then I used whatever they told me to try and improve/ease their situation. It's not easy for everyone to ask for extra flexibility or time off. When you have this open conversation space, that one-on-ones provide, it becomes very natural to make room for people's lives.

odshoifsdhfs 5y ago

Why would anyone talk about their problemas at home with their bosses? Is this a US culture thing where work and non-work is blended so much that you mix and match conversations? Both as a worker and a manager, I hardly know about other co-workers lives. Gay or not gay, married with kids, or eternal bachelor, I don't really have (or want) a clue about their private life, much less have a report tell me about his. Just say 'I am dealing with something, need some time off' and there, you got it, but I don't need to know your mother has cancer or you are going through a divorce. You are an adult, take the time and use it as you need.

thegrasshopper2 5y ago
I assume the "problems at home" are the ones affecting work performance. It's very difficult to keep productivity up, especially in a creative / complex field like programming, if one's mind is filled with other thoughts. This works especially well if the person doesn't want to take vacation, or cannot, for one reason or another, and can also be in the form you state (I have to deal with stuff, I need a bit of slack at work). Not everybody is comfortable saying even that in a "team" setting.
- jeppester 5y ago
  Exactly. I wouldn't ask specifically if someone had a problem at home. I asked how they were doing and then I used whatever they told me to try and improve/ease their situation. It's not easy for everyone to ask for extra flexibility or time off. When you have this open conversation space, that one-on-ones provide, it becomes very natural to make room for people's lives.