It’s Friday, so you know what that means, Remote Work Tribe — it’s time for another Weekly Roundup! If you’re new here, let’s catch you up to speed: The Weekly Roundup is a curated collection of the top threads, trending Tweets, and relatable posts from the past week. We gather the latest news in remote work, emerging leadership, and daily workflow. We also don’t shy away from uncomfortable topics, like poor management.
In fact, poor management (or rather, how to improve poor management) is one of our most favorite topics. Every employee — regardless if you’re remote or in-office — deserves an empathetic, effective manager. However, remote work especially calls for a manager who can navigate the nuances of virtual communication and make all employees feel at ease within company culture. When a remote employee is faced with poor management, it not only impacts workflow, but also the employee’s overall mental health.
Relatable Poor Management Experiences
All too often, we stumble across horror stories of fellow remote employees and their experiences with poor management. With the pandemic accelerating how many employees entered the remote workforce, the trend of poor management continues to grow. For this Weekly Roundup, we wanted to spotlight these less-than-great experiences for those who might be reading this thinking they’re alone.
For what it’s worth, we’ve all dealt with some pretty poor management in the past — we just haven’t all Tweeted about it. Luckily, this recent Tweet from Adweek did a fantastic job of gathering a ton of relatable experiences into one thread.
The replies were quick to come in, and honestly, most of them made us pretty furious. Take a look at these two examples of downright poor management.
A2: when I requested a promotion from Sr Strategist to Associate Director, my lack of college degree was mentioned.
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) May 12, 2021
I emailed back a recruiter I’d ignored the same day. 3 months later, I was a Sr Director making $20k more than I asked for in the promotion. #adweekchat
A2: I once had a manager tell me that “sometimes we need to give up on our dreams” when I asked to cut my hours down from 60/week to 45/week so I could go to grad school. #AdweekChat
— Kelley Pernicone (@KPern) May 12, 2021
Anyone Can Fall Victim to Poor Management
Do you feel like you’re the only one with a really terrible boss? You’re not alone, friend! Though we wish the trend of poor management wasn’t so prevalent, we do take comfort in knowing that:
- We’re in it together!
- We can take steps to reverse it.
Case in point: The most recent Ellen DeGeneres scandal. Following months of allegations of poor management on her behalf, Ellen recently announced that her popular daytime talk show will be entering its final season. Can you imagine having a boss like Ellen Degeneres and still walking away with horror stories?!
In her most recent #PopChat, marketing instructor and queen of relatable tweets Brianne Fleming kicked off the conversation by analyzing a recent quote by Ellen referring to the scandal.
The Public Responds to Ellen
The responses were certainly mixed, so definitely check out the #PopChat for all replies. However, for an overview of the public opinion, take a look at these replies.
A1: Regardless of the difficulties, as a leader of an organization, you’re responsible for what happens within it.
— Dakota Snow (@DaksAhoy) May 14, 2021
That’s the duty of effective leadership. You don’t make excuses, you take action. If leadership is making excuses rather than change, they’re ineffective.#PopChat
A1: Not gonna lie, I do not know much about the allegations at the DeGeneres show, but from what I’ve heard, she was largely the source. Sounds like a lack of self-awareness to me.
— Johann (yo-han) (@runwanderwonder) May 14, 2021
I think leaders need to ask their orgs for feedback and BE OPEN TO IT. #PopChat
A1. this is absolutely possible when there isn’t a culture of open communication. a lot of execs delegate the hr tasks to focus on other priorities, like growth, revenue, etc. building the right kind of culture right from the start is important so it scales as your grow #PopChat
— Chantelle Marcelle (@ccmarce_writes) May 14, 2021
We know one thing for sure: There’s never an excuse for poor management. No matter if there are 20 employees or 20,000, systems should be in place that respect employees — as well as their time, their personal boundaries, and their interests. Truthfully, we can go on and on about how corporate culture is a top-down effect, but for now, we’ll head into what else was happening on the internet this week.
The Tribe’s Weekly Vibes
1. This (not surprising) remote work poll.
2. This mega-thread of how to market and grow on online channels.
3. This very understandable request.
4. This thread of tips for new PR pros.
5. This reminder that Twitter rewards consistency.
6. This all-too-easy slip up that would make most of us want to walk into the sea. 😂
7. This key observation from our RWT Founder.
8. This honest truth.
9. This push to embrace global talent through remote work.
10. This newsflash that employees prefer options when it comes to how they work.
11. This million dollar idea! 💸
12. This clever way of crafting copy for all of our SMM friends.
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What’s happening in your remote world this week? Tag us over on Instagram, @TheRemoteWorkTribe, or on Twitter, @RemoteWorkTribe, for a chance to be featured on our next weekly thread!
