How often do you talk to your manager

[Carly944]

I started a new job a month ago. I had a one to one meeting with my manager on the first day.

Since then she has never spoken to me. Not once.

We sit at a row of computers with a team. My manager sits two computers away from me.

She will just sit there all day doing her own work. And she will get up to talk to other managers. She will occasionally send us messages on teams if she wants us to know anything.

Other than that, she never ever speaks to us, even though we sit right beside her.

Is that not a bit weird?

I brought it up to my managers, manager.

I said "she never speaks to us". And the woman said "well do you speak to her".

!! I mean surely it's the boss's duty to interact with her staff. But I have actually tried to speak to her anyway and she just said she was busy

Surely as our boss she should be interacting with us. I just find the whole set up very weird

YANBU but, as I've said before on similar threads, many managers aren't expected to and don't know how to manage nowadays and people don't seem to care.

I can relate. In my previous job we had a temporary manager and everyone else met her on her first day but I didn't start till later that morning and she just sat in her office and made no attempt to speak to me for at least 2 weeks. She saw me and would have known I was a member of the team. In the end I introduced myself but almost wish I had seen how much longer she wouldn't speak to me! She wasn't shy. She was just weird with poor people skills. I think it's terrible that your manager is making no effort to see how you're getting on etc

Dependant on work requirements it tends to be daily ( informal check in via teams/ in person). We have a regular weekly catch up and monthly larger team meetings

That’s mad. I am a manager and I am in contact with team members at least 3 times a week if not daily

We sit in a single office holding 8 members of staff including my boss, we all chat and gossip and also discuss work stuff.

My manager makes a point of speaking to me every day, whether it's a quick call to catch-up or a message exchange on Teams if it's a particularly busy day (we WFH). That's definitely very unusual and really weird to not have spoken to your manager more than once since last month, especially if you're working in close proximity! It sounds like she doesn't know how to manage.

When I was a new manager, I made the mistake of assuming - as my manager was a horrible micromanager and I dreaded the interrogations 1-2-1 meetings, I assumed the best manager is empowering, but as hands off as possible. Well, that is of course misguided. I now discuss with my team what works for them, they have all chosen to have weekly meetings, and I talk to them most days.

If she hasn't done it, why don't you book a meeting with your manager and ask what her expectations are and how you could best work together?

I said to the woman above her that my manager never speaks to us. And she said "oh maybe she's just shy. Do you speak to her"

I found her answer just as strange!

Like managers are meant to interact and see how things are going with staff. My last managers did this

We are a open space office. We all speak to him daily and ask questions etc..My manager has desk behind me and I speak to him everyday. And privately outside if I need speak to him and if not work related and personal information.
We all do in the office.

I speak to my manager every day. We have a daily team meeting, plus often chat by teams and I'll pop over and speak to him and vice versa when in the office.

I am a manager also and have a daily team meeting with my reports. When in the office I'll try and do a floor walk in the morning, go and say hi to my team, have a chat, make sure they are all ok. Same at the end of the day.
Plus I have a (virtual) open door policy, my team often call and vice versa when we're WFH.

Once a week maybe?

I am a manager and I speak to all the staff on duty when I come in and regularly throughout the day! Cannot imagine not speaking to my team! My office is normally open and people are in and out all day as well.

My manager only works part time but I speak with her every day she is in.

I just think she is completely useless.

She just looks at her own work all day.

She never asks us are we okay or if we need help with anything, or even how our work tasks are going.

Not any interaction. At all

One manager rang me 5 times a day.. for social chats 🤦🏽‍♀️

Current manager - once every 2 weeks, for about 7 seconds and normally for a yes/no answer

How do you know what to do? Is there never a change in policy?

I had to ask my colleague, who sits beside me everything..

I literally had to ask him everything or I would not have had a clue what to do

She calls me once a year with my raise and bonus. I'm remote. She approves my time sheet electronically, so no contact required on that front. I would not be able to identify her in a photograph.

I "support' another person, but he is not my manager. I could be let go and he wouldn't be consulted or told.

It is super weird.

This is crazy to me. Her work IS you.

I have loads of other stuff going on, as I work in operations, but as a people manager my priority is my team. That's literally what I'm paid to do, look after my team.

Yeah its bizarre..

And when I said to my managers manager, that my manager never talks to us,

She said "well do you talk to her"

Strange company

Most work days unless one or other of us not there that day.

Weird. Our team including the manager chats throughout the day. General work stuff about clients and helping each other out, letting each other know when we’re going to lunch and a bit of office chit chat.

One girl only speaks when spoken to and she is ND. She is chatty and funny when you make the effort.

Maybe on Monday you could ask after her weekend. See what kind of response you get. At the very least, if you attempt to engage her and she’s unresponsive, you can go back to your manager’s manager about it. Really though, I’m surprised the senior person wasn’t more concerned about her discussing work stuff and checking in with you.

Every day

Thankfully once a week at most. Then again she made it clear she doesn't like me and is a micromanager having observed how she is with other coworkers, so for me thank god it's once a week. I also think she is useless and wonder how she fills her day sometimes

Depends, my line manager is a weird figure head because the team is too big to be technically managed by the program leaders so I o ly see her a couple times a year for actual meetings but make small talk when I see her in the corridor.

If I have an actual issue there is a separate type of hierarchy that we follow. But academia is weird so probably not related to your issue

That does sound odd, particularly when you sit so close to them! I speak to my manager daily, both about work and general things. I also talk to the team I manage daily in exactly the same way. We've got a fabulous team (very lucky) and all work well together. I get why you feel your situation is bizarre - I would too!