My Crazy Office
Self-Improvement
About
Hosts Kathi Elster and Katherine Crowley are best selling authors of three books about workplace behaviors: Working with You Is Killing Me, Mean Girls at Work, Working for You Isn’t Working for Me. Kathi and Katherine address all of those wacky behaviors that we all deal with at work. That coworker who ate your lunch then complained that you put too much mayo on the sandwich? They know him. Join Kathi and Katherine as they answer real workplace questions with solid advice, and a great sense of humor.
Episodes
- Does Your Boss Protect the Wrong People?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, hosts Kathi and Katherine address the common frustration of a boss protecting certain individuals. They explore the reasons behind this behavior and offer advice on managing challenging coworker dynamics.
- Are You Working with an Angry Person?
Kathi and Katherine discuss challenges of working with an angry person and offer advice on managing the situation.
- Is Your Job Your Identity?
This episode of My Crazy Office addresses the question of whether one's job constitutes their identity. Kathi and Katherine explore the self-doubt that can arise from changing jobs, particularly when moving from a high-visibility brand to…
- Managing a Toxic Employee Who You’re Afraid to Fire?
Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage a toxic employee who generates business but also creates workplace enemies. The episode explores strategies for handling this situation and evaluating the decision to retain the employee.
- Boss Not Letting You Make Decisions?
On My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine address the issue of bosses who don't allow employees to make decisions. They share advice on managing micromanaging superiors.
- Are You Putting Your Job Before Yourself?
On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine consider an important question: Are you putting your job before yourself? They start with a question from someone who likes their job but keeps getting sick because of trying to tackle a…
- Got Promoted But Can’t Let Go of Your Old Job?
In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine address a common dilemma: Getting promoted but not letting go of your old job. They start with a question from someone who recently got promoted to a more executive position but finds it…
- Is Your Boss Too Busy to Meet with You?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a common problem that many people grapple with at work: Is your boss too busy to meet with you? They start with a question from someone who’s recently started an exciting new…
- Does Your Employee Think They Know Better Than You?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a frustrating situation for any manager – what do you do when you have an employee who always thinks they know better than you? They start with a question from someone whose d…
- Got Burnout? Get Boundaries
In This My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss an extremely important issue for anyone who feels exhausted from working too hard and caring too much about work – Burnout. They start with a question from someone who got promot…
- If Looks Could Kill…Nonverbal Communication at Work
Women are the masters of nonverbal communication. One way that they can be passively mean to each other is by sending an unfriendly nonverbal message. In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore the topic of nonverbal m…
- Are You Protecting the Wrong People at Work?
In this My Crazy Office episode, Kathi and Katherine pose a question: Are you protecting the wrong person at work? They start with a question from a manager who’s been protecting a skilled-but-difficult employee. This person’s behavior off…
- Want To Get Promoted? Get Better at Managing Up & Managing Down
In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss how to get promoted by being better at managing up and managing down.They start with a question from someone who wants to move to a higher-level position but has been told that t…
- Networking for People Who Avoid Networking
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a crucial skill for anyone who wants to move their career forward: Networking. They start with a question from someone who knows that networking would help them find a new job…
- How Do I Interview For My Next Job?
Interviewing for a new job can be very intimidating; especially if you haven’t had much practice. In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Kathrine discuss a crucial skill for anyone seeking employment: How to prepare for job interviews.…
- Do You Have To Fire a Friend?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore a sensitive topic: How do you fire someone who is a friend? They start with a question from someone who finds themselves in the awkward position of having to fire a good frien…
- Do You Suffer From Imposter Syndrome?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore a classic workplace topic – Imposter Syndrome. They start with a question from someone who is about to get promoted and fears that everyone will discover she doesn’t know what…
- When Your Friend Becomes Your Boss
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine explore what happens when your friend becomes your boss. They start with a question from someone whose colleague recently got promoted to be her boss. While the two of them were frien…
- Is Your Fear Holding You Back From Opportunity?
Today’s My Crazy Office podcast begins with a question: Is your fear holding you back from opportunity at work? Kathi and Katherine start with a question from someone whose employer has offered them a new position that would lead to profes…
- My Boss Humiliated Me in Public
Today’s topic on My Crazy Office is a tough one: What do you do if your boss humiliates you in public? Kathi and Katherine start with a question from someone whose new boss yelled at them on a zoom meeting in front of other staff members.…
- Are Your Afraid To Fire a Popular Employee?
On this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss the challenge of firing an employee who seems to be popular with the staff. They start with a question from someone who has discovered that a popular employee has been cheatin…
- How to Handle Conflict Between Employees
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a tough topic for many managers: How to handle conflict between employees at work. They start with a question from a manager who has two very valuable employees who are consta…
- Are You Smarter Than Your Boss?
It can be challenging to work for someone who seems less intelligent than you but has more power. On today’s My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine ask a provocative question: Are you smarter than your boss? If so, what can you do ab…
- How to Manage a Bad Manager
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss how to manage a bad manager. They start with a question from someone who works for a manager who doesn’t understand their work, won’t give advice, and doesn’t seem interested…
- Have You Forgotten How To Network?
On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss the forgotten art of networking. They start with a question from someone who knows it’s time to change jobs but doesn’t know how to network. Kathi and Katherine discuss the value…
- Tired All the Time? You May Need to Let Go (Delegate)
In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine examine what might be happening if you are tired all the time at work. They start with a question from someone who is exhausted from managing a customer support department but also tends…
- Job Hunting in Uncertain Times
In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine talk about job hunting in uncertain times. They start by posing a general question that they’ve been hearing from several My Crazy Office podcast listeners: My industry is changing and t…
- Facing Uncertainty at Work? Here’s How to Cope
With all the changes happening technologically, politically, and economically these days, self care is the easiest thing to drop and the most important thing to increase. In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine address a to…
- Don’t Like Your New Boss?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a common workplace dilemma: What happens if you don’t like your new boss? They start with a question from someone whose former boss retired, and the new boss is a completely d…
- Need Your Employee More Than They Need You?
On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss a difficult situation for any manager: What do you do if you need an employee more than they need you? They start with a question from a manager whose key employee is skilled but…
- Afraid To Give Negative Feedback?
In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss a management challenge that many people face: Being afraid to give negative feedback. They start with a question from someone who oversees three managers but is afraid to give an…
- Too Busy to Look for a New Job?
On this episode of My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine address a very important question for people who want to leave their current jobs: What can you do if you’re too busy to look for a new job? We start with a question from some…
- Getting Bullied by a Co-Worker?
On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine investigate what you can do if a coworker starts to bully you. They start with a question from someone who discovers that a colleague who she thought was a friend begins to act different…
- Does Your Boss Put You Down to Keep You Around?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine address a hot topic: Do you secretly suspect that your boss may be keeping you down because he or she needs you? They start with a question from someone who has been working as an ass…
- Are You Managing a Slug?
Low performing employees are very stressful to manage. On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss a particular management headache — the slug. It’s the kind of employee who only does the bare minimum at work. We’ll start…
- Networking for Introverts
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a topic that many people don’t like to think about but it that can have a huge impact on your career – networking. Specifically, Kathi and Katherine examine networking for int…
- Is Your Employer Trying to Break Up with You?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss a provocative question: Is your employer trying to break up with you? They start with a question from someone who was promised growth and opportunity at the start of her job b…
- Afraid Your Top Performer Might Leave?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine consider a challenging situation for any boss: What do you do if your top performer might leave? They start with a question from a manager who discovers that their best employee was a…
- My Boss Got Fired. Should I Apply for Their Job?
On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine examine a tricky topic: If your boss gets fired, should you apply for their job? They start with a question from someone whose boss was recently terminated, and the folks in upper manage…
- Feeling Underappreciated at Work?
On this My Crazy Office podcast Kathi and Katherine address a topic that some people consider “soft” but actually affects staff morale, productivity and retention — showing appreciation. They start with a question from a manager who recent…
- Do You Feel Frozen Professionally?
Do you feel frozen in your career? That’s what Kathi and Katherine talk about on this My Crazy Office podcast. They start with a question from someone who has been in a job for several years, knows it’s time to move on, but sees that the e…
- Dealing with Uncertainty?
It seems like many people are grappling with uncertainty these days. In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine talk about dealing with uncertainty at work. They start with a question from someone who works at a company at risk o…
- Waiting Too Long to Fire Someone?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine talk about waiting too long to fire an employee. They start with a question from someone whose recent hire has become a real problem. This person is always late, disorganized and unab…
- A Change in Tone — Please Listen
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine want to hear from YOU. Political events don’t always affect business, but with this new administration, many federal agencies and the companies that deal with them are in flux. Loss o…
- Turn Your Bad Job Into a “B” Job
In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine talk about how to turn a bad job into a “B” job. They start with a question from someone who hates their job and feels an urgency to quit but realizes that it will take time to prepare f…
- Afraid To Hold Your Staff Accountable?
It can be scary to confront staff if you fear that they may get angry and quit. In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine discuss the importance of holding your staff accountable for their behavior. They start with a question…
- Passed Over for a Promotion Again?
In this episode of My Crazy Office, Kathi and Katherine examine a serious problem – what do you do if you are passed over for a promotion more than once? They start with a question from someone who’s a top performer at their job but keeps…
- Do You Resent Your Boss?
Resentment is a tricky emotion. It can consume you, making it difficult to do (or enjoy) your job. In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss this hot topic. They ask the question, “Do you resent your boss?” If so, how do…
- How Much Should You Invest In a Bad Hire?
In this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine explore an important question for anyone in management: How much should you invest in a bad hire? They start with a question from a manager who hired a very likeable person who lacks the…
- Are You a Manager Who Is Afraid of Upsetting Your Staff?
It’s really hard to manage effectively if you are afraid of upsetting your staff. On this My Crazy Office podcast, Kathi and Katherine discuss this challenge for some managers. They start with a question from someone who is new to manageme…