This is embarrassing, but I was in the bathroom stall at work and overheard two employees on my staff making disparaging remarks about me. I am a new manager. Do I say something or forget it? It will be hard for me not to hold it against them.

This sounds like a scene from an Adam Sandler movie or an episode of “The Office” — or, frankly, virtually any day in any office across the country because, for some reason, people think the bathroom is a safe-zone. Setting their indiscretion aside, hearing unflattering comments about yourself by two of your staffers can be hard to take. But bosses need to have thick skins, because being the boss — even the best boss — makes you a target for employee gripes just by virtue of the position. Sometimes it’s just fun sport, blowing off a little steam usually reserved for after-hours at the watering hole. Sometimes the comments are unfair, and sting — but sometimes they contain an element of truth, and perhaps there is something you can learn from your staffers. I certainly wouldn’t confront them. Unless they pledged undying disloyalty and a coup, you should let it roll off your back, and flush it away.