Telework with a sick child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fed supervisor here. I tend to be very lenient and flexible as long as the work is getting done. As soon as the work slips or the quality is sacrificed, I crack the whip. Usually that doesn't happen.

If your employee is still submitting quality work on-time and not slacking, then I'd have no problem if she's home and occasionally has to tend to a sick child.

Fed regulation require childcare is in place, otherwise it is time card fraud.

Of course, telework should not be a substitute for hands-on child care, but it's not always that black and white.

First off, OPM's own guidance says, "A teen-aged child or elderly relative might also be at home with the teleworker, after school or during the day, as long as they are independently pursuing their own activities." If an employee can get their work done without interruption, then who cares who else is in the house? I sure don't.
https://www.opm.gov/FAQs/QA.aspx?fid=88348d96-ddf7-40b3-9126-66c88abe1b00&pid=4ec82cd4-ccc3-4c80-b3b7-b313abf4c4f9

At the end of the day, we in the government need to be operating in a "work smart" state of mind. Too many people are so hung up on things that don't matter, like how many minutes your butt is in a seat, versus work quality and responsiveness.

At my agency, our telework rules state that telework must occur in a pre-designated location within your home that is established and cannot change without a modification to your telework agreement. I've been known to....gasp...work on my bed when my back is hurting, or...gasp...work on my deck when the weather is nice. Technically both are violations of my arcane telework agreement, but do you honestly believe that the only place I can do work is in my home office, and that the minute I leave my home office I am completely incapable of doing my job? Of course not. My work gets does just the same, sometimes at my kitchen table, and sometimes on the couch.

When it comes to sick kids, there is a huge difference between a toddler requiring round-the-clock attention, and a 12 year old who's in their room reading a book and keeping to themselves. As long as a person can get their work done and the quality isn't compromised, where's the issue? It's a myth that all feds have an endless reserve of sick leave (some do, but mainly old timers).

That being said, if the work isn't getting done or quality is sacrificed, then as a supervisor, you shouldn't be allowing your employee to telework, period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And, let me add, people who don't have to care for other family members are significantly benefitted on snow days compared to those whose dependents' activities are cancelled and who must take leave to provide some or all of this care. I miss the old days of actual OPM-mandated closure for all. Now that was fair!!!

This issue came up at our agency and sparked an interesting conversation. Our snow policy is that if you are telework ready, you must telework on snow days. Our telework policy says that you must have childcare arrangements. So, what were we supposed to do for parents who were stuck at home, expected to work, but now dealing with kids at home due to school closures? On my team, January and February are insanely busy times for us. Technically, those employees were supposed to take annual leave if they couldn't get childcare (impossible with everything closed), but that would have seriously and critically delayed our work, so in the end, our supervisors let people with kids at home keep working. Nobody noticed any lack in productivity; our work still got done just as it would have in the office. If they had told everyone to stop working, we would have likely missed some hugely important due dates and we'd have a team of disgruntled people who, though no fault of their own, had to use a ton of annual leave to sit at home and do nothing when they could have been working. I'm sure this common sense, people-first approach violated a bunch of rules, but it seemed to work well for everyone.

[Anonymous]

OP, is there any update with your original post?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fed supervisor here. I tend to be very lenient and flexible as long as the work is getting done. As soon as the work slips or the quality is sacrificed, I crack the whip. Usually that doesn't happen.

If your employee is still submitting quality work on-time and not slacking, then I'd have no problem if she's home and occasionally has to tend to a sick child.

Fed regulation require childcare is in place, otherwise it is time card fraud.

Then, if this is the regulation, as a supervisor /manager, you don't approve a telework day knowing they are at home with a sick child, which OP has done. You don't approve a day, let the person do the work (which by all accounts, it sounds that employee in this case is doing), and then punish them.

Maybe it's time to have a lifestyle talk with this employee, but at the same point, it doesn't sound as though she is underperforming, just under appearing.

[Anonymous]

6 year olds can watch television all day even when they are sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a big, big difference between a 2 year old and a 6 year old. DH and I can both get a full day's work done while our 6 year old is there.

That said, if you don't think the employee is getting a full day's work done or you feel she is taking advantage of you, then tell her she needs to find alternate care for her DD or take leave.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, let me add, people who don't have to care for other family members are significantly benefitted on snow days compared to those whose dependents' activities are cancelled and who must take leave to provide some or all of this care. I miss the old days of actual OPM-mandated closure for all. Now that was fair!!!

This issue came up at our agency and sparked an interesting conversation. Our snow policy is that if you are telework ready, you must telework on snow days. Our telework policy says that you must have childcare arrangements. So, what were we supposed to do for parents who were stuck at home, expected to work, but now dealing with kids at home due to school closures? On my team, January and February are insanely busy times for us. Technically, those employees were supposed to take annual leave if they couldn't get childcare (impossible with everything closed), but that would have seriously and critically delayed our work, so in the end, our supervisors let people with kids at home keep working. Nobody noticed any lack in productivity; our work still got done just as it would have in the office. If they had told everyone to stop working, we would have likely missed some hugely important due dates and we'd have a team of disgruntled people who, though no fault of their own, had to use a ton of annual leave to sit at home and do nothing when they could have been working. I'm sure this common sense, people-first approach violated a bunch of rules, but it seemed to work well for everyone.

Thanks for posting. That was interesting to read and yes, it does seem as though the two policies conflict completely. That is why this really isn't a black and white issue. Flexibility males the most sense to employees and the least to HR and the lawyers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, let me add, people who don't have to care for other family members are significantly benefitted on snow days compared to those whose dependents' activities are cancelled and who must take leave to provide some or all of this care. I miss the old days of actual OPM-mandated closure for all. Now that was fair!!!

This issue came up at our agency and sparked an interesting conversation. Our snow policy is that if you are telework ready, you must telework on snow days. Our telework policy says that you must have childcare arrangements. So, what were we supposed to do for parents who were stuck at home, expected to work, but now dealing with kids at home due to school closures? On my team, January and February are insanely busy times for us. Technically, those employees were supposed to take annual leave if they couldn't get childcare (impossible with everything closed), but that would have seriously and critically delayed our work, so in the end, our supervisors let people with kids at home keep working. Nobody noticed any lack in productivity; our work still got done just as it would have in the office. If they had told everyone to stop working, we would have likely missed some hugely important due dates and we'd have a team of disgruntled people who, though no fault of their own, had to use a ton of annual leave to sit at home and do nothing when they could have been working. I'm sure this common sense, people-first approach violated a bunch of rules, but it seemed to work well for everyone.

Thanks for posting. That was interesting to read and yes, it does seem as though the two policies conflict completely. That is why this really isn't a black and white issue. Flexibility males the most sense to employees and the least to HR and the lawyers.

What PP posted makes sense, expect that employees with small children, without childcare in place are not telework ready. Therefore, they are not subject to the "must telework on snow days" policy. If the government was closed on those days, they should have been granted administrative leave, not forced to take annual leave. One days when the government is open, but with liberal leave options, if these employees can't make it in or sign on - then it's annual leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a big, big difference between a 2 year old and a 6 year old. DH and I can both get a full day's work done while our 6 year old is there.

That said, if you don't think the employee is getting a full day's work done or you feel she is taking advantage of you, then tell her she needs to find alternate care for her DD or take leave.

Agree with this- although it doesn't really matter since its policy. But yes, its feasible to do a full days' work with a 6 year old who is watching movies and napping most of the day. Much more like a sick adult than a sick toddler who gets bursts of energy and wants to run and play and then possibly melt down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, let me add, people who don't have to care for other family members are significantly benefitted on snow days compared to those whose dependents' activities are cancelled and who must take leave to provide some or all of this care. I miss the old days of actual OPM-mandated closure for all. Now that was fair!!!

This issue came up at our agency and sparked an interesting conversation. Our snow policy is that if you are telework ready, you must telework on snow days. Our telework policy says that you must have childcare arrangements. So, what were we supposed to do for parents who were stuck at home, expected to work, but now dealing with kids at home due to school closures? On my team, January and February are insanely busy times for us. Technically, those employees were supposed to take annual leave if they couldn't get childcare (impossible with everything closed), but that would have seriously and critically delayed our work, so in the end, our supervisors let people with kids at home keep working. Nobody noticed any lack in productivity; our work still got done just as it would have in the office. If they had told everyone to stop working, we would have likely missed some hugely important due dates and we'd have a team of disgruntled people who, though no fault of their own, had to use a ton of annual leave to sit at home and do nothing when they could have been working. I'm sure this common sense, people-first approach violated a bunch of rules, but it seemed to work well for everyone.

I would think that on a snow day, you are not telework ready because you do not have child care. Therefore, you do not have to work that day. I think this is the conundrum that supervisors have to face when they are going to be hard asses about not working from home -- that means if my child is sick, I will take 8 hours of Sick Leave and I will do no work. Is that what you want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there any update with your original post?

OP here. She has her mid-year review next week, so during the review I am going to remind her of the employee responsibilities regarding telework. I have been in training with her this week, and she mentioned how dramatic her daughter was regarding not wanting to go to school and being "sick", and that she's just over the top. Then she told me "just you wait until you have a 6 year old, because then I'll know what it's like." I may not have a six year old (I have a two year old), but I was a six-year old at one point, and my parents would not have tolerated me pretending to be sick to get out of school - which was what my employee was implying is the case.

She later was commenting how much she prefers working at home to being in the office.

Oh, and for those wondering - she is not a single parent, and this is her only child.

Most of the time she's a good worker, but she also has revealed a tendency to act unprofessionally. I've witnessed her starting inappropriate conversations around management, and getting drunk around senior agency leadership at a large conference, so I think I need to speak to her about multiple items. She's in her late 30s, so she should know better by now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there any update with your original post?

OP here. She has her mid-year review next week, so during the review I am going to remind her of the employee responsibilities regarding telework. I have been in training with her this week, and she mentioned how dramatic her daughter was regarding not wanting to go to school and being "sick", and that she's just over the top. Then she told me "just you wait until you have a 6 year old, because then I'll know what it's like." I may not have a six year old (I have a two year old), but I was a six-year old at one point, and my parents would not have tolerated me pretending to be sick to get out of school - which was what my employee was implying is the case.

She later was commenting how much she prefers working at home to being in the office.

So basically she knows that her daughter is not sick, and yet uses her as a pretext for not coming in (which is as good as encouraging bad behavior in her own kid, but that's another story). And tells her supervisor about this.
Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there any update with your original post?

OP here. She has her mid-year review next week, so during the review I am going to remind her of the employee responsibilities regarding telework. I have been in training with her this week, and she mentioned how dramatic her daughter was regarding not wanting to go to school and being "sick", and that she's just over the top. Then she told me "just you wait until you have a 6 year old, because then I'll know what it's like." I may not have a six year old (I have a two year old), but I was a six-year old at one point, and my parents would not have tolerated me pretending to be sick to get out of school - which was what my employee was implying is the case.

She later was commenting how much she prefers working at home to being in the office.

Oh, and for those wondering - she is not a single parent, and this is her only child.

Most of the time she's a good worker, but she also has revealed a tendency to act unprofessionally. I've witnessed her starting inappropriate conversations around management, and getting drunk around senior agency leadership at a large conference, so I think I need to speak to her about multiple items. She's in her late 30s, so she should know better by now.

Thanks for replying...of course she likes staying at home. It saves gas (or Metro money). The kid knows she is getting away with things, and if mom thinks it is bad now, wait a few more years. This has nothing to do with age, this has to do with discipline starting at birth.

The fact there are multiple issues with this employee would lead me to believe that she should be put on notice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there any update with your original post?

OP here. She has her mid-year review next week, so during the review I am going to remind her of the employee responsibilities regarding telework. I have been in training with her this week, and she mentioned how dramatic her daughter was regarding not wanting to go to school and being "sick", and that she's just over the top. Then she told me "just you wait until you have a 6 year old, because then I'll know what it's like." I may not have a six year old (I have a two year old), but I was a six-year old at one point, and my parents would not have tolerated me pretending to be sick to get out of school - which was what my employee was implying is the case.

She later was commenting how much she prefers working at home to being in the office.

Oh, and for those wondering - she is not a single parent, and this is her only child.

Most of the time she's a good worker, but she also has revealed a tendency to act unprofessionally. I've witnessed her starting inappropriate conversations around management, and getting drunk around senior agency leadership at a large conference, so I think I need to speak to her about multiple items. She's in her late 30s, so she should know better by now.

So it sounds like she always gets her work done, but you don't much care for her because she is unprofessional and very likely exaggerating her need to work from home. That's all well and good, just realize your issue is with her and her lack of professionalism, not how much attention a six year old needs when staying home from school.

[Anonymous]

OP - You need to be sure that you are not letting this employee "side by" as other workers will notice and it may impact on your ability as a supervisor. There is no reason not to mention that if her child has repeated or extended illness that she needs to find alternatives because sick leave is for this purpose, other trade off with their partners in sick leave use, and/or find a back up sitter if this is a constant need.

I would repeat her own recent comments to you and let her know that teleworking is not meant to be taken at her whim - either establish it as a practice one day a week for all or whatever. And let her know her recent "cavalier attitude" of reporting she would be teleworking the rest of the week - without trying to even consider her husband covering a day or "requesting directly from you the ability to telework" is very telling who is in the driver seat at least in her mind.