Telework with a sick child

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Lack of professionalism that extends to lying and admitting to it is a concern in itself. Any employer would have an issue with repeated unprofessionalism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP - You need to be sure that you are not letting this employee "slide 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.

I think the co-workers are seeing this pattern of "sliding by", people tend to pick up on patterns and probably talk behind her back.