Tips on dealing with employee who constantly has issues?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she says she’s sick, then she’s taking sick leave. She’s not WFH.

If she says her kid is sick, she’s taking family sick leave. She’s not WFH.

If she says her car is in the shop, she’s taking personal/annual leave. She’s not working from home.

I’d double check the employee handbook about requiring a doctor’s note. There has to be something there about a supervisor requiring one after a certain number of absences.

This is not the norm anymore. Treat your employee like an adult. The added stress that you’re going to cause by doing this is going to lead to burnout and productivity loss. It’s not worth it - for you or for them. And if they work effectively remotely 86% of the time why would you make them take a sick day for a kid’s doctors appointment.

You’re going to have a lot of turnover and then you’ll be mumbling about job hopping but it will have all been preventable.

As a coworker to slackers, I'm going to disagree. Managers need to follow through on disciplining slackers. Stop just passing the buck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had this issue with a new staff with all his appointments.

I now get my oil change dealer near work, my eye doctor I use near my office, have dentist and doctor with early appointments. My dentist opens at 730am. My Dr. 7 am. I use minute clinic at CVS near work.

I worked 25 years prior job that was a 90 minute commute. So much less stress doing things by office

You are fortunate to have all of these by your office. I don't have any of these near mine (except a CVS, but I don't use minute clinic) I even tried to schedule my covid shot near the office, but couldn't find any so opted to get it near home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell them to come in a different day as a substitute. Every time.

This seems reasonable.

I am not a new employee and have a proven work track record, but when something happens on one of my "in office" days (e.g., the plumber is coming; nail in tire flattened over night) I swap out that day with another. In the email to my boss, I offer the substitute right upfront, "xyz happened and I need to be at home today. I will be available and working...I hope this is ok and will plan to come in to the office on Thurs. instead." Super easy and does not put me in a bad position with boss or other colleagues who have come to the office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, now your kid, car, health and animal problem is MY problem? Nope. It’s a job requirement to show up in person on day X. Agree or quit.

It isnt your problem which is why people use leave but WAH decreases leave usage and that can be helpful for employee retention. To be clear, if this employee wasnt meeting their job requirements then they could be fired for cause. I could get rid of my husband and child and dog but that's socially frowned upon and also, all you RTO hard asses get off on this type of corporate fiefdom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been told to deal with it two ways:
-On our official "in office" day, you either need to be on annual leave or sick leave if you aren't in the office. Telework is not allowed. You're expected to schedule doctors appts for a different day. Ours is just 2 days a month.

-We're expected to be in the office 2 days a week. We don't care what days you make them. If you have car trouble monday, then you come into the office on a different day.

-We are supposed to send them an email every time a violation happens to help show a pattern. If there is a pattern, HR gets involved. In your case, if someone violated it 5/8 times and only came into the office 3/8 times, that's a pattern. HR then would send them a notice. If it happened again, PIP would follow.

This is similar to how things work in our office. We have 2 days a month everyone is expect to be in the office on a specific day at the same time. On those days you are either on leave or in the office - no teleworking allowed. The other days we have to be in the office are flexible and can be changed but you must be in the office a specific number of days over the course of a pay period. Manager can approve moving the days around but can not approve not being in the office the minimum number of days. I think its a good balance of flexibility and getting people together in person.

[Anonymous]

If something happened to my car I would be screwed. I work way out in the suburbs without public transportation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell them to come in a different day as a substitute. Every time.

This seems reasonable.

I am not a new employee and have a proven work track record, but when something happens on one of my "in office" days (e.g., the plumber is coming; nail in tire flattened over night) I swap out that day with another. In the email to my boss, I offer the substitute right upfront, "xyz happened and I need to be at home today. I will be available and working...I hope this is ok and will plan to come in to the office on Thurs. instead." Super easy and does not put me in a bad position with boss or other colleagues who have come to the office.

This is exactly what my assistant does. She is in office every other day. If she needs to be home two days in a row because she hit a deer or has a sick kid, she follows that with coming in two days in a row.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If something happened to my car I would be screwed. I work way out in the suburbs without public transportation.

That’s why you have a back up car or car which dealer provided loaner as everyone in my department does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If something happened to my car I would be screwed. I work way out in the suburbs without public transportation.

That’s why you have a back up car or car which dealer provided loaner as everyone in my department does.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH jfc you are an elite prick

[Anonymous]

OP:

1. Are you supposed be enforcing the in the office rule? At my office, we are supposed to be in 3 days a week but it is not enforced. I have no idea if my direct reports actually come in 3 days a week - they come in enough so that I don't pay attention. Also my boss does not ask me about the whereabouts of my direct reports. If nothing is going to happen if they don't come in, I would let it go if you are otherwise happy with their performance (though I disagree with the posters that say give the employee deserves grace. If the employee is asking for grace 3 months into the relationship with no explanation, the employee doesn't care about the job. Grace is earned).

2. If that is not the case and you are supposed to be making sure they come in, then you need to let your boss know this is happening and how you plan to deal with it. Get your boss' feedback on your plan before implementing. It may be the kind of thing where HR needs to advise.

[Anonymous]

Word of advice read the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

[Anonymous]

Our policy. 2 days per week in office. 2 week pay periods. You need to have 4 in-office days each pay period. If you have fewer than 4 in-office days, each day missed being in-person is charged against the employee's PTO. We will make an allowance if you were scheduled to come in on the last day of the pay period and had a conflict, in which case you are expected to be in the office either first or second day of the next pay period in exchange. Employees are allowed up to 40 hours advanced leave (e.g. up to 40 hours if your balance is zero, which will be offset when leave is awarded for the next pay period). If you hit -40 and still need leave, your day will be assigned as leave without pay.

As the supervisor, I will note and modify time sheets, as necessary to comply. There are some people who just work the first four days of the pay period in the office and then stay home the other 6 days. That's fine with me. Employees are expected to behave like adults and follow the rules set for everyone. We try to give leeway and allowance where we can, but do not allow people to completely abuse the rules. You don't get to just choose not to follow the rules (which some people flagrantly do).

[Anonymous]

Everyone in my office is supposed to be in person every Tuesday since the beginning of 2023, I have one employee who has made it in just over half of the Tuesdays. Sick, car trouble, plumber coming, etc. Her performance review is about to be a shockingly negative experience for her and I will be surprised if we keep her into 2024. Our senior leadership is so fed up with people ignoring RTO they are happy to hire new ones instead.

I would have a hard conversation with your employee about attendance, it’s not good for the entire office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If something happened to my car I would be screwed. I work way out in the suburbs without public transportation.

You can get an auto insurance policy that provides a loaner for insurance claim work. Alternatively, take your car to a dealership service center to repair where they have loaners. It is your responsibility to have a backup plan.

Additionally, as an employer who enforces these things, if you have a once a year accident or issue that keeps you from meeting your in-person days, that's one thing. But we are talking about the perennial abusers, the ones who seem to have a once a year problem almost once a month. Sorry, but be an adult. Stop crying wolf and people will actually be more flexible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been told to deal with it two ways:
-On our official "in office" day, you either need to be on annual leave or sick leave if you aren't in the office. Telework is not allowed. You're expected to schedule doctors appts for a different day. Ours is just 2 days a month.

-We're expected to be in the office 2 days a week. We don't care what days you make them. If you have car trouble monday, then you come into the office on a different day.

-We are supposed to send them an email every time a violation happens to help show a pattern. If there is a pattern, HR gets involved. In your case, if someone violated it 5/8 times and only came into the office 3/8 times, that's a pattern. HR then would send them a notice. If it happened again, PIP would follow.

+2

Same.