Mat leave with no one to cover me

[Anonymous]

I'm going out on maternity leave soon and my coworker is underwater with work and deadlines. We don't have a manager and we get a new acting manager every 4 weeks who has no power because they're just acting. My current acting manager is in a different state and I've never met them. I feel like at this point I've done everything I could to get someone to cover for me or a detail while I'm out (people laughed at me and asked why they would want to take on more work), but my coworker is really upset at me and makes nasty comments about me dropping all the work on her. She keeps asking me my plan for the work, but I don't have a plan. Isn't this something a manager should address? Why isn't she going to upper level management about it- she's the head of our program? I did and was told there was no solution.

I have worked late to try to clear backlogs, but we are just swamped. How much responsibility do I have to work very long hours leading up to my maternity leave? All of this is unpaid mat leave, but I feel like I'm being punished. I'm 99% sure all of my work for 12 weeks is going to be sitting on my desk when I return.

[Anonymous]

I feel for you, OP. It’s hard when you’re understaffed and no one wants to step up. I work in a non-FMLA protected job (we are too small to qualify) so I was getting significant pressure to return to work since there was no one to cover for me, nor the funds for a temp. I ended up taking 4 weeks just to ensure I wasn’t drowning when I got back. This is obviously not the answer you want, but I had to do what was necessary to keep a job and therefore a roof over our head.

[Anonymous]

This is absolutely something that a manager should be dealing with. You've made the effort to find coverage, but you don't have any authority to make that happen. I would expect to be working late to do my best to clear backlogs, but I wouldn't be killing myself over it. When she makes nasty comments, I'd respond, "I asked everyone I could think of to help, and they all said no. I asked upper-level management to help, and they said no. This is something you need to take up with management, because there is nothing else that I can do."

And yes, all of your work will be sitting on your desk when you return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is absolutely something that a manager should be dealing with. You've made the effort to find coverage, but you don't have any authority to make that happen. I would expect to be working late to do my best to clear backlogs, but I wouldn't be killing myself over it. When she makes nasty comments, I'd respond, "I asked everyone I could think of to help, and they all said no. I asked upper-level management to help, and they said no. This is something you need to take up with management, because there is nothing else that I can do."

And yes, all of your work will be sitting on your desk when you return.

OP here. If this was paid leave I wouldn't mind it as much coming back to an avalanche of work, but this is unpaid work. Work is benefiting financially from my unpaid mat leave. I'm feeling pretty bitter about the work right now.

[Anonymous]

Schedule a meeting with your manager to come up with a plan on how the work is going to be handled while you are out on maternity leave. There's no reason you can't be proactive in trying to find a solution. The manager can then decide if other people need to pitch in and help.

Your current approach is not working and it wouldn't hurt to try this tactic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is absolutely something that a manager should be dealing with. You've made the effort to find coverage, but you don't have any authority to make that happen. I would expect to be working late to do my best to clear backlogs, but I wouldn't be killing myself over it. When she makes nasty comments, I'd respond, "I asked everyone I could think of to help, and they all said no. I asked upper-level management to help, and they said no. This is something you need to take up with management, because there is nothing else that I can do."

And yes, all of your work will be sitting on your desk when you return.

+1 My manager and I worked together to determine what needed to be done while I was out (and who would be the best person to do it), what only needed to be done if people had time, and what should just be left until I got back. Then SHE asked for volunteers and delegated the work out to my teammates. I didn't/don't have any authority to assign them to do my work on a regular basis and maternity leave doesn't change that dynamic.

Plus I think people respond better when these requests come from management because then the people picking up the slack think that management is at least AWARE that they are doing extra work while you're out. Who wants to grind out the work of two people without so much as a "thanks" from their manager?

[Anonymous]

Make sure you're documenting all of this. The real punishing will happen when you return and someone from higher up asks why your work went untouched for 12 weeks and why you didn't make proper accommodations. I've seen that before.

No one cares beforehand. Then suddenly you're 6 weeks in and Roger in Tulsa hasn't seen a TPS report in a few weeks and brings it up to his supervisor who runs it up the pole until the story that reaches The Powers That Be is that you didn't do your due diligence before leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you're documenting all of this. The real punishing will happen when you return and someone from higher up asks why your work went untouched for 12 weeks and why you didn't make proper accommodations. I've seen that before.

No one cares beforehand. Then suddenly you're 6 weeks in and Roger in Tulsa hasn't seen a TPS report in a few weeks and brings it up to his supervisor who runs it up the pole until the story that reaches The Powers That Be is that you didn't do your due diligence before leaving.

The high likelihood of things playing out exactly like this is depressing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make sure you're documenting all of this. The real punishing will happen when you return and someone from higher up asks why your work went untouched for 12 weeks and why you didn't make proper accommodations. I've seen that before.

No one cares beforehand. Then suddenly you're 6 weeks in and Roger in Tulsa hasn't seen a TPS report in a few weeks and brings it up to his supervisor who runs it up the pole until the story that reaches The Powers That Be is that you didn't do your due diligence before leaving.

The high likelihood of things playing out exactly like this is depressing.

I'm the 10:41 PP and even though I made all necessary arrangements with my boss when I went on leave, this still happened to me. So yea, it blows.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I've tried to be proactive. I informed management of the dates I would be out as soon as I knew I was pregnant. Zero has been done.

The real issue is that my coworker is getting slammed. It's just unfair all around.

I'm pretty sure my new acting boss (as of yesterday) doesn't even know they're my boss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schedule a meeting with your manager to come up with a plan on how the work is going to be handled while you are out on maternity leave. There's no reason you can't be proactive in trying to find a solution. The manager can then decide if other people need to pitch in and help.

Your current approach is not working and it wouldn't hurt to try this tactic.

+1

I'd also speak to your co-worker and make it clear that you're doing what you can to get coverage and ask them to speak up with management as well.

[Anonymous]

OP, does your angry coworker have kids? Have you asked her what she would do? If I were her, I would likely be seething on the inside but I would never take it out on you. It is a crappy situation but that doesn't mean you should not have time to recover and bond with your new baby. What does she want you to do differently? Take less time off?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, does your angry coworker have kids? Have you asked her what she would do? If I were her, I would likely be seething on the inside but I would never take it out on you. It is a crappy situation but that doesn't mean you should not have time to recover and bond with your new baby. What does she want you to do differently? Take less time off?

This OP has posted before. The angry coworker is in as bad a situation as the OP.

To the OP: you need to schedule a meeting with your acting manager and bring up this specific topic on how you will be covered on maternity leave. Sticking your head in the sand and saying you've let management know if not a solution. You want a manager to ride in and provide you with a solution. While that would be wonderful, it's obviously not going to happen.

[Anonymous]

Can you go to the manager over the acting manager?

[Anonymous]

In addition to what everyone has said here, I'd make a draft coverage plan which a list of all outstanding projects you're working on, what will need to happen with them while you're out, and a column for who will own them. When you meet with your boss, let them know that you'd like to work with them to fill in the blanks on who will cover what. Document document document.