Reply to "Life happens" as a catch all phrase?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have someone who works for me that has taken to saying things like "well life happened and I didn't get to X Y Z today" when asked if a task was completed and in response to a request "well I'll try but you know, life happens."

I'm not quite sure what to say or what she is trying to say, to be honest and have taken to staring blankly for a second and then asking the question or making the request again, only to get the same answer.

It seems odd for me to acknowledge that I understand that life happens. And to argue that life isn't going to happen to hasn't happened is equally bizarre.

FWIW I am not a manager or with any management training, it's healthcare and my title is simply ranked above hers, like a doctor making rounds to floor nurses situation. I am not her boss.

Is this just a modern expression I haven't heard before? We are probably a good 20 years apart in age [/quote]

for me, I used it as an excuse once...."Um, sorry I will not be at your meeting this morning....I got sick last night, they did a CT scan, and found a tumor on my kidney about two hours ago.  Sometimes Life happens"
[/quote]

Personally, PP, I would say that in your case Big Shit Sometimes Happens and I would figure out how to support you. I'm not getting this in OP's post. She (or he) hears the generic-- Life happens--frequently when something doesn't get done on time. I'd have an issue with that because, well, it could mean anything from I didn't get to your task because I don't respect it so I'd rather read DCUM to I had a sick kid or all my other meetings ran late or anything in between.

OP, I'd document the missed deadline (depending on how crucial the deadline was), ignore the excuse and ask when you can expect the task to get done. If you can't work with the answer, assign the task to someone else and move on. Life happens is a mealy excuse and not worth considering deeply.[/quote]

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