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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is one of the reasons I'll never work for the government - rigid rules reign over common sense. Progressive companies have caught onto the fact that we are actually human beings when we're not in the office.

As the baby boomers keep getting older, more and more people need to take time off to be with their families. And people have always needed occasional time off to stay with sick kids. That's not going to change.

I work for a company that allows liberal teleworking - you can take it whether you are single or married, have kids or not. Whether it's a sick pet or a grandmother who needs someone with her once a week, as long as you get your work done and don't inconvenience the rest of the team, you are allowed to be a responsible adult.

I'm not saying that this particular employee is not in the wrong; she seems like she is taking advantage. But life is hard for a lot of people. The OP sounds like she is married with only one child, and doesn't understand the juggling that many of us have to do. What happens when she has two or three, or her husband leaves her? Balancing work with the rest of your life becomes much more difficult. I agree with PPs that the OP should ask her if something serious is going on in her life - maybe her child has cancer or a serious illness.

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When I worked for government, we were salaried, but treated more like hourly employees. They didn't allow telework, because they wouldn't have been able to keep tabs on how many hours you're actually working. Even if your sick kid is sleeping and watching tv, you're more likely to spend less time actually working (which i do agree with). And employees expect everything to be fair and even. So people would lose their minds if Susan was trusted to work from home with a sick 10 year old, but Janie was told she couldn't telework with her sick 5 year old.

I do agree with you that employees should be trusted to be responsible adults. But many offices (especially government ) have that "one bad apple' attitude: if one person takes advantage, they punish the entire office by canceling all telework for everyone. [/quote]

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