A reader writes:
For the previous 18 months, the individual in my workplace who holds the identical job title as me has had severe attendance and communication issues. I’m not speaking a number of instances a month. I’m speaking it’s a miracle if he makes it in most of 5 days in per week. He’ll be in 4 instances over two weeks. I’ve created a spreadsheet to maintain monitor, this isn’t exaggerating.
Our job description may be very particular that in workplace attendance is totally required of us at the very least three days per week. Our job title has the phrase “on-site” in it. I want to work within the workplace 5 days per week as a result of house is a distraction-filled wasteland for me, and I wouldn’t have points if he was coming in thrice per week recurrently. He isn’t, although. I used to be employed as a result of it was an excessive amount of work for him by himself, and I’m within the workplace on my own on a regular basis.
He’ll generally inform me he isn’t coming in, however he simply as typically received’t and simply doesn’t present up. He’ll typically say he’ll be in later, solely to vary his thoughts and simply not are available in any respect. I’ll get an apology lunch (if he bothers to indicate up) or textual content (if he doesn’t) the subsequent day.
The issue is that I’ve completed what I’m imagined to! I checked in with him first and made certain every little thing is okay. I requested what I may do to assist him straight. When that didn’t work, in November of 2023 (and no, that’s not a typo), I first spoke with our supervisor on this. He’s in a special a part of the nation so doesn’t have eyes on it straight. And I’ve introduced it up recurrently with this supervisor (in one-on-ones) ever since.
There have been discussions between boss and coworker. My coworker exhibits up for per week, perhaps seven days, after which begins to fall off once more. He is aware of what he’s doing is fallacious as a result of he retains apologizing! There have at all times been excuses. Typically, it’s a funeral for a member of the family (which I can’t begrudge, although his household have to be huge), however more often than not it’s a tummy ache or lack of sleep. Whereas I might need leniency in these conditions, the truth that my 2024 spreadsheet has 90 entries in it means he didn’t present up a 3rd of the yr.
What makes this more durable is when he’s in, we work nice collectively! We have now very comparable approaches to our job and might knock out every kind of labor extraordinarily shortly. However I’m alone more often than not. And I’m afraid to take day off as a result of I’ve come again with stuff I’d requested him to deal with whereas I used to be out utterly ignored.
Our supervisor has instructed a gathering with the three of us, however what is that this dialog going to do this the person ones haven’t? Going up one other tier seems like throwing two folks below the bus. My boss’s boss is additional eliminated, and discovering time to debate with him is subsequent to inconceivable. However I’m being taken benefit of! I don’t know what to do. That is simply the perfect job I’ve had exterior of this and I’m so upset that I’m right here. How on earth do I proceed?
There are two points right here: (1) it’s aggravating that your coworker is flagrantly ignoring expectations he retains agreeing to observe, and (2) you’re afraid to take day off as a result of he received’t do the issues he’s imagined to do throughout that point. #1 is absolutely between your coworker and your supervisor; it’s aggravating however it’s additionally not yours to deal with (and also you actually ought to cease monitoring his in-office days in that spreadsheet as a result of it’s not your job to do this and that’s simply going to maintain you extra mired within the aggravation). However #2 may be very a lot your enterprise, and so are another ways in which his not being there and his lack of communication have an effect on your work. That’s the place it is advisable focus.
Any further if you elevate it along with your boss, preserve your focus 100% on how this impacts your work. Your boss clearly doesn’t care as a lot as you do about the remainder of it, so take the elements which might be inflicting concrete issues for you and dump these in her lap. For instance: “I haven’t been utilizing PTO as a result of up to now after I’ve come again, Cecil hasn’t coated the issues he’s agreed to cowl and it has resulted in ___. However I do have to take day off. Are you able to assist me with this?”
That may imply that it is advisable be okay with issues falling by means of the cracks when you’re gone — and alerting your boss to these issues if you return, and never cleansing them up your self (or if that’s unrealistic, telling your boss different priorities might want to wait so you may clear up the mess Fergus made).
But additionally, it’s been over a yr because you began elevating this drawback, and it’s time to just accept your boss doesn’t care as a lot about it as you do. You’re approaching it as if she is going to begin managing Fergus higher if solely you may persuade her that she must … however for no matter purpose, she doesn’t share your tackle the state of affairs. Possibly that’s as a result of she’s a foul supervisor (seemingly), or perhaps it’s as a result of there are issues occurring behind the scenes that you just don’t find out about, or who is aware of what. Regardless, you’re going to be lots happier should you settle for that that is how issues are and that you just’re not able to vary them, and shift your focus solely to items that straight have an effect on you and let the remainder go … most particularly the spreadsheet.