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Coworker with 'flexible' hours


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One of my coworkers is basically living the 'work' dream - showing up when she feels like it, leaving when she feels like it, taking 'sick' days or 'plumber'/'mechanic'/some-other-fake-excuse days as often as she can. You get the picture.

 

I'm not her manager but it is really getting on my nerves. It also affects the morale in the company. I notice people around complaining more and more that they 'have to stay' at work while this lady comes in/out on her liking.

 

Is there a gentle way to nudge her? I don't want to be mean and report her to management yet, but this behavior is getting more cringeworthy by the day. She is btw very manipulative and people's gal, that's why I think this has been going without consequences for so long.

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CautiouslyOptimistic

I worked with someone like this many years ago and it drove me insane. At the time, I had no children, and part of my annoyance was how she had such flexible hours because of her kids. Once I had my own kids, I understood that a little more.

 

She was someone I really enjoyed as a person, as a friend, but it really drove me crazy to work with her. Now that she's been dead for a few years (cancer) I kinda wish I could take my earlier animosity back :(.

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Oh, if she had kids or other responsibilities I’d have been understanding.

 

She’s single, young and free as a bird. No responsibilities.

 

But you’re on point animosity is not good... I am trying to calm down but this behavior is just...:sick:

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You are not her manager. Say nothing to her.

 

If you resent her & think her flexible schedule is harming morale, do mention that to your manager. Otherwise ignore her & do your job. When raise / evaluation time rolls around, mention any extra work you were forced to take on when you request a higher than normal raise.

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Eternal Sunshine

How is her performance? Is her manager happy with her work?

 

Some managers are super flexible and don't care as long as the work is done.

 

Also, maybe she has lost interest in work and is disengaging because she is looking for another job. I have seen this behaviour a lot in people that are just about to resign.

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you do not have any right to approach her since you are not management. some girl at the office was bringing her naughty kid to work once a week for 8 hours and i was getting so angry. i am in a very corporate environment and i was shocked she would do this. BUT, i found out later she had asked for special permission from HR and management, so i (or others) would have been in serious trouble if we mentioned it. you don't know what prior arrangements she has with any management or what special consideration she has asked for. mind your own biz in this case:)

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@donnivain: good suggestion - this may twist the situation in my favor after all if I get higher raise

 

@ES: I guess her performance is okay, she's good at people's interactions so it could be a cover but I won't dig further. Close to resigning is what came to mind to me as well but she just started 6 months ago (well, she's like 25 and that's her n-th job so I guess typical job-hopper)

 

@NM: oh, certainly I don't know what kind of special considerations are there. So I should just learn to ignore...

 

Well, hope people don't get me wrong - it is annoyance not resentment. Just doesn't seem right, but I guess I'm mainly venting, not going to do anything about it...

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Ask your boss if you can have a flexible schedule like hers - or if everyone can. Unless she is being paid less or does not get benefits, then note that it is a morale problem for everyone else.

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Ask your boss if you can have a flexible schedule like hers - or if everyone can. Unless she is being paid less or does not get benefits, then note that it is a morale problem for everyone else.

 

She's paid for 40 h working week as everyone else, and the benefits are the same. But I guess her (our) manager just takes it easy and don't care, or genuinely doesn't notice that she's MIA half of the time...

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Well, hope people don't get me wrong - it is annoyance not resentment. Just doesn't seem right, but I guess I'm mainly venting, not going to do anything about it...

 

Your issue should be with management, not her. They are the ones condoning this behavior.

 

Maybe ask to have the same flexible schedule? If they balk, bring up the fact it's obvious to everyone that it's okay for her - so why not you?

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I've often contemplated airing my angst over a colleague on here where the issue is not just focused upon me (eg bullying - that's different).

 

But I have not yet started a thread on it - I kinda already know how it would go.

 

in reply to you:

The problem here is that you don't absolutely for sure know the situation.

 

If you do the payroll then you do know her salary and benefits for sure - I assume you do the payroll?

Otherwise you just don't know (no need to answer that question above btw).

 

She could be a so manipulative and intimidating to her manager that they are just not doing anything - and I have seen this happen on more than one occasion.

Or she could have valid reasons previously cleared with management and HR.

 

I take short 5-7 minute breaks through the day often and I never - literally never take a lunch break (not for the last 7 years) - I do this for medical reasons and I cleared it with my Finance Director before I started doing this.

I also don't sit and chat for any longer than 10 minutes each day during work time about non work related things. My boss (the FD sees this as I sit right next to him).

I always meet deadlines and will work extra hours whether in the office or at home when needed.

 

I was sick earlier this year and my team knew I wasn't well but only my boss knew what was up as it was personal.

I would wake up sometimes at 2am/5am, start working and log off (only once I had cleared it with my boss) at 2pm.

 

I'm well aware that I probably get on folks nerves and or have done!

 

But..those who get on my nerves are the ones who talk TV, celebrity, diets, Bake Off TV shows, reality shows etc almost all day every day and they never understand why they never meet deadlines and need to work late.

The ones who are unable to add up.

The ones who leave early claiming to have a doctor's appointment and post pics of their newly done nails/hair at 5pm.

The ones who are signed off sick yet are well enough to go out for an entire day.

I could list a multitude more things here...Lol!

 

But, realistically all that your focus on this woman is doing is stressing you out - does she deserve your air time?

 

I have a trick - I have a notebook and any work angst I write it down - I find it's actually better doing this than expressing much angst to colleagues or anyone as no one will try to 'fix it' if I write it down.

Not only that but more than half of that angst and irritation just disappears once you've written it down.

 

Give her as much air time as it takes to write down your irritation - she isn't worth more than that to you.

 

PS. Writing in a notebook is way more therapeutic than typing - go buy yourself a pretty notebook and a nice pen.. :)

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@Recent: True, the management is the problem... I guess I'll just abstract. She justifies it with 'not enough work', which is true many of the days (what drives on my nerves is the obviously fake days off).

 

@Gemma: true, what is in the background is hard to tell. I love the notebook idea: I actually recently started journaling every day after I got challenged to do so by someone who has done it for over a decade! It is surprising how the pen and paper clear up the mind, cool off some emotions, fire up others :)

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As others have said she could have been given special permission for her schedule. I also currently work at a place where certain people have a "flexible" schedule but they are all friends with the office manager and were able to get things approved. Even though it brings down morale and causes jealousy to some, there's nothing anyone can do about it.

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thefooloftheyear

Speaking from the other side of the desk, if its not directly affecting your job, then it should be none of your concern...

 

Maybe the boss is banging her, or her uncle lent the boss some money, who the heck knows??, if this is the case, he/she certainly isn't going to share that with the other members of the company....

 

And going to the boss/management like a 7 year old talking about a sibling, saying. "I want flexible hours, and if SHE can do it, so why can't I"? is definitely a bad move, and will get you nowhere...If you want to consider flexible hours/schedule, do not bring up someone else..

 

Like previously stated....If its not directly affecting you, then just tune it out...If you can't bear to deal with it, then start looking for an alternate workplace...Its a strong job market now..

 

TFY

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One of my coworkers is basically living the 'work' dream - showing up when she feels like it, leaving when she feels like it, taking 'sick' days or 'plumber'/'mechanic'/some-other-fake-excuse days as often as she can. You get the picture.

 

I'm not her manager but it is really getting on my nerves. It also affects the morale in the company. I notice people around complaining more and more that they 'have to stay' at work while this lady comes in/out on her liking.

 

Is there a gentle way to nudge her? I don't want to be mean and report her to management yet, but this behavior is getting more cringeworthy by the day. She is btw very manipulative and people's gal, that's why I think this has been going without consequences for so long.

 

There are a couple of rules in the workplace I have learnt in life.

 

#1 When you pick a fight, people will fight back. So you should be prepared when that happens. And as you already seem to have discerned, "She is btw very manipulative and people's gal" meaning your collegue is a much better at navigating the political waters of the workplace than you are. Do you want a person like that turning on you?

 

#2.. Dont get involved in other peoples bull****. especially if you are not getting paid for it. In your case, it's your managers bull****. So she/he has to deal with it or will one day wind up dealing with it because it's in her/his job description to deal with it.

 

So my advice is don't be concerned with other people and their perks and just focus on yourself and keep on showing up to work with a smile on your face and enjoy your pay cheque and spend some of it on yourself on payday.

 

;-)

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Here's the thing I have found over the years:

 

 

If someone worked a better deal than you, jealousy will never even it out. If she was good at negotiations and valued for whatever reason that may or may not be legit, good for her. You can do the same thing. If you are not skilled enough at negotiations to get the same deal, you have the option of leaving for a better deal or more fair work environment.

 

 

If a co-worker doing the same job as me gets paid $20,000 more, the worst thing I can do is try to get her down to my level. The best thing to do is figure out how I work the same deal.

 

 

Successful people don't try to bring others to their level, they try to rise up so they are the ones with the sweetheart deal. That's success. You earning the same, working the same hours, having the same benefits that you do right now and bringing a co-worker down to match you is punishment and does not better you in anyway.

 

 

As long as your job performance is not negatively affected by her work schedule, if you want to be successful, work on figuring out how you can work a similar or better deal. Trying to "punish" her down to your level only means 2 people lose and nobody wins. If you learn how to better your position and work schedule, you both win.

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GunslingerRoland

Is she getting paid for more hours than she is working?

 

Because if she is taking a bunch of time off unpaid, then keep that in context. Not everyone wants/needs to work 40 hours + every week.

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Just to put things straight: it is not that I want to match her schedule. You could be right that this is a deal that she worked out, then it is ok; I brought it up because I have felt like this behavior is borderline fraudulent (i.e. speculating with the trust / lack of attention of the management)...

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I agree with the others that if you're not in charge of her, it's not really any of your business - best not to say anything.

 

Just to put things straight: it is not that I want to match her schedule. You could be right that this is a deal that she worked out, then it is ok; I brought it up because I have felt like this behavior is borderline fraudulent (i.e. speculating with the trust / lack of attention of the management)...

 

What sort of job does she do?

 

Personally, I feel that for any job that doesn't require literal physical presence (i.e. not a receptionist, waitress, nurse, doctor, cashier, chef, etc), hrs/week is a pretty pointless barometer. Someone could be at their desk for 50 hrs/week, but if half of those hours are spent on Facebook and chatting at the water cooler, they're being less productive than someone who is at their desk 30 hrs/week but working the entire time... and certainly a LOT less productive than someone who is at their desk 30 hrs/week, working the entire time, and doing some work at home as well. Not to even mention that different people work at different speeds.

 

I manage a small team for work. And frankly, I don't give a shyt if they work the hours they're paid for or not, as long as they produce good results. If they don't, THEN we have a problem.

Edited by Elswyth
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What sort of job does she do? Analytics mainly.

 

Oh, she is verrrry active in water cooler and office chitchat as well :lmao: I guess that's part of the character traits of someone that enjoys slacking so much ;) and keeps it going by being people's person...

 

I just can't find a good excuse for making up a plumber/mechanic/doctor appointment at least once or twice a week and don't even putting an effort to make it sound plausible.

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Eternal Sunshine

When I started my job, the first day I had a meeting with the boss and he told me:

 

"I really don't care where you do the work. I only care about the output. If you want to work some days from home, no problem, you don't even need to tell me. If you want to sit by the pool in Hawaii and work there, all good. I care about the quality/quantity, meeting the deadlines and attending scheduled meetings"

 

I took him at face value :)

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My cousin once bragged that he got great evals at work and the supervisor praised him for working so hard; in reality, he would sneak out to play golf here and there :laugh:

 

Indeed, as long as you are doing a good job, who cares how much time you have spent working!!

 

When I started my job, the first day I had a meeting with the boss and he told me:

 

"I really don't care where you do the work. I only care about the output. If you want to work some days from home, no problem, you don't even need to tell me. If you want to sit by the pool in Hawaii and work there, all good. I care about the quality/quantity, meeting the deadlines and attending scheduled meetings"

 

I took him at face value :)

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thefooloftheyear
When I started my job, the first day I had a meeting with the boss and he told me:

 

"I really don't care where you do the work. I only care about the output. If you want to work some days from home, no problem, you don't even need to tell me. If you want to sit by the pool in Hawaii and work there, all good. I care about the quality/quantity, meeting the deadlines and attending scheduled meetings"

 

I took him at face value :)

 

Are they hiring??:laugh:

 

TFY

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Resorting to unethical behaviors to slack off work is very different than having flexible time in the office. That’s why I was sarcastic in the OP.

 

Again - we’re talking about someone sneaking out with absurd excuses and also someone with zero life responsibilities to justify somehow such behavior.

 

I guess I’m relationship context it will translate to ‘I b*ng my wifey’s friends when I feel like it but why should she care when she can’t see it and I’m also f*cking her regularly (‘getting the job done’)’

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Some jobs are about face time / showing up & others are about productivity.

 

I am not a morning person. I had a job where to some extent face time was important but bottom line was productivity was morning important. I was rarely at my desk before 9:15 a.m., I routinely took more than 1 hour for lunch & I only worked occasional weekends but I was the most efficient employee in the company. Even though the company had 15 people generating revenue, by myself I was 11% of the company's bottom line & was the company's top producer. If all 15 of us billed equally, we'd only each be responsible for 6.6% of the revenue. My boss knew I was producing almost double so he never minded the liberties I took. Had my production slid below 7% I'm sure I would have been in deep trouble for coming in late.

 

If this woman's behavior is causing morale problems, tell your boss that. You may get an explanation like the one I just shared with you about my production. I know that is what others were told who complained about my schedule: bill what she does & you can have her schedule too. If on the other hand your coworker is not getting the job done, pick up the slack & point that out to your boss when it comes time for your raise.

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