This episode’s question:
So I have an employee who is very good at what he does as long as he has a schedule, a set of boundaries, clear process, and he can “discuss” whatever is going on at that moment multiple times per hour. He is also a full on man-child with absolutely no capability of self management or accountability and freaks out at the slightest amount of stress or pressure.
Last night, he mentioned taking a day off the following week. I asked him if it was truly needed as the partners had noticed a bit of a trend lately. I suggested that if he really needed the day off, that he should take it, but if he would be able to just come in an hour late or skip out over lunch, that would have a better appearance at the moment.
He agreed, and asked if anything was going on, and I assured him that I was just making sure there wasn’t the appearance of a problem.
He called later in the evening expressing frustration at what he called “mixed messages” about our work from home and PTO policies. He felt that PTO and work from home were offered, but it was frowned upon for him to use them. I explained that it is offered to be used as a tool, but not so much that it becomes an issue. I reminded him that he used PTO or work from home 5 times in three weeks, mostly working from home.
He seems to think that this is what the policy is there for and cannot understand how he’s supposed to manage when things like a flat tire comes up. How can I explain this to him? What could I have done differently?
Words that Dawn made up this episode:
- Squinky