Would you be annoyed at a work colleague….

[user347985]

If they worked shorter days (mornings) because of a cancer diagnosis/treatment two years ago?

Honestly, no. I am not privy to the ins/outs of their health condition.

What annoys me more is the term “work colleague”. Isn’t “colleague” by definition someone you work with? So coupling with “work” is unnecessary

It wouldn't annoy me for any reason, as it's between them and the manager and presume they only get paid for what they work. Even less so if it was due to an illness/disability.

@ImNotDancing

No, their work arrangements would be nothing to do with me

No, because the progress of their illness, the sequences of their treatment, and any side effects of treatment, are their private business.

FYI, many people live with active cancer for decades; they also live with the ongoing side effects of longterm treatments like chemo.

People whose cancer has been successfully treated, i.e they are cured/ in full remission, may still face a lifetime of longterm impairment from surgery, permanent internal damage from radiation treatment etc.

Sorry to I'm not dancing, didn't mean to attach my post to yours and wasn't disagreeing with it.

Not at all.

I'd be annoyed if management hadn't made arrangements to ensure all the shift was properly covered. But that isn't anything to do with the colleague.

Of course not!!!!!

It's a decision made by management and HR. It's nothing to do with me, but if it affects my workload, and it's been affecting it for 2 years, I may be annoyed, but more at management for not finding suitable help for me to manage my role if I'm also managing the person who is still part time.

No not at all as would just my work and would feel empathy towards the colleague who had survived cancer but she probably had to reduce work hours to help her stress levels and to stay clear of cancer as you are not fully clear for a few years.

Once you have had cancer you are disabled, due to the lifelong impact of the disease and the debilitating effects of the treatment.
The employer has a duty to provide provision for the employee.

It is no one's business except the employee and their manager.

Why do you ask OP? Do you want to elaborate? Surely you're not just looking for purely 'Yes' or 'No' answers like a poll?

No, I would just be glad that their treatment is working and they're still alive.

I would say it’s no one else’s fucking business.

There's obviously a bigger issue that the op needs to come back and elaborate.

No because that's called bitterness and we don't do that, having cancer is bad enough without people getting all judgey pants and taking umbrage

You often come out the treatment with chronic long term health issues that resulted from the treatments. Adjustments should be made. My treatment finished 5 years ago but the effect has not.

I don't think I would, I would be sympathetic.

No. My direct report only works a 30 hour week after recovering from breast cancer. She is paid a 30 hour week and sometimes I tell her to work a 10 hour week simply because its bloody exhausting recovering from the two years of treatment she's been through - and its amazing that she is still alive and working.

If you have an increased workload because they have not been replaced in terms of hours take it up with your manager - but don't blame the person who had a life threatening illness as its not their fault??

No. It’s people that are too concerned with other people’s work arrangements that annoy me. Usually the ones that are trying to deflect from their own imperfections. Used to work with someone who always made a point of drawing attention to the fact that anyone else was a couple of minutes late, yet he spent a full hour in the bog every day on top of the full hour out for lunch.

No, of course I wouldn't be annoyed. People who have had cancer have usually had debilitating operations and treatments and even when considered 'cured' their health is often never the same again. They often need endless checkups scans ext in the after years and can also suffer terrible anxiety about the condition returning. Why would I resent them working shorter hours? It is also worth bearing in mind op that as they say one in two of us will get some form of cancer at some time, who knows if you might need those shorter hours yourself at some point in your life?

Nope, plenty of other staff I've worked with have done morning shifts as well and I never cared. None of my business what hours people do, the reason is irrelevant.

If there was a workload issue, it would be down to management to sort, not the part timer's responsibility to go full time!

Not enough information really.
I might be a bit annoyed if:
A) my job was impacted by this EG I got some of his/her work load or a needed data that they weren't getting to me due to the shortened days.
B) I felt they were taking the piss in some way EG picking all the nice parts of the job and leaving me to do double the unpleasant parts at the end of the day.

Generally though I'd be sympathetic and assume that they needed this in order to fully recover.

You have to be a special kind of arse hole to get annoyed with someone recovering from cancer reducing their hours.

Are you the poster who has been told to work afternoons because a colleague needs the morning shift for childcare?

You are doing the right thing. Look after yourself, and try not to leave all the shit jobs for the afternoon workers (leaving some after doing your share is fine).

If it didn’t effect me it would be fine. If it meant I lost flexibility to escape on light afternoons, or lost opportunities with some of the work that comes mostly in the mornings it would matter a lot.

No. I have a colleague in this situation currently who is dealing with so much post-cancer physical shit 2 years on I hadn’t even imagined.