To have a grumble about my employee

[InventedThePostItNote]

I'll keep this as vague as possible, but I am a small business owner and employ a personal assistant 4 days a week She is generally good, but she seems to get sick quite a lot (as in, 2-3 times a month at least- migraine, back pain, exhaustion due to insomnia, heartburn - always something different and usually not a 'visible' condition). She doesn't call in sick, but rather drags herself in with a grimace and does the whole martyred, sick voice thing all day long. I've suggested, many times, that she goes home, take a walk, go for a lie down etc but she always steadfastly refuses, but at the same time manages to make me feel like a horrible slavedriver! I think she gets some sort of perverse pleasure from it...does that make sense? Like I owe her or something.

It's not affecting her performance and she's rarely actually off sick, but I'm fed up of somehow feeling like I'm forcing her to be at work against her will. Don't really know how to approach it either.

She's good at what she does and I do think I'd struggle to find someone quite as efficient and knowledgeable as she is, but my stomach just sinks when I ask how she is, and she says 'well...I'm ok...but...'

Drop in to the conversation how you 'met a friend's PA yesterday she was so healthy and enthusiastic - like a breath of fresh air!' Oh and

Adopt the same annoying sick voice when she does. Then see how long she keeps it up

I agree with Westmorland, tell her that you're concerned she's not up to the stress of the job as she is sick so often and can you work together to come up with a solution - fewer hours etc??

I have a friend like this, it's almost funny but I don't see her as much as you see your employee. Her husband confided in me once and said that she has had every illness under the sun - including one mysterious time when she contracted blindness for a few hours.

Don't ask how she is, problem solved.

YABU. You don't like her saying she feels unwell, but she does a good job even when she feels unwell.

If she took time off sick every week you would have something to moan about.
If this woman was registered disabled the replies would be different.

Some people do have niggly health conditions and continue working through it all.
It's your problem that you feel like a slave driver.

Mr Tumble: maybe the blindness was a migraine.

I would be inclined to get rid of her. She's probably far more draining than you realise.

I would suggest going to the drs and having some general blood tests because there may be an underlying issue. Say it because you care and you want her to feel better.

I used to feel unwell a lot and if there was an illness going round I would get it. So I did as suggested above and it turned out I was slightly anaemic. I started taking vitamins c and iron tablets and adjusted my diet to include more iron and I feel great. In the past 6 months I have had a slight cold.

Thank you haunted above advice is great.