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Original poster

Would this be petty to raise with a manager

37 replies

lastqueenofscotland · 13/07/2018 12:19

I work in a tiny team (4 people) and one girl is ALWAYS late, (the managers start half an hour after us), is always taking an extra 5/10 minutes on her lunch and is forever calling in sick for everything and anything...
I feel like I’m picking up a lot of the slack for this and there are days like yesterday it really fucks me over because we don’t want to cancel client meetings so I have to do hers and get not much of my own work done.

I have my usual monthly meeting with my manager after lunch, would I be unreasonable to raise this with him? Or would it be petty

OP posts:
Nikephorus · 13/07/2018 12:20

YANBU.

PlaymobilPirate · 13/07/2018 12:20

Absolutely not petty at all

FatBarry · 13/07/2018 12:29

I would absolutely do the same

PETRONELLAS · 13/07/2018 12:31

I’d be gentle going in though in case of things you’ve not been told about...

DianaPrincessOfThemyscira · 13/07/2018 12:34

‘Be gentle’? Why? OP can say ‘I feel I’m picking up a lot of work for who is consistently late. It is negatively impacting my own work now. What can you put in place to support me?’

It’s not actually about getting the other woman in trouble it’s about raising how it’s beocming unworkable for the person in the meeting.

ilovesooty · 13/07/2018 12:36

The lateness and extra time on breaks is visible to you and affects the team generally. I don't think the sickness is your business really - that's for managers to monitor and manage.

CambridgeAnaglypta · 13/07/2018 12:36

Ask if it is new policy that you can all come in 10 minutes late!

purplecorkheart · 13/07/2018 12:37

Not petty at all. I work in very similar circumstances with someone who did the exact same. I ended up on Sick Leave due to stress over it.

kaitlinktm · 13/07/2018 12:42

I would try to do it factually though rather than in a complaining or blaming sort of way. Something along the lines of being behind with xyz (your work) because you had to deputise in meetings x number of times for your absent colleague. What DianaPrincess said about asking how you can be supported is a good idea.

ADastardlyThing · 13/07/2018 12:43

I'd raise it in a general way, you're concerned that the teams workloads are being negatively impacted when there are times that someone is regularly late or not in. As a pp says you don't know yet, and may never know, if there any extenuating circumstances that they are aware of. Ultimately, someone else's sickness and how that is being managed isn't really any of your business, the impact on your workload is so concentrate on that.

We have someone who is late and off sick a fair bit. But other times he works late, works from home checking emails, is pretty flexible with work, has cancelled holidays if workloads are busy, so there is give and take so the lateness and sickness is offset (we are a pretty laid back workplace though)

SharronNeedles · 13/07/2018 12:45

I did this. I had a colleague who drove me crazy by always being late etc. I spoke to my manager who just told my colleague and now she refuses to speak with me

KinkyAfro · 13/07/2018 12:47

We have one like this, we start at 8 yet she strolls in about 8.30, takes an inexplicable amount of time setting her stuff up, buggers off to the kitchen, stopping to talk to various people on the way. She must sit down to work about 10 ish and then all you get is "I'm so busy". She then faffs around for an hour, goes for lunch, comes back at 2 ish and repeats the morning activities. I regularly have to cover her work, she doesn't answer her work phone so I have to deal with her clients/queries.

It really pisses me off but the bosses think she's great so nothing is ever done, meanwhile I'm doing her stuff and she's taking the credit.

DoYouLikeHueyLewisandTheNews · 13/07/2018 12:48

YANBU. As previous posters have suggested I'd keep to the facts. You don't need to mention her much but stress how extra client appointments and low staff levels are affecting your work. Your manager will know why this is.

ICouldBeSomebodyYouKnow · 13/07/2018 13:07

Good advice from Diana and DoYouLike.

Unless the manager is blind, deaf and stupid, they are probably already aware of your colleague's behaviour. But they may not be aware of the impact. So concentrate on that. Do ask outright what they will do to support you. That's absolutely the key question. If they want you to just keep covering, I would start looking elsewhere.

OliviaStabler · 13/07/2018 13:07

YANBU.

The way to raise it is by saying that you work well with X and get on well as a team but her lateness is causing you issues by effecting your productivity at work.

Then provide some specific dates of when she was late, late from lunch and especially examples of when you have had to take over her meetings / work and how it has effected your workload.

It needs to be presented that this is not a personal issue but an issue of your work being hampered and that is the only reason you have raised the problem

Isleepinahedgefund · 13/07/2018 13:11

Absolutely raise it with your manager, it isn’t fair in a small team where someone else has to pick up the slack like that. If I did the same, but still got my work done, it wouldn’t impact my team at all as we don’t share work.

I’d approach it by saying something like that you can’t continue to pick up the slack for this girl as it’s negatively impacting on your ability to do your job. This lets your manager know that a) there is a problem with this girl (which they might not be aware of) and b) that you have been doing extra and it is affecting you.

You’re not entitled to know if there is a real issue with the girl in question (e.g. a disability), but you are entitled to expect your manager to deal with the impact her behaviour is having on you and your work work regardless of the reason for it. Even if she has an issue, it doesn’t mean you should shut up and cover for her.

This is exactly the kind of thing that breeds resentment in the workplace.

halfwitpicker · 13/07/2018 13:16

meanwhile I'm doing her stuff and she's taking the credit.

^
Sorry, but the word carpet springs to mind here.

Leo90 · 13/07/2018 13:20

I work with someone who takes extra breaks or longer than she meant then comes in and claims overtime on a Saturday cause she's so behind.

HectorlovesKiki · 13/07/2018 13:36

She is causing dissention in the workplace and needs to be told.
She's not punctual, is an irregular attender, is not a team player and takes the piss out of her colleagues who are left to pick up the slack.
Did she mention all these "qualities" at her interview? Thought not.
I'd mention it to management, defo.

HyacinthsBucket70 · 13/07/2018 13:39

Why are you covering for her? Stop. It's that simple. Do what you are paid to do, not what she's paid for doing. If that has repurcussions, so be it.

Hissy · 13/07/2018 13:43

How long has this been going on? Has it not been raised before?

DarlingNikita · 13/07/2018 13:43

I'd bring it up, definitely. I wouldn't mention the sickness, though, as that's potentially dangerous ground.

Often in these scenarios I think it IS hard to mention without you seeming petty or spiteful, but in your case it sounds as if you can clearly point to instances and examples of it affecting your work rate and therefore being bad for the company (like you doing her client meetings and falling behind on your own work.)

Kinky, she doesn't answer her work phone so I have to deal with her clients/queries. Why do you 'have' to do this? Confused Can't you just leave her phone to ring? I've turned colleagues' phones to silent before when they were in a meeting or otherwise away from their desks for any length of time because it's distracting and makes hearing difficult when you're trying to do your own work/talk to people.

Original poster
lastqueenofscotland · 13/07/2018 14:25

Covering doesn’t instantly mean doing all her work but even 2/3 minutes speaking to her clients apologising that she is off/ one less person monitoring calls and emails etc can really add up!
I wasn’t going to go in all “Jane is annoying she’s never in”
Just more that I feel that I’m picking up a lot of slack for poor timekeeping/attendance

OP posts:
troodiedoo · 13/07/2018 14:29

There's someone like this in every office Hmm hope your manager is decent and sorts it.

KinkyAfro · 13/07/2018 15:13

Because they call me when she doesnt answer darling.