Or is my colleague

[Iwishiwereheather]

So colleague is senior to me but we also have the same manager.

My manager and I have an agreement that I can log out of my phone 3-4pm. Our job isn’t particularly call based and you get like 3 a day max. Due to anxiety I’m allowed this break a day.

Today my manger was off and the senior told me to log in, he said he was aware of the agreement but one time wouldn’t hurt would it?

I think if discussed beforehand then I would have done it but springing it on me with 10 minutes to go I think is very unfair. There were other people logged into their phone so they weren’t left with no one answering calls.

I wondered whether your manager not being there meant the jobs have to be shared around differently - which might mean there is a genuine reason why things need to be different while your manager is away. That should be explored at the time though rather than put on you at the last minute. Who else does picking up the phones fall to if you can't do that aspect of your job and how might that affect their work?

If an agreed break is a formal reasonable adjustment made due to a disability - colleague is BU.

If it's just an informal arrangement from the goodwill of your current manager - colleague is not BU to see if you could be flexible on one occasion.

I think that people replying don't actually want to know your full medical history - they just want to understand which of the two scenarios you are outlining.

Sorry pressed post too soon! People are just asking for clarification of the crucial point -

"My manager and I have an agreement that I can log out of my phone....Due to anxiety I’m allowed this break a day"

The have an agreement is the important point here and if you clarify this (you absolutely don't have to "justify" this just clarify if it's a formal reasonable adjustment, or an informal flexible arrangement from the goodwill of your manager, in which case it would be decent (if you are able) to be flexible yourself in return if requested occasionally.

You are not being unreasonable
The reasons for not answering in that hour are irrelevant
The point is you have an agreement and he failed to uphold it - he is being unprofessional and undermining your manager
If I were your manager I would be v annoyed by this

And OP said there was no capacity issue - which would then be understandable to ask

This makes perfect sense to me.

It’s a reasonable adjustment for mental health reasons and your senior colleague is on dodgy ground challenging it- not that he has any authority too.

It frustrates me SO much when people don’t see that the most subtle adjustments can make the world of difference to someone, when they think it may be pointless- that’s why you don’t need the adjustment, because this stuff is not a big deal to you, doesn’t mean it isn’t too someone else.

I can easily see this being something I had in place myself; I am autistic and the phone ringing at any given moment could give me huge social anxiety and anxiety about being interrupted. This would probably be so crippling I would be unproductive, particularly if I had a task to do that required specific focus and accuracy. This kind of scenario I would ask my manager if I could switch off the phone each day for X time whilst I did Y task to avoid my anxiety impacting productivity. He would probably agree as it’s a tiny adjustment and we would all continue as such. My colleagues wouldn’t dare question it.

I’m guessing the set up OP has is along similar lines and maybe this would be a useful example for those of you who can’t possibly imagine the why it would be of benefit.

It isnt a break from work. It is logging off from the phones when they phones rarely ring anyway.

It all depends on why the more senior colleague was asking you to log into the phone.
In the absence of your normal boss, a more senior colleague can obviously ask you to help out if there is a capacity issue. You say you don’t know why the colleague asked you to help. Colleague should have given a reason. So it does sound like colleague was being unreasonable.
However, it also sounds weirdly specific that you log out of the phones between 3-4. Would you have been flexible if your colleague had givens reason (ie. needs help as short staffed)?

No he shouldn't have asked you to log in unless there was a compelling reason to do so.

Sounds to me like your colleague thinks you are not pulling your weight at work. However it's not up to him.

Did you log on?

I don't think it's unreasonable that posters ask for clarification about whether the arrangement IS a formal reasonable adjustment or not, but people here asking OP to justify here WHY there is an arrangement is unreasonable.

For whatever reason there is an arrangement in place and the crux of the matter is HOW it exists not why.

People wouldn't be asking OP to justify whether it was a reasonable adjustment if OP has arranged she doesn't walk up stairs to a stock room at the end of the day, or she is allowed to log out of her screen early due to sight impairment etc.

The manager here who know the situation feels it is a fair arrangement and whether the colleague is BU or not to ask if she can be flexible depends on how the arrangement exists, not why.

Sounds like your not pulling your weight and others are fed up with this.

Other colleagues have different arrangements (some won’t take any calls)

Also other areas of the job people have it massively reduced, like 50% less expected work a day then what I would do.

God where do you work? I want a job there, it sounds like a a right pisser.

It’s hard to know what to suggest since you won’t tell us if it’s an informal flexible arrangement or a formal, documented reasonable adjustment. If it is the latter speak to your manager, clarify if senior management has the authority to override this decision and the impact is has on your work. If it’s not a reasonable adjustment and just a flexible agreement then there may be times when you need to be flexible in return.

I’m struggling to understand why someone who gets 3 calls a day needs to log out of the phone for an hour at the end of the day due to “anxiety” given the likelihood of even getting a call in that time is slim. I know anxiety is different for everyone but I’ve never seen anxiety fester in a certain time period before.

@SunIsComing

Sounds like your not pulling your weight and others are fed up with this.

You sound like a bully.

@SunIsComing

You need a break in the last hour of your shift??!!

So it seems your reading comprehension is not great? Where does op say that?

"God where do you work? I want a job there, it sounds like a a right pisser"

This (and plenty of other comments here) is awful.

Don't people set the bar really fucking low when it comes to employers trying to make adjustments for people with disabilities.

No wonder so many of us can't get or keep a fucking job with attitudes like that from colleagues.

I think a lot of people on this thread do not understand what it can be like to suffer with an anxiety disorder and it really shows.

Does it matter how/why this arrangement helps the OP? If their manager has agreed to it and has put this arrangement in place then that is the beginning, middle and end.

What stands out for me is the "it's not that difficult" comment. This alone suggests that this senior knows and understands the arrangement perfectly well but is trying it on whilst your manager is not there. The language is designed to guilt and shame you into doing what they want. In your shoes, I would of said no sorry I would prefer not to go against the arrangement me and manager have in place. It is in place for a reason.

I know you don't want to explain here, but is the senior aware that you have a mental health reason for not being logged into the phone, rather than it just being a preference? That, and the reason why you were asked to log into the phone makes a big difference to whether your colleague was unreasonable or not.

You colleague is being a dick, unless he had good reason to ask you to do this, then the only reason is that he's a dick.

Whatever the background actually j would see this more as an issue between the senior and the manager. I've had deputies or team leaders try to pull this sort of stunt on staff because they are annoyed at me , assuming I am being soft on someone. (I am never soft , even remotely but its usually a silly naive way to exert some woerd power need ).

I hope you refused and refer it back to your manager. Ten to one this is about an odd power trip by your Senior. Honestly its irrelevant if the senior disagrees with the decision to let you have a break. Their manager authorised it so they should not be undermining it.

The op says:

“I’m unsure why someone is also asking if I do other work during this hour (it’s my last working hour of the day), do people genuinely think my manager would agree for me to sit there and do nothing for a total of 5 hours a week? “

If the senior doesn’t know about your mental health issues and you don’t know why he asked you to log in (could be to cover unexpected sickness for eg) then I don’t think either one if you is particularly unreasonable. Have a chat with your manager re expectations if cover is required but seems to be a mountain out of a molehill

I have a number of reasonable adjustments at work, such as a fixed desk and specialist equipment and would be very unimpressed if someone else in my team tried to remove them from me when my manager wasn't there!

OP - I would have a word with your manager about it. Manager just needs to tell others in the team who may act in a supervisory capacity that your reasonable adjustments apply all the time, including when manager is on leave, off sick, or having a non-working day.

Unfortunately a lot of people have shitty attitudes to reasonable adjustments - I've worked at places where people have complained that I have a specialist chair, or an ergonomic keyboard for example. I've even seen people moan about people's guide dogs and hearing dogs being allowed in the staff canteen! I think people tend to be shittier about RAs for MH reasons as it can be harder to 'see' why it is needed.

I suspect your manager won't be very happy that you've had this experience. Make sure you tell them.

@loveheartss

I think a lot of people on this thread do not understand what it can be like to suffer with an anxiety disorder and it really shows.

Does it matter how/why this arrangement helps the OP? If their manager has agreed to it and has put this arrangement in place then that is the beginning, middle and end.

What stands out for me is the "it's not that difficult" comment. This alone suggests that this senior knows and understands the arrangement perfectly well but is trying it on whilst your manager is not there. The language is designed to guilt and shame you into doing what they want. In your shoes, I would of said no sorry I would prefer not to go against the arrangement me and manager have in place. It is in place for a reason.

This. He knows, but his "it's not that difficult", shows he doesn't care, which would be my issue to the manager.

@Iwishiwereheather

Thanks to some posters for explaining it better.

And Moondust I’m not being aggressive in the slightest - buzzwords like that and “you sound very angry” are said all the time on aibu to control a nonexistent narrative and discredit the OP.

I’m trying to not detail this thread. Because I’m not asking for opinions on an agreements.

I’m asking whether someone who is more senior than me has the right to determine something as “not difficult” and go against an agreement I have in place with someone senior to us both.

I have no right to tell you that you are being aggressive when I believe that you are being exactly that. Bullshit. The "nonexistent narrative" is yours, in that you post but don't want to get answers that you don't want, and are "controlling the narrative" by telling people it's none of their business! Nobody forced you to post.

We cannot possibly answer the question because the only person who can answer it is your manager. Senior colleagues may have some authority over junior ones, there may be delegated authorities, and there may be exceptional background to something we know nothing about. We know none of this. You have an agreement in place that you don't answer phones at certain times, but whether it is reasonable that someone ask you once to do so is not something anyone here can possibly know about. So why ask and then get shirty when people try to understand the situation? YABU.

The exact reasons for the agreement are actually irrelevant here beyond being for the wellbeing of the op. Her manager clearly accepted that this is beneficial to her and manageable for the team.
OP your colleague was being unreasonable unless there was some kind of emergency/ exceptional circumstances. Presumably under those circumstances you would expect to help out anyway.
What you will probably find is that he disagrees with you being allowed this adjustment so has taken the opportunity to get at you.
Tell your manager and make sure they speak to him to ensure he knows not to do this again.
I have had quite a bit of experience in managing staff that need adjustments then having to deal with resentment from their colleagues. People seem unable to accept that this is usually only done for very good reasons.