Colleague taking the piss….

[Laughingteacakes]

I work in a team alongside a colleague, we do the same job, we are on a small team in a public services workplace - don’t want to be too outing. We are able to work from home but also have an office base and we do work in the community, around the area of our office base.
This colleague has small children, she doesn’t have childcare in place consistently, she seems to be working her job around her childcare needs rather than pay for the right amount of childcare (money isn’t an issue, think expensive car, large house etc). She also travels from home to work in her work time so that she can be at home at the times she needs for her childcare, without making up the 1.5ish hours this takes her each day. The rest of the team are working really hard, extra hours, lots of stress about getting through the workload, she is breezing along with a much lighter workload and therefore managing to continue to be at home whenever she needs to for her children. It is driving me crazy, I am so pissed off that the rest of the team including myself are working so hard and she is taking the absolute piss. I know different people have different work ethics but I feel this is really out of order. It’s also causing lots of negativity in the team with people feeling so cross.
This has been going on about a year, but is getting worse. I need advice, how would you deal with this, our manager doesn’t seem to be interested as the teams work is getting done.
YABU - you should just get on with it and not get involved.
YANBU - this is a piss take and you should do something to try and get the workload more even. Thanks for any views…I’m that worked up about it I can’t think straight….😊

oh and yes, i had kids at the time, not that i'd ever expect others to repeatedly pick up the slack for my life choices

you can't control what she does, only what you do...while you are picking up work that she should be doing, its as though you are giving her money. Your choice.

My manager has pulled 3 employees with preschool age kids back into the office full time and revoked their wfh rights that we all have certain days a week for 12 months as she found out they were doing childcare in work hours

If the work wasn't getting done, then good on the manager

We could do with more decisive people like this, though I can imagine how it went down if they were pisstakers

Because it’s a responsibility that in the absence of flexible working would have to be outsourced and paid for, ditto childcare.

If you do benefit from WFH policies which allow you a better work life balance, whilst your workplace is hybrid, then it is clear that not all the workforce derives equal benefits, after all someone has to be in the office, and for all that plenty on this thread say that they fulfil their work requirements by working at night etc, good for them, but some poor sod(s) is left picking up the 9-5 in the office because someone has to do it. And if you are that poor sod in the office, you are picking up all of the minutiae which would otherwise be shared, yes, your workload is impacted because you are dealing with general office admin much of the time.

Speak to her about it then speak to manager.

What would happen if you and others didn't pick up her work,
Would anyone suffer?

While I don't think you're vile I do think you should just do what's been allocated to you during the day and no more.
Unfortunately if people suffer because of your colleague not doing her job that's down to her to face up to but for as long as you're willing to do it for her she'll continue doing as she does.
Remember the more you do for piss takers the more they'll want.

OP you need to handle your work more professionally:

1. Unless you are a job where people's lives are seriously impacted, like children's social care, you need to stop working unpaid hours. You have no basis to be annoyed at her for you making such a batshit choice.

If you do work in something like that (I'm a teacher, I know what it's like) then it's doubly important you do 2.

1. The first thing you do when you have a problem with a colleague is tell them, face to face. You need to have enough respect for her to give her chance to understand and fix the problem informally. If you can't do that then stop moaning.

If that doesn't work you write to your manager, factually explaining the issue and giving numerous very specific examples. You ask how it will be resolved. You don't need and shouldn't get any info about disciplinary proceedings but you should get to know how the workload is being redeployed.

If, after appropriate time and several follow ups, they don't reach a then you follow up with their manager. Your problem is more with your manager than the colleague- it is they who need to distribute workload evenly.

If you still don't get it resolved you use the formal grievance policy focusing on the inequitable workload, not the colleague.

I do the school run, endless school demands and have a child pottering around in the background on days during school holidays where I don’t have childcare as there are no non-sports holiday clubs in my area.

Since WFH became a thing, I’m at home more often than not now. I work a lot of evenings after the bedtime routine, but these days I hide behind the Teams capability to ‘appear offline’ because frankly I’m fed up of people (and interestingly, mostly junior colleagues) telling me when I should and shouldn’t be working.

People probably make assumptions about me.

Op I worked with someone like this too. Before that we were a great team and anyways supported each other, got the job done and had a fantastic reputation in the community - very well thought of. It was a job where you were free to manage your own time.
New starter (from another department) saw this as a change to completely take the piss.
He did a quarter of the work of anyone else, worked less hours than the part timers despite getting full time pay- constantly lied about appointments, fiddled his fleck and leave.
it has an impact on team moral despite what others say. Manager was weak and wouldn’t tackle him as he was a union rep who would have kicked up a huge fuss. She did however tackle the others about the fact no one wanted to give him the time of day.
i ended up leaving a job I loved as I couldn’t stand it. All you can do is keep telling you LM and presenting evidence and hope they pick it up.

How do you know in the situation that you don’t have shirker colleague doing 80% and OP doing 120% to achieve this? Wouldn’t you care?

Would you seriously hang on a decision to only work four hours a day on this?

I worked with a couple of piss takers in an otherwise overworked team. They turned out to secretly be a couple and covering each other's backs.

It was infuriating seeing them turn in for work hours late and then disappear 2hrs later, go out for 4hr lunches, not bother turning in due to childcare issues, take leave but frequently not officially request it so were taking double the leave each year. Even caught them asleep at their desks.

I was new on the team so not my place to tackle it. I was persuaded not to report it as doing so would mean my manager would likely get sacked as he hadn't noticed any of this. I came back from maternity leave to find out both piss takers had been promoted. So that's over £100k between them a year that the taxpayer are funding for 2 people to sit on their arses and pretend to work. I was fuming when I found out.

OP get her reported like I should have reported these CF'ers. Maybe ask your manager if the rest of the team can structure your working day like the CF and get paid for your commute.

I think you are being unreasonable. She might have an agreement with your boss and if she is getting her job done, then she shouldn't be punished for doing it efficiently and prioritising her well-being and life.
I don't know if this is true in your case but in my case those who works the longest aren't the ones doing the best job, so maybe take a lesson from her and work smarter, not harder.
She honestly sound like she has her shit together and good on her!

large house... expensive car... said car was bought a few months ago. And if you are [buying] an expensive car on credit

what I take from this thread is how much people know about their colleagues' lives & financial situations. I know almost none of this about my colleagues. How they bought their cars, if their car was expensive, or even what car they drive. I have one colleague whose home I've been to so I know where it is, roughly how big, and can surmise (from their age, likely time living there) they are probably mortgage free.

Yanbu.

We have a colleague like this. For years he got away with a lighter workload because he was friendly with our manager.

I'm not sure why people are questioning how you know about her work load compared to yours. Where I work it is patently obvious. We have a list of cases each day, visible to all. So in our case we could see how many he cleared a day.

In terms of workload being increased due to his slack, if he wasn't around when a case became urgent, one of us would have to do it.

In our case our manager was off sick for quite a while so we got an interim. He was great. He did analyses and rejigged the pipelines.

In your case I'd perhaps try to arrange a regular 9am catch up meeting or similar. Copy everyone in, including manager. If she can't make it suggest another day at 9am. Not unreasonable if you all start at 8.30. If she has official flexible hours, she will say so.

I have had similar. This person managed to run her own MLM business in work hours. Our manager knew exactly what was happening. She didn't have to do anything though as others picked up the slack so she wasn't affected.

She did have to address it when some work didn't get done and people above her found out. She asked one particular person why (a person who usually went above and beyond but this time didn't) and got told the situation which she already knew about but had ignored. The slacker was obviously spoken to, seemed to improve marginally for a few months and then got another job in the same place but a different department.

You have my sympathies OP. I started a thread a few years ago about a colleague doing the same sort of things and got the same responses about how it's none of your business and they might have flexible working, etc. I was apparently in the wrong for being bothered by it. Speak to your manager but it's unlikely to make a difference.
I can say it now, as I've left the profession, but we were social workers. Her laziness and dishonesty about her working hours directly impacted vulnerable people.
You'll come across lazy and entitled people in every sector. Unfortunately.

They are likely slackers too. 😂

I'd raise it with your manager that you're struggling with your workload and ask if there is anyone you can move some to. They can then check diaries and see she has free time. Move it to her then. Job done.

If your manager won't do that for no good reason, just start doing the same as her. No one cares clearly.

You won't get much joy here OP. On MN it's fine to take the piss at work, and people will tell you to mind your own business. That said, if you'd posted saying "isn't it great, I work far fewer hours than I'm meant to and the manager hasn't noticed" you'd be ripped apart. Strange MN thing.
Anyway, back in the real world, I'd be bloody livid in your situation.
Do your other colleagues feel the same?
I would ask your manager if it was OK for you to travel in work time too. And ask if you can reduce your workload as you now want to leave early but be paid the same.

I agree - you can spot the slackers and those with a poor work ethic on this thread.

Just do the job you are paid to do or leave - I have no time for people who don’t pull their weight.

There’s also a big difference between “quiet quitting” which is doing the bare minimum you’re paid for and after you’ve done that, prioritising your life over your work and working 10 hours less than you’re paid for and saying it’s because you’re prioritising your life.

This.

I split the school run with dh. I drop the kids at 8 so that means that depending which office I’m heading to I arrive at just before 9 or 9.30 and sometimes have to leave at 3.30pm. I try and do this on my wfh days (when I start at 8.15 and finish at 6 with breaks only to drop/pick up the kids) but sometimes can’t manage that.

My boss is fine with the above and knows exactly what I contribute, and to be honest I don’t really care what anyone else thinks. I may not always be around for 8am meetings - although those are few and far between, most are scheduled for 10am to allow everyone time to get in which works fine with my schedule - but I will work until I’m done. The same can’t be said for many of those who make comments about me being a part-timer.

We weren't born to work, we were born to experience life for a very brief time and then die.
We were given time for ourselves not to be forced by society to sell our precious time so we can earn the living we were already freely given.

And then to be shamed by society if you're not working hard enough for someone who's bought you to make them money.
Nah I was born to live not work and raising children is natural so it's always a priority over a fucked up slave system.
Minimum wage = minimum effort and that's exactly what they should get.
If I ever have to work I will go in reluctantly not a minute before time and leave as early as possible after doing as little as I can. Why? Because I don't want to be there.

Very interesting thread OP - and YANBU 100%

How toxic.
I'm public sector and I think you have a manager problem.

I find the argument that 'they're getting their work done, hours don't matter', offensive. In the public sector, a nurse, a teacher, a police man, health care worker - hours DO matter. It can be hard to measure our work - you can spend an hour on one phone call and 5 minutes on another. But if you are regularly not doing your hours by a significant amount, you are not doing your job.

@donquixotedelamancha has a good plan. Clearly this colleague doen't give a f*ck about her colleagues or service users and you need to reciprocate the feeling (Back to her)
She is thieving a wage for work that she is not doing and poisoning the atmosphere for those of you working. Should she be able to perform at interview, she could very well be promoted.
Your manager also is not doing their job - a toxic atmosphere of resentment is building up, a staff member is not meeting KPIs. People will quit, either 'quietly' or openly if this persists.

@NotagainTuesday similar childcare demands here - but I took the Summer off unpaid.