Dealing with new boss

[justicee]

I’m a senior manager in public sector where processes are clear, regimented with pages of guidance in a very unionised area.

There tends to be a sticking point where I follow company guidance vs my new manager sprinkling in extra requirements outside of guidance, that I haven’t come across before.

Eg if anyone is off for any length of time, he asks daily “how is unwell staff member?”

Guidance does not require speaking to staff absent from work daily, so I can’t give a daily update. I just clarify what I’ve offered, forward any correspondence/confirmation I’ve followed guidelines instead, show him the guidance etc.

He has never raised concerns with how I’ve handled anything but is of mindset that any staff absence is a blemish on the management in general. I think his approach to this and other aspects of guidance might long term cause risk for us, but equally don’t want to piss off my new boss.

aibu?

He's probably from somewhere where daily check ins are the norm. Have you explained current procedures prevent you from asking them?

I might be missing something but your example seems benign to me?

He asked how someone was, you gave him what you know and then what?

Maybe there is more to it but I don't see an expectation from him that you do daily checks, just a vague and general question to ask how they are.

@NoBunnyHome his response is asking the same question again every day until the person returns to work, it doesn’t matter whether they are off for 2 days or 2 months. There’s an expectation of a daily check in between us about any absence.

That’s my issue - his general question is too vague to give a daily update on. It can detract from the rest of my day to day responsibilities having to figure out what he wants from this vague question. It’s benign to you, but to be clear this is unusual in context of my organisation.

So you think the daily check in is not out of concern for the ill employee but a push to get them back to work asap?

Why don’t you speak to him directly about this and remind him you don’t do daily check ins? “Bob is signed off sick for a week, here is his paperwork and the next update I’m expecting from him is on Friday. I’ll let you know if I hear anything from him before then”.

Oh definitely as it’s not about any specific person or circumstance, he’s like this with every person off as it impacts his upward reporting. This attitude is always present in senior leadership but particularly bad with him.

This.

Can you perhaps give another example of his difficulties?