Colleague buggering off home early. As their manager, would this bother you?

[Marie2022]

I have been in post for a few weeks and have had some problems with one of my direct reports. Nothing serious, mainly of the “Not my job” type of response from her, regarding things that very clearly are her job.

I sent her an email a few days ago at a time when she should have seen it. She didn’t reply. At which point someone said that she wasn’t actually there. The following day I asked her to confirm her hours, which she did.

I have just checked the CCTV for the past 2 weeks and she has been leaving 10-20 minutes early every single day.

Is this a big deal? As a manager, would this bother you? I just want to get some opinions before I do anything.

Many thanks.

Of course both her attitude and leaving early is a problem - do you want your whole team thinking they can get away with that. If, according to her contract she should be at work, I'd ask her to explain herself in a formal meeting.

Mine either.

Oh gosh, OP, I feel for you. I was a new manager once and hadn’t a clue. I went on a leaders course through work and broached how I should address difficult colleagues. The response was that I should take them aside and discuss privately the issue, any reasons for the behaviour, and work to an agreeable solution. In my first few months I worked with some difficult colleagues, one a bully and one an absolutely piss taking shirker. The bully improved, the shirker was eventually let go.

I would rather not be a people manager, but everyone has to start somewhere and all you did was ask for advice. I’m sure with the right direction from above you will develop in the role x

Follow the disciplinary procedure.
I would have a 121 and issue a note summarising the chat. CF agrees to attend punctually and work contracted hours unless exceptional circs and agreed.
But TOP TIP, make sure that you check everyone else at the same time.

Its as if she is being paid not to work. I feel sorry for her colleagues.

Only if someone senior is getting on to you about it! 10-20 mins early is not a big deal when there’s people that hide in the toilets for hours

And everywhere I have worked, and email from my manager would be reviewed immediately. Takes 2 secs to review and write a response with a timeline.

what work do you do?

I wouldn’t be answering or even looking at my emails at that point in the day. The following morning I would review my work that I need to do, what’s come in and prioritise according. Just because it’s from my manager doesn’t make it a priority.

but then again I’m in a team which has a number of different technical skills being led by a non technical manager (which actually works really well) and we have a clear understanding of what the priorities are.

If my manager needed me at that time they would call me on teams. Otherwise even they would not expect me to look at it

I would have a meeting with her , outlining your expectations.
You can let her know its unprofessional to leave the reception early as it impacts on the business . It's also not gone unnoticed by others and this can lead to resentment.
Is there a reason such as childcare? Does she need her hours adjusted?

Yes it is an issue but mainly based on whether she was completing her workload in a timely manner.
If she isn’t and has outstanding work the majority of the time then it is an issue that requires addressing. If not then perhaps not worth addressing. However I would record dates and times of early finishes and see how it went.
It is quite frustrating to be treated like a child at work when the work is actually all completed.

If you are new to management, perhaps consider a practical management course. A practice course rather than theoretical based training would be my advice. Some basic management courses are not worth attending. Do your research.

As she's on reception her workload won't finish till reception closes, shutting it down early so she can go home is a problem.

Where I work, alot of people will be pulled quite quickly for time keeping. My manager is very good to work with. He doesn't mind if I'm sometimes 10 minutes late due to leaving children to school etc. But he would absolutely mind if I left early without discussing it with him

His pov is that if we clock out at 530 on the button, we must have shut down before 525 to get to clock out machine on time. And he has more issue with that than occasionally running late.
I'd expect her to be pulled for leaving early constantly. If nothing else, it gives impression to other staff that it's OK to do that 🤷‍♀️

If you are her manager(regardless of how long you have been) then speak up and do something about it! If she has a contract that states she works 9-5, then that is expected of her. If something is in her job description she can't just refuse to do it. This happens in my workplace all the time, managers are too scared to bring up issues with members of staff and they get away with it, nip it in the bud now, not a year down the line. You are her manager!

If she gets her work done and is good at her job, leave her alone and don’t micromanage.
if she is not pulling her weight, doesn’t meet her targets, deadlines, then talk to her

Erm she's a receptionist so she can't leave early and be good at her job...no one is answering the calls she's sacking off.

This can be a problem with a lot of staff. I used to work in offices and I have seen my fair share of bone idle it’s not my job types who are lazy and not worth employing. I would have a meeting with everyone and explain what their job description means. It needs to be nipped in the bud or else they will be thinking they can do as they please and will walk all over you. There are so many hard working people out there but your colleague doesn’t sound like she is unless she’s been told its ok to go early. Get her into the office tell her the working hours and you expect her to do the hours she’s getting paid for. Don’t allow her to get away with it. The bloody cheek of it. Let us know how you get on.

I'd make damn sure she got bother!

I don’t mean to be rude but as a manager both of those things should be an issue and you should be addressing them instead of checking on here. Leaving early every day is ridiculous but not doing jobs they should be doing is beyond ridiculous yet you think it isn’t really an issue…

Speak to your HR dept for advise on how to address it initially. Sometimes these things can really come undone and you end up in the deep end. It’s what HR are there for.

I completely agree with this!

Well, according to lots of posters on here, it ISN'T an issue and the employee should be able to pick and choose her flexi-hours, because THEY can.

The longer you leave these issues, the harder it will be for you to raise them with her. Absolutely she should not be leaving early without your knowledge and agreement and only if it suits the company. Too bad if she has been able to get away with it in the past, it may indicate that the previous manager was weak. Or he might have sanctioned it. That pattern of behaviour rankles with other staff if they aren't enjoying the same freedom and kills team spirit at the very least.

Be sure of the facts before raising the issue with her - is she doing her full hours over the week. I've seen before where staff 'start' early so they can leave early. In effect, that meant faffing around for twenty minutes, chatting, making a drink, anything but working. The phone lines didn't open when they were 'working' so the value to the company was nil. Be prepared to come in early yourself to see what's going on.

We had a staff member who, when working for another manager, repeatedly came back late from lunch and would buy cream cakes for the team who had to field her calls in her absence. Having accepted the 'bribe', the manager then felt he couldn't take issue with her. Her colleagues fumed inwardly but ate the cakes. Accept no such bribes and be wary of falling into that trap.

Maybe a team talk to all your staff would be helpful so it doesn't appear you are singling her out already. Make it clear what you expect of them and the hours they are to keep. Then you can reasonably expect her to tow the line.

OP it sounds as though she's testing the boundaries of what she can get away with, some people do when there's a new manager.
Good luck in your new role, you can't be expected to know everything, hope it gets a bit easier!

No it’s not and unless you have dealings with this yourself, you need to understand that viewing cctv at set times to gain info is allowed… what is not allowed is viewing on a routine basis to view a particular person or event without a formal process and this is stalking. Most workplaces have cctv for many reasons and this is looked at daily and weekly to see trends. This is something I deal with daily in HR and there are clear codes of conduct. No rules were broken if viewed a few times and I would also view before asking for a formal meeting if someone stated they knew their hrs but were known to be leaving early as this has a cause to view and would then be discussed in a formal mtg.