Changes on maternity leave

[HR101]

So I’ve just returned to the office after being off for 22 weeks of maternity leave

One of the employees that reports to me has been off for a month with stress, no one is able to elaborate further apart from the person has requested to stay under management from my cover.

I’m not really sure a) what I could have done as I’ve been off. B) why the replacement is more suitable when our day to day responsibilities are different and c) this all happened while the cover was in place with the absence so surely can’t be held against me.

I’m obviously feeling really strange about it all, it’s made me anxious and I’m not really feeling very stable in my role. Can anyone advise if they can even do this as i didn’t take over 26 weeks leave.

Why do you think it's anything you've caused / to do with you?

I guess because of the request for me not to be their manager anymore.

You're... Really making this weirdly personal? When it doesn't seem like it's personal?

She feels more comfortable with the other person or doesn't want to explain the whole thing twice or whatever. It's not about you. Just get on with the rest of your job.

If she's off sick then she won't really be under anyones direct management. Presumably your cover person will leave now you are back?

Hi OP I wouldn't worry too much I'd assume that the person in question feels more comfortable with your replacement in the sense of they obviously know the circumstances surrounding their absence.

I wouldn't take it personally at all and try not to worry, as you say you were off so it's completely out of your control.

It's more likely to be that they don't want to have to start from scratch explaining everything and worrying about how you will manage them, than anything you've done.

I agree - this is unlikely to be a negative about you, but rather to do with remaining with someone who has managed them thus far.

Sorry you are feeling anxious. It is common when returning. Is your own line manager supportive?

I guess I didn’t explain well that my cover was another manager at the same level but in a different department.

It doesn’t make sense for her to manage her now that I’m back as our responsibilities are different. Unless of course the job role changes to fit in with their team but there has been no talk of that.

Maybe I’m just feeling vulnerable after being off and going back to a changing world.

Honestly the whole thing suggests pretty strongly that your report is going through some trauma or difficult personal circumstances, and the company are doing the human thing by letting her retain a management relationship she's comfortable with while she's off work anyway. It really reads pretty oddly that you're centering yourself in this.

You do seem very anxious but I think you need to work on some strategies to manage that for yourself and leave this situation alone for now.

If you are worried that there is something on your management style that has contributed to the workers stress, you could always ask for feedback from your manager and HR. Don’t ask for details about the employee. You could focus on yourself by asking if they have any suggestions for areas of improvement in your management. It won’t be a comfortable conversation, but if you are truly worried and want to know if you are negatively influencing your life staff, that would be the conversation I would request.

More than likely though, it isn’t anything to do with you and is just that the cover already has private information and the employee would rather it not be shared with yet another person.

Have you had a return to work meeting with your manager?

How as this change in management structure been communicated with you?
Have you had a handover with the person who was covering your role?

Request these meetings, if they have not already happened. If they have and you are still unclear about how things will work going forward, as for another meeting with cover person and your manager. Perhaps setting out plans for how tasks will be completed in her absence, understanding the lines of communication with the employee while she is off, whether the role is being transitioned to the other department..

The person involved have already explained the situation to covering manager
it’s easier to continue with covering manager rather than have to start again with you

it’s totally reasonable tbh you sound on a power trip it’s not about you

Well there are two possiblities here

1. The person will return to work in the near future, and this then becomes a non issue
2. The person ends up taking long term sick leave, at which point it will probably make sense to transfer the responsibility back to you. (Though managing someone on long term sick leave is hardly a responsibility people fight for ...)

Think of this like a piece of work - if it was due to finish in a week or two it wouldn't be worth the effort of handing it over to you and easier for the original manager to just finish it themselves. If it was a project that was due to run for another six months or a year, you probably would expect it to be handed over, or for you to be given another project instead.

sorry again for the clarity the person has returned back to work.

No, I haven’t had any meetings with my line manager. This came out of the blue with just a member of HR where I was told that this is what is happening.

i would ask your own manager if there is a plan for the person to move team pronto, as it’s going to create even more stress if she is working for you but “reporting” to another manager. How will that work practically, if you are supervising the work and day-to-day stuff? Will you have to report to the person’s manager if there is an issue? Will the other manager have to come to you about requests for holiday, letting you know about sick leave etc? Very inefficient.

Also How will you know what adjustments to make to allow for the return-to-work requirements of this employee and make sure they are working ok - is that all going to be third hand?

that kind of set-up wouldn’t work very well in my team

on the other hand maybe the employee has a problem with you as manager, I’d want to find out that feedback too if so

Highly doubt it’s anything to do with you at all, it’s more likely that the manager has supported the staff member through a crisis point, they are aware of exactly what is going on with said staff member and the staff member doesn’t wish for everyone to know about their personal crisis point. I’d honestly not worry about it, one less person to manage- and just concentrate on being back at work (which is stressful enough with a new baby!)

I'd agree with the above and would suggest she feels more comfortable with the other manager and maybe just doesn't want to repeat potentially private or sensitive personal info to more than one of you if she can avoid it.

Also,from personal experience, could she be suffering from miscarriage/fertility problems? Been in a similar situation and to have a line manager who was just back from mat leave was too painful at the time. Irrational but totally get it!

Thanks all, I took the day off today to process and to chill out with the little one.

I’ll arrange a meeting to pose the question on feedback on management style and to discuss how this can work in the long term as it’s still unviable in my brain for the flow of the company.

Whether they can move teams and I can rehire to cover the position etc.

But the person is off sick, it doesn’t matter what the department responsibilities are as they are not doing then anyway. Stop making this about you.