Dear Evil HR Lady,
I work for a large company but in a small sales office with a manager and 2 other salespeople and 2 support staff. The issue is that one of the other salespeople went through a messy divorce with difficult financial issues, etc. This was two years ago. While what has happened to them is none of my business it has affected the office atmosphere in a big way. The manager continues to cut this person undeserved slack and looks the other way when they come in late, leave early, take another three hour lunch, etc. Their excuses are sometimes good (kid related…even that is now way old), but usually stale and repetitive…”dropping my car at the dealership, traffic is bad, doctor or dentist appointment or simply…I will be in whenever.” These examples are amplified tenfold when the manager happens to be out of town. They are simply not there when they should be.
The problem is that we are a sales organization that depends on each other and this person is simply not carrying their end of the log. The other salesperson and support staff totally agree with me but if I go to the manager to discuss it I risk being the one who is not sensitive to the “needs” of this person or their new situation.
This person is a nice person, well liked in the office by people in other divisions and draws the predictable amount of sympathy due to their new situation…but they are also in my view a manipulator, scammer, excuse-laden, and lazy to a major fault.
My question to you is how long is the statute of limitations on something like this? Forevermore? In my view, if I was the manager I would give that person six months of leeway and then I would feel compelled to call them in and suggest that they need to make different personal arrangements and that it is affecting their performance on the job.
To read the answer, click here: My coworker’s problems are ruining my life
OP needs to go to the boss and explain how John’s absences are affecting other employees and their workloads, customers, etc. And if nothing is affected by John’s issues, then leave it alone.