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My employee seems to be sick on Fridays and Mondays
| Guest post by: Howard Miller |
Article Overview: Do you have an employee who takes advantage of the system?
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Free Download - Jumping to Conclusions By Howard Miller |
My employee seems to be sick on Fridays and Mondays
In a recent tennis match, one of my teammates was angry after his match. He lost and felt the other team didn't really play tennis. He said all they did was lob the ball, it wasn't fun. But it was a strategy which is legal and obviously worked.
Similarly, having an employee who seems to be sick right before or after a weekend could be very frustrating. It leads to all sorts of conclusions, doesn't it?
Let's face it; we don't think they're sick, do we?
So, what can you do about it? If your company has policies they are in alignment with, in other words, if they are within corporate policy guidelines, there really is nothing you can do to stop them.
But that's not fair. It doesn't set a good example to the rest of the team.
But it's legal. If you're company set policies which the employee is following, unless you are in a position to change the policy, you need to live by them.
But I don't trust them. They are getting away with something and I don't like it.
Ah, the challenges of being a manager or business owner with employees!
So what can you do?
Change your question to change your focus.
Your focus is completely subjective and attempting to come up with solutions based on your subjectivity will lead to increased frustration and no results.
So objectively - what's the issue with the employee being out? Are they doing their work?
If the answer is yes, but they could be doing more, you need to define the "more."
If the answer is yes, but it's not fair, then what you need to do is let go - this is your issue, causing you frustration, anger, stress or whatever unpleasantness you're experiencing. I know this is easier said then done; one of the biggest challenges for managers is to put their personal values aside.
If the answer is no, what aren't they doing? Focus on that - if it's a measurable goal already in writing, use that for reference. If its not, get it in writing and get it in their performance plan!
When you have frustrating situations and you ask yourself questions which help shift your focus:
- You can shift from an issue with no answers to something with an objective measurement
- You can let go of personal frustration
- You can focus on results
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About the Author: Howard Miller RSS for Howard's articles - Visit Howard's website Howard Miller teaches management skills to new managers, seasoned managers, entrepreneurs and executives. He is on the faculty of AMA (American Management Association) and teaches courses including Skills for New Managers, Increasing Managerial Effectiveness, and Successfully Managing People). Topics include delegation and motivation methodologies, conflict, how to deal with difficult people, understanding values and behavior, feedback and listening skills. Clients include mid-range to large companies such as the IRS, Blue Cross Blue Shield, IBM, state government, public school districts, and non profit organizations. Howard also does executive and business coaching with the Ken Blanchard organization. Howard is the author of two book; You're Full of Shift, which contains short stories which demonstrate shifting difficult situations to opportunities and The Manager Trap: 13 ½ Pitfalls to Avoid which showcases common traps and pitfalls managers fall into including using a 4 letter word beginning with F that they should avoid! Click here to visit Howard's website   My employee seems to be sick on Fridays and Mondays Managing techies Only one way to go from here The $64000 Question I want them to want to be motivated to be on time |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Tips for Small Business HR Services
- Maybe atleast inform the employee what the employer expects from him and vice versa. Any relationship filled with expectations most especially high and unreasonable expectations eventually ends sour. If the employee does not fit the expectations of the employer you can either initially try to assess the employee during the interview stage if he does not fit the bill then look for another. But if ever you see the potential for improvement in that employee GT is right, training should be provided. With that every end is aware of the expectations surrounding the job.
Document Your Processes
- Make sure that when you do plan on hiring an employee that you document your processes for that employee to follow, even the common sense ones.
I recently interviewed a Starbucks employee and was advised that everything including menial tasks were all documented by thier Manager in thier training manual. They very seldom have to ask for clarification.
This is important if you plan on having an employee inhouse or even outsourcing. When outsourcing it is more advising about your minimal acceptable standards.
Re: How many vacation and sick days do you give yourself?
- I try to give myself a day off once a week, that usually never happens because I just want to check my emails.
When I am sick I am not working, how can you work when you are sick? I can't concentrate.
I do take more days off from day job than my online biz. I have such a cool manager, she always looks at the schedule and ask who wants a day off or go home early, I wish I could say yes all the time, but then i will end up with an empty pay check at the end off the month.
From previous experience, when I take more than a day off from my biz I can see it slows things, I don't like that at all.
How many vacation and sick days do you give yourself?
- As an entrepreneur, how many vacation and sick days do you give yourself? Do you stick with a more traditional format like 2 weeks of vacation and 5 paid sick days [u:1u0ie5s4]Or[/u:1u0ie5s4] is there no limit? And if there is no limit, do you find this hurts your productivity and overall work ethic?
A regular employee or a contracted employee?
- Is it more valuable to hire a regular employee or a contracted employee?
When taking into account wages, unemployment insurance and training in a company, which is better to hire?
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