The expectations are _____.. If there are good business reasons that mean that the perk cant be limitless thats totally fair and she should make them clear. So its a know-your-employer kinda sitch to be sure someone is operating under what is their reality and not what they think it should be. Advantages to Having a Flexible Workforce - Ripple IT Its been awesome! Ive now reached the stage where Im fairly happy at my current level. It is something to be exercised as needed, as in explicitly spelled out as such in their policy. Ive let go of 3 people through the years who have had this attitude. Are they tasks my employee should be doing, or do they belong to another department? I agree with this, too. In some cases, that might mean that you do need to say no to a request for work reasons. Youre right that perhaps she doesnt know about it, but if she does and she chooses not to use it thats hardly the companys fault. (And working from home one day a week is not a lot to me shes at work four times more than shes at home! However, if my manager then asks me to create a report, even a production report and not a one-off, I am going to do it. Ex: Not wanting to do the vacuuming when I am a highly skilled attorney doesnt make me not a team player. Your Flex Work Culture Doesnt Help Employees If It Hurts Their Evaluate. I mean.at some companies its not a perk? The answer is to offer flexibility to all employees, without making distinctions about why they need it. You take care of a duty one time. We had an open office; I came in one morning and my boss told me I was on another team and to sit at a table 3 rows down. Its a perk its something to be enjoyed, not exercised when needed. My boss helps to foster this by simply telling us to go home. If so, the conversation needs to be about even division of these extra tasks rather than flexible work hours. on deadlines or tasks. Sometimes that can be a good thingan employee can learn about a new role and move into itand sometimes it can be not so good, as Ive seen employees who become dumping grounds for any task the manager cant figure out or cant figure out who should really be doing it. Your job is to ensure that people are getting the right results in their work, and that the environment of your team supports that. Plus Ive seen other team members doing the same thing with no bad consequences. I also wouldnt say taking her daughter to appointments means shes enjoying flexibility and independence. I really resent that statement, actually. These are all really great points. The question is whether theyre abusing it. This describes my evolution as a young junior employee to a mid-level employee very well. Its often a totally reasonable answer, and OP hasnt given us enough context to know if its reasonable from her employee or not. Especially if you have someone else who handles something! I kind of get the same feeling at annual review time, when all my cohorts say how awesome I am to work with and how I really know my stuff and am a great help in making the projects run smoothly, then theres a 1% raise. Employee is an Ask and would be absolutely fine with a negative response, Manager is a Guess and wants Employee to read the room a little better. I wont get into the reasons listed by Allison and others about why simply using flexibility is not abusive, but I think offering flexibility should be genuine, and not one of those benefits employers offer, but expect no one to actually use. He still does weekend/late night stuff from home if he needs to. Some people here have worked here literally for decades and Ive heard people say that being able to take time to see their childrens school plays or accompany others to doctors appointments, or take a mental health day without having to justify it, have contributed to their wanting to stay with this employer. It was emotionally tough to begin with, but on top of it my job took a hit since I was suddenly the only one able to drive others to their appointments and things. It can engender dissatisfaction If its not impacting the employees work, it shouldnt be a problem. Or to spend tons of their time helping coworkers with tasks they should know how to do. It sounds like OP is annoyed that the employee doesnt take on anything thats not explicitly in her job description while the other employee does, so OPs making the comparisons between the two in her head and feeling some kind of way because the one whos least likely to be flexible with OPs work requests/assignments is the one most likely to ask for her own flexibility in scheduling. If you discover that one of the things that affords Older Employee flexibility is that Younger Employee reliably doesnt ask for flexibility, maybe thats part of your hesitation? I have a coworker like that. But Alison, what if it really is part of and other duties or and other duties as needs may arise. Does it make it harder for your other employee to leave early or work from home herself, because she needs to be in the office if her coworker isnt? Maybe take some time and reflect on why this is bothering you so much when you say this is an otherwise good employee who gets their work done. And thats good! Workplace flexibility benefits both the employees and employers; it gives employees a chance to attain a work/life balance which will allow them give more to the organization such that they will My Mentor when I became a manager gave me great advice that has helped me so much. It doesnt matter, really. LW: Maybe thats more the conversation you need to have (or at least get it straight in your mind first), as opposed to her hours/working from home. True. But I cant help feeling like always saying yes is a bad idea. Ive been the team player in several jobs. Actually using the perks offered isnt a problem. Its more like stocking the fridge with Coke and one employee doesnt realize its for everyone. So, we had the unofficial policy (ie we inforced ourselves) that we took turns doing the inventory day. Also, think about what kind of boundaries your senior employee is drawing. What an exceptionally well-reasoned and thoughtful answer. Totally agree. Also, is there any possibility that the employee has been dumped on in the past or been asked to do a disproportionate share of other peoples work on a long-term basis? I dont have kids and am pretty sure that similar requests coming from me would get the side-eye because everyone knows I am single and so why would I ever need that time. Are you going to say no to a doctors appointment? But honestlythey still got their work done! The points others have been making about making sure that the other report is aware that they can have flexibility if they need it would make the situation more fair. It doesnt work for me. Is this a one-off project, or will I be receiving these kinds of projects going forward? is a lot less off-putting than Is this technically my job? Theyre both asking the same question, but one is more abrupt and negative sounding than the other, which is inquiring, especially if these questions are asked a lot. I see from your username that you used to work in Retail as wellI think that a lot of my attitude came from my years of retail work during college where the law was You Work Your Scheduled Shift Or Else. Not good customer service. Kudos for reframing your viewpoint. thats me. Thats a completely different topic than asking for flexibility. As a rabbit owner, getting a sick (or even appearing a little sick) rabbit to the vet ASAP is essential as they probably wouldnt be alive by the time I got home. So my name is next to various things, because I have overall supervision for them. Even with the diabetic example, its only really a problem if the employee requests something like sparkling water and the employer insists they will only provide Coke. OP one of the signs of an unreasonable manager is one who says no for reasons like: Because People need to take off for themselves and their families. I need to feel like you care can be a very reasonable expectation depending on the job and on what quantifiable acts or speech the manager is relying upon to convey that feeling that someone cares, or it can be a very unreasonable demand. Its also not in most employers best interest to pay someone to spend a big chunk of their time doing admin work when they were hired to do something a lot more specialized. Or No, its fine to ask, but I do expect that youll call into this meeting/get all of XYZ tasks done/something else? If your company has the infrastructure to allow WFH, shes getting her work done (and her workload is appropriate), and its not having a negative impact on others, what she is asking for is TOTALLY reasonable. I doubt that the is this actually part of my job comments are coming out of nowhere (or out of a lack of understanding of workplace norms the way it might if the direct report was fresh out of school). Has she had to deal with managers who have overstepped them in the past? Ditto to what Alison said. The same boss I mentioned in a previous comment would let developers work from home because they needed the solitude. If someone got bent out of shape about it, I would be looking for another job before they even thought about firing me. I was the young, eager, never-say-no employee until I got older, had a kid, and realized I was spending valuable time on a lot of things that genuinely werent my job. This. The way our holidays worked is we got off two days for christmas and 2 days for new years, so you could take off just 3 vacation days in the middle and be off 9 days. Yes, or needing to feel that the employee is grateful for the terms of the job but thats never going to work, because if the employee has taken the job on the basis that its flexible, shes going to (naturally! OP, I know you expressed that you dont want to become one of those unreasonable managers sodont. assume that that flexibility is the standard, not something to thank her boss for. So if Im busy with my work, I absolutely push back on work that doesnt count by default. Why should older employee be penalized? Do my coworkers get the same flexibility if they need it? Thats real rude.). Flexibility Is The Most Empowering Benefit For Employees: This doesnt seem to be the case above though. That is very different from someone who claims that everything isnt their job and is generally difficult to work with. Also, even if they are aware and making the choice consciously, theres only so much misuse Im going to put up with before I decide that it doesnt serve my interests to stay and being reasonably up-front about that within the bounds of social norms typical to the work environment is also something that I consider myself expected to do. I may be getting a bit dramatic here, but I think this letter really speaks to a massive overarching issue in the workplace. I work in a fairly flexible office on a team where a lot of people have young kids, and it can sometimes seem like theres only so much flexibility to go around and the people with kids (who are also more often homeowners) get most of it. I just know that Im good and Im more willing to push back when Im uncomfortable. If the issue is that youre seeing a rigidness from her regarding what work shes willing to do, I think you should address that. I wholeheartedly agree. How to Offer Flexibility to Employees Without Being Taken Ive had to say Its not my job anymore more than a few times, even when it would have been very easy to perform the requested task. Maybe she really feels like there is someone else who is better suited/more skilled at that work. I dont cut people loose willy nilly, my turnover is actually well below company average. If this stuff isnt affecting anyones work, then shes not hitting those limits, right? I would urge the OP to make sure the members of their team know that flexibility is available and OK to take advantage of. If I ever move back to my hometown near the office I was hired at, this is probably what Ill do. But if you do, I advise you to get her perspective before responding. A report is asking for reasonable flexibility but then OP compares her to someone who asks for zero flexibility and suddenly reasonable requests seem like taking advantage. Not everyone thinks this is a great thing some people like the social aspect of their job, the ability to get facetime with the boss easily, dont want to pay for a comfortable desk set-up/office space at home, etc. You are doing fine. Though I will say, when I was younger, I also would probably have been less inclined to work from home because it felt against the rules, even if it was totally fine. I quit and found another job where I do virtually the same thing, but get to be fully remote life is so much better for me with this arrangement. This is a good pointthe requests are not unreasonable because the employee is being discerning and nuanced in what she asks for. In the meantime have your butt in the seat where the overseer boss can see you at all times. without kids as they have fewer reasons to need to have flexible hours or be able to work from home. Flexibility: Meets Expectations Phrases. Some people like structure. One of them whos younger, less experienced, more eager rarely asks to adjust her work hours or work from home, and is generally happy to do anything I ask her to do. Hes committed to the boundaries around his work responsibilities, because he has a ton of them and also a small child and also assists with caretaking for an aging relative. But until she does, I dont want to overly ding her for asking a reasonable question in a suboptimal way, either, and Id encourage the OP to find a way to look beyond the phraseology if thats whats sticking for her. Yes. I worked 8:00AM to 4:00PM because I always worked through lunch. But a remote employee can still clock in from home or a regional headquarters at their destination, as well as check in, as needed. + kids. We see enough letters about my employee takes over work thats not hers and its a problem or I cant say no at work and its burning me out that Im willing to take a wide view of someone asking if something is their job. (You could do the same thing with your other employee if it made sense there as well.). Now I feel as though this perk isnt really available to me even though it was very clearly promised. I think almost everyone in the workforce has had a manager who says no for no reason. but thats a big if and Ive gotten penalized in the past. I was frowned upon for working from home because I needed to communicate. Oh she left early, cool.. Agree. Id urge you to really do some self-examination on your own discomfort before saying anything to this employee. I possess so much institutional knowledge that theres a lot of stuff I could do if were just talking about ability. She could be! my coworker answers questions directed to me, social media post trashing a colleague, and more, updates: I secretly moved peoples desks two inches, coworker keeps stealing our snacks, and more. With children, there are usually no probing questions asked about why the flexibility is needed, but I get side-eye anytime that I need to take my mother to her appointments because of the supposition that a 50-year-old should be able to get to appointments on their own (spoiler alert she legitimately cant). I read her letter as seeking reassurance that being flexible is the right thing. Also, I have to do a full-time jobs worth of my work, every year. You'll be better equipped to face challenges. Lord knows your employee might not be going through all that. Working from home is not necessarily a bonus to all employees. Want unlimited time off? Many say yes but those with it seldom I was wondering whether it was fairness that was causing LW to wonder if they were handling the situation right as it might not seem fair to be giving more flexibility to one person than the other, even if the other person doesnt want it. I wonder if thats what LW was partially feeling here? It did / didnt get done. Even a seemingly innocuous task can have repercussions down the road. My previous manager was great about actually explaining the unwritten policy. As long as the work is getting done and both employees are being respectful and not taking advantage, I dont see the problem. Maybe she has stuff going on at home. Maybe, but it doesnt sound like shes had a reason to say no. As women we get assigned a bunch of stuff that is only assigned to us because of gender. Yes, I could look up the answer for them, and in most cases Id probably have a good idea of whats going on anyway, because my colleague and I communicate on whats happening with the overall project, but in the long run its not helpful to do that.
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