Romance Interferring with Job
Rockie
2,136 Posts
I am supervising an Administrative Assistant by default.(I inherited her from a manager who is no longer with us). She is in charge of ordering supplies, stocking supplies, etc, as well as ordering telephone, beepers, lunches for meetings, etc. in our administrative area.
Complication #1:
She is very sickly and has had a multitude of medical problems. Days here and there - minor surgery here and there. I am sure a lot of this is legitimate and hopefully this last minor surgery she had will assist her with a lot of the problems she had been having.
Complication #2
She has a hard time getting to work on time. She is supposed to be here by 9AM and work until 6PM. She does not adhere to this schedule. She is rarely here by 9AM and I have counseled her on this twice. She does not seem to be getting much better with this. I have documented time sheets. She told me that she felt "overwhelmed" by all her duties. Her job is simply not that difficult, but it does take some organization and follow-through.
Complication #3
She was a so-so employee last year, but got engaged over Christmas and has been ten times worse since then. Just my opinion, but I feel the financial pressure has been lifted and she doesn't feel the obligation to do her best as she will be "taken care of" regardless. She is totally out of leave. She just presented me with a request to take an entire week of leave in June as her fiancee has already booked them on a cruise. This is an entire week and she plans on taking an entire week off in October (which she will not have leave for).
She is also continuously on her cell phone. She claims it is business, but others have informed me that it is personal (fiancee, children, etc.).
Anyway...to make a long story short....we are probably going to have to terminate her on her performance and tardiness issue. We could work around the sickness and being out for this, but the drastic decrease in performance and the seemingly "lack of concern" about her job in general. This is very unfortunate as she is a five year employee and I would have hoped she would have "shaped up". I really feel bad for her as I have tried to work with her and be a compassionate person, but other management personnel have begun to ask me what her problem is and why she is always out, late, on the phone, etc.
I really don't see any choice in the matter.
Sorry to ramble on...but venting is good sometimes.
Do any of you have any advice on this issue?
Complication #1:
She is very sickly and has had a multitude of medical problems. Days here and there - minor surgery here and there. I am sure a lot of this is legitimate and hopefully this last minor surgery she had will assist her with a lot of the problems she had been having.
Complication #2
She has a hard time getting to work on time. She is supposed to be here by 9AM and work until 6PM. She does not adhere to this schedule. She is rarely here by 9AM and I have counseled her on this twice. She does not seem to be getting much better with this. I have documented time sheets. She told me that she felt "overwhelmed" by all her duties. Her job is simply not that difficult, but it does take some organization and follow-through.
Complication #3
She was a so-so employee last year, but got engaged over Christmas and has been ten times worse since then. Just my opinion, but I feel the financial pressure has been lifted and she doesn't feel the obligation to do her best as she will be "taken care of" regardless. She is totally out of leave. She just presented me with a request to take an entire week of leave in June as her fiancee has already booked them on a cruise. This is an entire week and she plans on taking an entire week off in October (which she will not have leave for).
She is also continuously on her cell phone. She claims it is business, but others have informed me that it is personal (fiancee, children, etc.).
Anyway...to make a long story short....we are probably going to have to terminate her on her performance and tardiness issue. We could work around the sickness and being out for this, but the drastic decrease in performance and the seemingly "lack of concern" about her job in general. This is very unfortunate as she is a five year employee and I would have hoped she would have "shaped up". I really feel bad for her as I have tried to work with her and be a compassionate person, but other management personnel have begun to ask me what her problem is and why she is always out, late, on the phone, etc.
I really don't see any choice in the matter.
Sorry to ramble on...but venting is good sometimes.
Do any of you have any advice on this issue?
Comments
Let us know what happens. I am curious to know how you handle it.
Good luck!
[email]paulknoch@hotmail.com[/email]
Good Luck!
No manager or supervisor should make any statement to this employee that "since you've gotten engaged, you don't seem to care anymore." This may seem obvious to the HR people, but other managers often make these types of statements, then end up in court, with the employee saying "the real reason you terminated me is because I am a female (and you think that females don't do good jobs once they are married)."
Good Luck!
Good Luck!!