The original post did not indicate if the rest of the staff is aware of
the REASON for the absences. Please be aware, if the employee has a
medical condition which is covered under ADA, the rest of the staff is
not required to know. Actually, if it is a medical condition even not
recognized as a disability but being treated by a professional, you
still are not required to know. I agree with Ms. Moore, you have to do
your job and let someone else worry about your coworkers. But, if there
is a real reason for the attendance (or non) of your co-worker, you
could be facing extreme embarrassment, let alone lawsuit or worse.
I worked with a woman for nearly six years who had cystic fibrosis and
this could describe her 100%. Also, at least two other co-workers that
I've had in the past who were undergoing chemotherapy/radiation and
other cancer treatments for approximately two years each. [none at my
current position]
While this co-worker could be lazy and taking advantage, there is a
possibility that there is a personal issue of which you are not aware
and are not required to be. Sometimes the co-worker doesn't want
everyone knowing because they don't want pity-that was the case with the
CF patient and one of the cancer patients.
Lisa
Lisa Shockley, Curatorial Specialist, 3-D Collections
Union Station/Kansas City Museum
30 W. Pershing Road
Kansas City, MO 64108
816-460-2055
"Where there is Peace; there is Culture;
Where there is Culture; there is Peace."
Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947
________________________________
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Julia Moore
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 4:41 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: ANONYMOUS REQUEST: How to Deal with a Problematic Coworker
Boy, have I been in this situation before!
My advice is to immediately notify your interim supervisor about all of
this, including the effect her absences have on the timeliness of the
project. Let him/her know that despite this, you will deliver the
project as assigned at your usual level of quality. You can then rest
assured that you have done your duty and it is the supervisor's
responsibility to determine consequences for this individual.
Then you need to move forward and just do the work, since you are
responsible for the delivery of the project. Schedule meetings for when
she is supposed to be there but if she is not there, hold them anyway.
Copy her on all your team's decisions but do not assign her any work
that cannot be accomplished within a couple of hours on a day that she
shows up. Do not make them time-delimited because you don't know if she
will be there or not to complete the work in a timely manner. If she
complains that she is being given scut work or that she is being left
out of the decision-making loop, you can tell her that since she wasn't
there you (as the project director) needed to move on without her. If
she complains more, refer her to the interim supervisor ("I think you
need to talk to Mr. X about that.") Document the dates she misses
scheduled meetings and let Mr. X know. Consider whether or not to keep
her name associated with the project if she doesn't do any work on it,
and if you decide that her level of participation doesn't warrant it,
discuss your decision with Mr. X and get his approval.
I reiterate that it is not your job to confront this co-worker or level
disciplinary action-it is your mutual supervisor's. Work with her when
she's there but don't count on her for anything. Ultimately she will
either shape up or be fired, and you deal with that outcome when it
happens. But if she gets fired, at least the project will be moving
forward and the loss is not so devastating.
Julia Muney Moore
Public Art Administrator
Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis, IN
(317) 875-5500 x219
mobile (317) 460-0596
RFP TO INDIANA ARTISTS FOR INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:
http://www.indflights.com/contracts/index.php
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Gayle
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 3:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] ANONYMOUS REQUEST: How to Deal with a Problematic
Coworker
I've received a request for assistance and am protecting the identify of
the original poster. Please see the dilemma below and post to the list
your suggestions how to deal with this conundrum. Many thanks to those
who can offer guidance. It may be something some of you have experienced
heretofore and can provide creative solutions.
I'm dealing with a coworker who is very unreliable and undependable. The
rest of us never know when she will actually be in to work or how long
she'll stay that day. When she is actually at work she is not a bad
person to work with by any means. My boss is aware of this issue and
it's been going on as long as I've worked there and from what I can
gather, even longer than that. Currently my boss is away on leave and
our interim supervisor is very clueless about all of this.
I am in charge of a project involving her and another coworker. It's
hard to find time to meet as there is only 1 day a week when all 3 of us
are there together at the same time. This project has been stalled
because she repeatedly can't make meetings for one reason or another.
I had a meeting scheduled for today to discuss the project and make
action plans for the upcoming weeks and months but she can't make it. I
realize my most pressing concern is timely and there may not be any
instantaneous replies, but I am in the "wrong" for going on with the
meeting even though it will just be me and the other coworker? I feel
not working on this project makes the institution look bad as it is
related to our strategic plan and goals for the year and it's in our
best interest to move forward.
Any thoughts on collaborating with this particular coworker?
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message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
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If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
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=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).