WWYD as a manager

potbellypig · June 2014

Hi all,

I used to post occasional on this board until I went on mat leave. I'm back at work now.

Questions for managers out there. I am a manager and my boss is a director. I supervise a small team.

I have an employee who keeps track of my time on a wall calendar on her side of the office. When I come in, when I leave, sick time, vacation time, overtime taken, etc. This is not part of her job - it's my job to keep track of everyone's time and submit the time sheet to a clerical worker. As her manager I feel it is inappropriate for her to be keeping track of this. My director has never discussed my comings and goings during the day and knows that I am occasionally late to my office because of meetings etc. or because I take "time-in-lieu" for working through lunch/late etc. I feel I am very flexible and generous when people need time off and I don't micromanage them (i.e. I don't care if they are a few minutes late as we all have kids and lives outside of work that sometimes get in the way).

I'd rather discuss it with my employee than bring it up with my director, but I'm not sure of what to say. Or should I say anything at all? Thoughts? I definitely feel like it's disrespectful, since it's as though she's keeping track to tattle or keep tabs...and I'd like to see it stop. I also don't want to cause another issue by bringing it up...

Edit: added info

meo34 · June 2014

Hi, lurker/occasional poster dropping in. I am not one to avoid awkward conversations with my staff (I supervise 10 people). So I would call them out on it in a non confrontational way.

ie, Susie Could you pop in for a quick chat? Then in a private setting say "I noticed you are tracking my time, is there a reason/purpose for this"....let her respond and then say, whatever the reason, unless it is to ally legit, which I doubt, "Thanks for clarifying however as this is not part of your core duties/role this detracts from your assigned duties and will no longer be necessary". Done, don't justify or explain time-in-lieu or working through lunch. Just stick with not required and stop.

I would repeat 3 times if needed then the third time if it doesn't stop indicate you will need to elevate it to HR/senior level etc.

For me I would not give a thought to "causing an issue". You are the supervisor and it needs to stop so my advise is to be direct.

potbellypig · June 2014

Thanks @meo34‌ , I like the wording you used on that. I'm glad to know I'm not out of line to say something. I'm still really new to my position and the HR part of my job is a huge challenge for me!

She gets back from vacation late next week. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

Edit: added "@"

Virgo17 · June 2014

So she isn't just making a note of your planned vacation days right? She is actually tracking all of your comings and goings? If so, that is weird.

I would just say you noticed that she was tracking your leave and it is unnecessary to do so. I would just say something like "If you are wanting to make a note of when I will be out for your own reference, please do so in a more private location".

Back in the day, I had a supervisor who was chronically late, out, leaving early. One of my coworkers kept a calendar of her attendance basically for fun and we all got a big kick out it because we could not stand her. I can't imagine that is what is happening here, but I guess you can't know her true intentions. Do you think she has malicious intent?

bethann3181 · June 2014

Virgo17 said:
Back in the day, I had a supervisor who was chronically late, out, leaving early. One of my coworkers kept a calendar of her attendance basically for fun and we all got a big kick out it because we could not stand her. I can't imagine that is what is happening here, but I guess you can't know her true intentions. Do you think she has malicious intent?

This. I once had a job where the president of the (very small) company I worked for was a total ass, and was always skipping out of work, and never on time getting us the work we needed to be doing. A co-worker of mine started keeping track of her time to submit to our corporate office to show the reason why we were consistently missing important deadlines for our clients. I can't imagine someone doing this just because, and there not being malicious intent behind it. Do you have a good working relationship with this person in general?

ss265 · June 2014

That is weird. I would assume positive intent and just ask her - she might have a legitimate reason (in her mind) for keeping track of your time.

jtmomma13 · June 2014

bethann3181 said:

Virgo17 said:
Back in the day, I had a supervisor who was chronically late, out, leaving early. One of my coworkers kept a calendar of her attendance basically for fun and we all got a big kick out it because we could not stand her. I can't imagine that is what is happening here, but I guess you can't know her true intentions. Do you think she has malicious intent?

This. I once had a job where the president of the (very small) company I worked for was a total ass, and was always skipping out of work, and never on time getting us the work we needed to be doing. A co-worker of mine started keeping track of her time to submit to our corporate office to show the reason why we were consistently missing important deadlines for our clients. I can't imagine someone doing this just because, and there not being malicious intent behind it. Do you have a good working relationship with this person in general?

This is what I was thinking. I'd like to think she is tracking you for a positive reason but I really can't think of one! And people in my office kept track of one woman's outs and late's because it made them angry that she had so much time off. I also don't think that you need to make your schedule available to everyone in the office. If you have an assistant then they should know your where abouts and could answer anyone's questions about when you are coming into the office but it's totally inappropriate for her to be tracking you.

I would do as @meo34 said and have a private conversation with her and tell her that it's not part of her job duties and if she continues then to bring to higher management.

potbellypig · June 2014

My working relationship with this person is tricky. She is not the best worker - she doesn't take initiative or complete assigned tasks unless I really get on her a$$ about it. The time-tracking was happening for a while before I went on mat leave, so we sat down and talked about things in general (not this in specific). I validated her role in the workplace, and gave a boost of confidence, saying she was doing a great job, I need her to do the assigned tasks because they will help give our department clout etc. Things improved a LOT after this.

Now I'm back from mat leave and she's tracking my time again.

As far as the Outlook calendar goes - that's worth a try, I haven't really used the Outlook calendar before but it seems like a good idea.

I am often 5 minutes late to work, but we're in an office (not retail) and I make up for it by working 5 minutes more at the end of the day...my director knows this and has never brought it up as a concern.

I mark off my vacation/medical appointment days in the "book off" calendar in my office, which everyone has access to in order to book their time off. What she's tracking is comings and goings or "lateness".

jtmomma13 · June 2014

potbellypig said:

I am often 5 minutes late to work, but we're in an office (not retail) and I make up for it by working 5 minutes more at the end of the day...my director knows this and has never brought it up as a concern.
I mark off my vacation/medical appointment days in the "book off" calendar in my office, which everyone has access to in order to book their time off. What she's tracking is comings and goings or "lateness".

So this makes me think that she is being malicious- maybe to use against you later down the line if she is in trouble for being late or not working up to her ability.

It's pretty BS. I think I take back my previous response and say that you should ignore her. She's going to do it regardless of you telling her not to. And if you have a good relationship with your boss then you shouldn't worry about it- if she ever does say something, she will look be the one looking catty.

bethann3181 · June 2014

Its very surprising to me that she's doing this "tracking" out in the open, on her wall calendar. In the situation I was in previously, my co-worker tracked the president's time on a spreadsheet, saved to her desktop. It's more bizarre that your co-worker is not concerned for you to see it.

Definitely have a talk with her, and update us as to what she says! I'm very curious...

aglenn · June 2014

That sounds weird and openly hostile to me. I don't think you have any choice but to address it with her directly as a first step, because ignoring it sends the message that you haven't noticed and/or don't think it's a problem. If she's willing to do this on her wall calendar for all to see, though, it is likely that things will get worse once you confront her. For this reason I would loop in your boss or HR so that they are in on the story from the beginning. I wouldn't have them participate in the initial discussion but just tell them what you've seen and what you plan to do. Good luck, that's a tough situation to be in!

MommyAtty · June 2014

I think you have to mention it. It's borderline insubordinate in tone, and as a supervisor you just can't stand for that. I like the idea of asking her what it's about. If she gives some lame excuse about needing to know where you are, offer up using Outlook. And tell your boss. That's just some bizarre behavior.

potbellypig · June 2014

Thanks for all of the feedback. I will mention that I plan to discuss it with her to my director when we meet for our monthly meeting on Thursday, and talk to the employee later that day as she is currently on vacation. I will definitely let you all know what she says!

[Deleted User] · June 2014

It's extremely passive aggressive. I would ask her about it. I don't play those games.

BabyHope2013 · July 2014

jtmomma13 said:
It's pretty BS. I think I take back my previous response and say that you should ignore her. She's going to do it regardless of you telling her not to. And if you have a good relationship with your boss then you shouldn't worry about it- if she ever does say something, she will look be the one looking catty.

THIS! I think that she obviously has an issue with you for whatever reason. Heck, she could even be jealous of you. I would meet with her one on one. Perhaps if you just came back from maternity leave you could use it as an excuse to "catch up" now that you are starting to get caught up. Kill her with kindness. Obviously, you might have to do this with the rest of your team as well. At the end of the day, if your boss doesn't have a problem with how you are working then you shouldn't either. It's one thing to keep track of someones time, but a complete other to put it on public display for everyone to see. She is trying to get a rise out of you and draw awareness to the fact that "she is watching you."

potbellypig · July 2014

So I discussed with her this morning...

I pulled her aside and said "I notice you've been tracking my time on the calendar. Is there a reason for this?" She said "I track everyone's time" (which isn't accurate, but whatever) and I said "You don't have to worry about that, as everyone mark's their days off/sick time on my calendar and I submit the hours to HR" and that was the end of it.

It was non-confrontational but I was stressed about it all morning! She looked like a deer in headlights though. We'll see where it goes from here...hopefully she doesn't give me attitude from this incident as that tends to be her pattern.

MommyAtty · July 2014

@potbellypig‌ -Good for you! Hard conversations suck! Sounds like you handled it very well.

VOR · July 2014

Ha. You surprised her. As others said, I'm sure she'll still do it but more covertly.

For the fact she claims that she tracks everyone's time, if necessary, this could be an opportunity to basically tell her that this isn't her job. She needs to worry about herself and her time. not anyone elses. Because really- to track "everyone's" time, that takes time away from doing her job.

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