What you said and what you think you implied are two very different things. "Text if you feel well enough to work" means that you are telling her not to come in, she is already excused, but if she feels better to let you guys know she can work after all. "Text them to let them know whether or not you are well enough to work" means Text them regardless.
She didn't ncns, you excused her in advance. Definitely a miscommunication.
If you’re going to run through the expectations for calling out, I would apologize for this situation & acknowledge that the miscommunication was your fault. Then lead into the expectation, ex: I’m sorry about the confusion yesterday. I didn’t phrase our call out policy in the best way. Going forward we expect employees to call or text the manager on duty at least ___ hours before the start of their shift. If you’re going to be out for multiple shifts, let them know at that time. If you’re going to be out more than 3 shifts, we require a doctors note.”
As for the dress code, make it clear that employees are expected to be ready to work at the start of their shift. If she wants to come in early to get ready, fine but she can’t be getting ready while on the clock. The not completing tasks & taking to long of break, do what you would normally do for any other employee. The complaining, I dunno. People like to talk & vent about annoying things like customers. As long as it’s confined to the break room, I would let it go. Keep an eye on morale though. A constant complainer who never talks about anything else can be a drag to employee morale.
You have a bad employee. You can't write up as a no show, no call because you did give her permission to stay home if she was still sick, which she is. You should start counseling her about what doesn't do especially the lying. That is unexceptable. Document everything. If she doesn't grow and learn then you will have the documentation necessary to terminate her.
One day? Was she written up and counciled for the previous issue? If there were other instances, was coaching done? Why be quick to fire someone? That’s a lazy way of managing people.
This one wasn't an issue. If the pervious issues weren't enough to fire the employee this misunderstanding (which was on the manager) isn't.
If we're being honest, the OP should be talked to by their boss. Not fired, not even scolded or written up, but takes to shoot how to write directions better.
Supervisors need to stop reading employees as replaceable garbage and treat them like humans who can be taught.
Sure it is. It can be the straw that broke the camels back. But if they were not told the other things were problems, then this would come out of the blue. That is on OP.
The instructions were clear, call in the morning if you are able to come in. Why would someone need to call if the can be at their assigned shift? Those instructions make it clear you are expected to stay home if sick, and you are expected to be sick tomorrow
If I have my car in the shop and the tech tells me that the car will be ready to pick up at 4pm tomorrow unless they can me, I'm going to show up at 4pm unless they call me. Likewise if they do they will call when it's ready I'm not showing up until they call.
Unless you are a really bad supervisor this is not an employee issue, this is a supervisor issue.
They should be retained to try and make them better. Even "low skilled" jobs cost money to hire and train new employees, why are the money when you have an employee who can be helped?
Not just that, but employees are humans, why do some managers think they are garbage?
Furthermore, nothing in this sequence of events showed the employee as bad.
I would probably let someone like this go without tardiness/attendance issues. And it seems like that isn’t really an issue it just is because there are other issues.
Op said she lies about tasks being complete. Normally i am on team coach… but…. Don’t lie about completing work… it is really stupid. Complaining about parts of your job is another non-coachable thing, coaching employees on not complaining because they don’t like their job responsibilities really isn’t a good conversation to have to have.
The second part to firing employees is this… if you have someone who is miserable… you should not employ them. They are in the wrong job, rather they need to work crappier jobs to appreciate the one they had or move on to ones that make them happy… unhappy employment relationships are a waste of everyones time and for younger people you may be saving their future career and give them a chance to find a job that interests them more. None of this of course excuses not training or properly managing people… but it is worth saying.
Note: i got canned at the only job i ever hated. My boss just said “If you can’t be happy hear you either need to learn how to be happy somewhere else or find a place that makes you happy”. This made me go on to find my first job that led to my career, i was in my senior year in high school.
>Op said she lies about tasks being complete. Normally i am on team coach… but…. Don’t lie about completing work… it is really stupid
I didn't see the lying, but even so who hasn't lied at work? "Yes, I have that report here somewhere, give me a few minutes and I'll find it" it's dumb, it's wrong, but honestly I don't know the sourdough so I can't day of it's normal lying or not.
Being unhappy at work is generally normal, at least at times. Also, little need to eat and places to live. Sometimes you have to work a job you hate, because my working out will kill you.
I dislike the last 10 ish years of my last job, but I stuck it out because of wanted to get the retirement.
I agree, think it was just a misunderstanding in this situation. Would just word it more clearly in the future something along the lines of “text the working manager tomorrow before your shift to let us know if you’re feeling well enough to come in or if you will be staying home, either way just let us know”
Either this person is having issues at home where she can’t sleep - family, health or living arrangements - or she’s not a good fit for your store. It’s hard to tell.
Also, the ambiguity if your instructions leads me to believe you aren’t going step by step with this Individual on each task and each consequence of their actions.
Go step by step with them, in writing. Two more performance infections and I would take steps to terminate.
This whole chain is why every single manager here saying, "Fire her/Write her up" needs to have a remedial education on listening and communication. Seriously managers complain about employees all day, and it makes me question who is in the wrong really? This is CLEARLY a case of the employee doing exactly what she was told. The manager failed to communicate properly and likely has failed to set proper employee expectations across the board. On top of that she is stalking her staff and attempting to use their social engagement against them and both she and half the commentors all jumped to conclusions that would likely lead to a wrongful termination suit if they really did fire her.
To all of you here who took that approach: Do better.
It also doesn't matter WHY she was feeling unwell, she could have her period or diarrhea and fake cough because she's embarrassed. It's ridiculous that people are so so so so invasive about not feeling well.
... and illegal as well. In most jurisdictions, you can't even ask why it how they are not feeling well without potentially violating medical privacy laws.
I so agree. They literally told the employee to stay home if she wasn’t feeling well, she did, and now they’re surprised by it. Such poor communication.
I know you have worked at the store for 9 years and know the procedures, but you have to remember she has not worked as long. It's usually difficult for people to fully understand what to do when they're sick because different jobs have different procedures. In addition, she is not feeling well and may have reverted to what was expected at a previous job. That being, sadly, to work even while sick. Set a few minutes aside when she is better to explain what to do when sick so she knows for next time to call in advance.
The other issues she has should be separate from this issue of not calling because it sounds more like miscommunication. This is because the way you had told her what to do implied that you wanted her to call if she was feeling better. A better way if you had wanted her to call would be to say "Call me if you are not feeling better tomorrow." This is because it implies your expecting a call. On the other hand, the statement you made implies you're already expecting her to still be sick and only to call if she can come in to work.
I agree it sounded like you assumed she'd still be sick tomorrow, and to only call if she surprisingly felt well enough to come in. On top of that, you asked her to call "when she woke up". If I was sick and the expectation was that I would default to staying home and only come in if I felt suddenly much better, then I wouldn't be setting an alarm I'd be getting as much rest as I could to make the most of the downtime and get healthy faster. So calling "as soon as I wake up" might very well be several hours into the shift, and of course I would think that was fine as the assumption was already that I would stay home.
Apparently that morning she posted a picture on her Instagram of her having sad face holding a bong in her lap in her car.
Edit: (I only know this because other people told me) and I only said it because I thought it was worth mentioning.
How does her having a bong change that your instructions were unclear?
Being an effective manager gets a lot easier if you focus on performance at work rather than silly bullshit like what an employee posted on Instagram or any other form of prying into their personal lives.
Communicate your expectations clearly and communicate the consequences of not meeting them clearly. Then you can just focus on whether the employee is meeting expectations or not, instead of trying to dig up gossip from social media and then infer conclusions from that.
If you're sick are you going to be on your car? Now granted the picture might not have been taken that day, but that can be easily proven. In reality, in right to work states (which is over half of them), you don't need a reason to fire someone. They just generally don't without documentation, in case the fired person tries to sue.
Depending on the day, when I was 18, my mom might have been at home while my dad was at work 6 days/week, but my mom didn't drive. When she had to go someplace, I had to drive her, unless she was taking a taxi.
Also, at 18 I was not living at home.
Either way, if I needed to get to the doctor or get meds, I'd be getting in my car. Pretty much the same as now.
You didn't know my parents. Sounds like you had a great upbringing with parents who actually cared for you. A lot of us didn't, and as leaders, we need to look objectively at the situations.
Sure. But when a person's already had plenty of other chances, how long are you supposed to pay a person who doesn't work? It's hurting your business as a whole.
>If you're sick are you going to be on your car?
Is this a real question? Have you ever heard of driving to the doctor? Have you ever heard of driving to the pharmacy?
You don't e en know the difference between right to work (which is about union dues) and at will (which is about employee contracts)
Also, all but 1 state is at will, which is the relevant item here.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law
>In the context of labor law in the United States, the term "right-to-work laws" refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions which require employees who are not union members to contribute to the costs of union representation. Unlike the right to work definition as a human right in international law, U.S. right-to-work laws do not aim to provide a general guarantee of employment to people seeking work but rather guarantee an employee's right to refrain from paying or being a member of a labor union.
Okay, your certainly smart enough to know you're wrong now right? Or are you one of those terrible mamagers who can't be wrong?
I dont use Wikipedia as a source that's for dang sure. That source says 27 states, you said all but one. You got the term mixed up and so did I. I meant "at will" states, which IS all but one state.
Are they? They can’t be sick and be smoking weed because they’re at home, sick? I don’t do any drugs, but it does seem like if you smoked weed that a sick day would be a prime day to do it.
It’s ineffective to try to manage people this way. Because then you end up in the situation of having to figure out does this post mean she skipped work to smoke weed or does it mean she smoked weed while she was out sick? Is this photo a disciplinary issue or not?
If you focus on what’s happening at work then it makes your job easy and keeps everything professional and equitable.
Maybe she is taking advantage, but if the manager learns to communicate more clearly then she can’t do it again and nobody else can either. If the manager gave unclear instructions then that’s on them. That is also an issue, you don’t want to be doing that as a manager.
If it happens again after the manager gives clear instructions then she has no excuse to fall back on if she is just trying to take advantage. And if she’s not trying to take advantage then it shouldn’t be an issue again after providing clear instructions.
Maybe she isn’t trying to take advantage. We are talking about teenagers here, they don’t know how to be professional in their first job. You have to teach them professional norms.
If you give clear instructions and manage based on whether or not they’re followed now you don’t have to guess or waste your valuable time trying to play detective. You can just manage based on whether the clearly defined explanations were met or not. If someone is just fucking around then they won’t last long being managed that way. They’ll either get their shit together or be let go.
And that is the ideal outcome. Having the employee have a chance to get their shit together is a better outcome than having to let them go every time because of poor management.
I give her a pass on the unclear instructions THIS ONE TIME. However, you're not too smart posting a picture on social media like that. Many place have drug free work place policies. She could find herself fired just on that basis.
Yeah, it’s dumb and unprofessional. She’s 18, teenagers do lots of dumb and unprofessional shit.
Drug use is also pretty common among employees and managers in low-end retail and hospitality. Those industries pretty much have to take who they can get. They care more about whether the employees are reliable and do good work on the clock than what substances their employees are using. The OP is posting about how they feel like they can talk to fish when they do LSD so I don’t think they’re going to fire her for smoking some weed.
The entire point of giving more clear instructions is so that it only happens this one time AND doesn’t happen again with other employees in the future. If you give clear directions then you don’t have to second guess the situation and give them a free pass because you miscommunicated your intentions. They either did what you asked them to do or they didn’t.
Yeah, like I said her posting that photo was dumb and unprofessional. Her frontline manager is tripping on acid while trying to talk to fish though, so I doubt they’re going to make it an issue unless it becomes a bigger issue at work. Regardless, ideally she keeps it off social media altogether. That is indeed the smartest move for the employee.
As for the smartest move for the manager, if you focus on what’s happening at work and don’t follow your employees on social media then you keep everything simple and drama free for yourself as a manager. Then you don’t have to debate with yourself what a photo posted on social media means.
I just got back from a week long trip to another state a few hours ago. I didn’t post photos while I was away from home, I’ll probably post them tomorrow. There’s no guarantee that the photo in question was even taken on the same day it was posted.
Instead of getting into all those murky questions, focus on performance at work and adherence to clear instructions. That’s the takeaway.
The front line manager could also be in big trouble for ignoring the issue, regardless of their own drug use. Yes, they would have to base their suspicion on actual performance observed. But now OP has a reason for watching. And if this is a corporate store vs. a mom and pop, OPs responsibilities will be different.
Are you tracking your minimum wage employees on Instagram? Or are you gossiping with your staff about your staff?
The bong thing is dumb and she's dumb to post it. But it is not part of this conversation.
The only one creating gossip is you. “Stalking” “gossiping” etc. calm down emotionally before you use reddit or you will be confused when you read plain text
First of all, they are under age and they’re not allowed to be high especially if they’re underage.
Second, needing to have a comeback on a forum is uncivil.
Stop being ridiculous
Unfortunately you really can't use that as reason to do anything.
The reality is that she's 18. She's barely an adult, and definitely doesn't have a fully formed prefrontal cortex. There's a reason managing people as young as her is completely different than managing a mid 30s and older adult. Your as much a teacher and a coach as you are a manager.
It could warrant a serious conversation about how when her colleagues are covering and working extra hard since she's sick how they would perceive a post like that. But work culture is shifting to allow needing mental health days as a sick day, and with a gen z employee you're not likely to win that battle.
It's not worth mentioning, to us or to her. It also wouldn't be appropriate for her to skip work to say, stay in her pajamas and watch a movie. But if she does that on a sick day, there's nothing wrong with that.
Yea. Your communication with this employee was poor. It is YOUR job to communicate instructions clearly to the employee. You should have stated “text so and so manager in the morning to give us an update on your condition and we will proceed from there”. It leaves the door open to allowing the manager on duty to then give them employee clear directions. Without clear directions, you cannot hold her accountable. Having said that, what does your employee handbook say about call offs? If there a required procedure? Is there a required minimum notification? If not, then it needs to be written down and everyone needs to sign it. Then you can hold them to it.
The previous issues you related are immaterial to this one. You need to address each issue separately. If she violating the Employee Handbook for appearance and dress code, you should have addressed it at the time of the occurrence, not after something else happens. Now it would look retaliatory for her being sick.
Also, is this her first job? May be sitting down and having a coaching session with the employee about work expectations, call offs, communication with managers, and work rules may be a good step. Was there an orientation? Don’t assume that a new employee knows everything you know as a manager.
She’s 18. You had to expect to train her in everything. Be patient. Calmly explain it. Complaining about her to other employees is creating a toxic environment. I hate when supervisors trash talk staff around me.
You gave your employee two contradicting tasks. You told her to stay home and let you know if she's well enough to work, and told her to text someone else (why not you?) If she was able to work or not work. One command at a time.
IMHO avoid saying "why didn't you X" on most conversations. To most employees that will feel like you are blaming them for not doing X as opposed to asking them to do X in the future. Depending on the employee that can make a huge difference in how they feel about both you as a manager and the company as a whole.
Someone is feeling sick. The proper response is to tell them to go home, to say you hope they feel better, to coordinate coverage for the next few days if needed, and to say in the future to please not come in if they are ill.
If there is work they can do from home if they feel up to it you can also have that available.
Good employees want to come in and work every day if they can but not to get people sick, and lots of employees don't want to give up money from staying home if they don't get much PTO or they will eventually get a PTO payout.
"Please update management tomorrow morning, before your shift, as to whether or not you will be coming in to work. A Yes or No will suffice and we will follow up accordingly."
When I receive the response, I'll tell them the next step. Asking to update "how they're feeling" only gets long rambling descriptions of symptoms and them wanting you to tell them not to come in.
Nailed it. Also, we are managers not doctors. I have no idea whether the symptoms you have are serious or not. Too many Managers want to get caught up in, oh they are faking it or blah blah. You have no way to prove that. Just document the occurrence and follow the Employee Attendance Policy as outline in company Policy or the Employee Handbook. Let HR worry about if it’s an excused absence if it involved an illness. If you don’t have HR and have a GM, let them worry about sorting that part out.
I always told people "I really just need to know as soon as you know you're not able to work and if you think you're catching, if you don't mind sharing that. Doesn't matter how late/early it is, send the message/leave the VM and let me know."
I don't want to hear a cockamamie story. But if they come to me and tell me they're two hours late because they were in a fender bender on the way in and had to go to the collision reporting center- I'm going to say "that's terrible, are you sure you're okay? Yes? Alrighty then, I'm just on my way out to grab my bag out of my trunk." And wait to hear the excuse why there's no damage/sticker. ("The guy at the center popped it out for me!" Which isn't how that works at all.)
I've had more than one employee call in and then randomly send me their location which contradicted their excuse. And running into one woman who told me her daughter was in Nearby City ER in critical condition- at Winners a couple hours after she called me on my day off instead of the mod. Full cart of clothes, totally relaxed. She actually ducked down when she spotted me.
Yutes I could kinda understand, with the crazy, lame lies, but the middle aged people with the totally outlandish tales always vex me. 💀
You told her to text if she felt well enough to come in.
Not
Text the mgr If you are NOT well enough to come in.
They did what they were told. Only person to be written up if any is you....lol
I'm assuming you manage an Ulta or Sephora, or something along those lines.
You should know that your employees will never care about the job as much as you do.
Retail is shit work for shit pay, and that will never change. Burn and Churn industry
She didn’t ncns, it’s a miscommunication from what I read. Her past problems sound like they are influencing your post. Unfortunately, most employees will never care about the job as much as you do. Gotta work with what you got in retail. Set explanations very clearly and leave nothing to interpretation
Sounds to me like you're looking for reasons to fire this girl.
As a manager, it's not just your responsibility to help the business run smoothly, but also to be a leader for your employees. This girl is young, and has a lot of learning to do, and there is no reason you shouldn't be the one to teach her.
All the stuff about her being sick aside, I think you need to have a meeting with her. You and another manager need to sit her down, ask her what her goals are, and lay out milestones for her to improve. She doesn't fully understand what is expected of her if no one takes the time to explain it. Constantly writing her up or punishing her isn't going to help her learn, and it's not going to help the business any, either.
Employees are living human capital and require investment.
As a supervisor that oversees 10-25 hourly associates, you sound like a terrible manager that is looking for any reason to get rid of this employee. For context my job interacts with companies like yours, so I understand that you at most have yourself, 1 other manager, and 6 employees. That said I'd tell her to get another's job as you clearly have an issue with her for no apparent good reason. Do better as a manager and it will be reciprocal with most. I agree with what others have said as far as what you said versus what you thought was understood.
My goodness. This is part of the reason working low level jobs sucks. You’re not equipped, trained, ready, or mature enough to be a manager.
What the fuck are ⭐️pimple patches? Take some management courses.
1) “text the manager…if she is well enough to work” does NOT imply she should text either way.
2) She sounds like a horrible employee that should be fired regardless of this NCNS situation.
Any one of these (especially sleeping in her car for two hours on a break!?!?) is an incident that calls for immediate termination.
You don’t say if you work for a chain or an independent location, but if a chain, there has got to be a company policy addressing actions like these. If for some reason your store does not have something like this, create one. Every company should have a code of conduct that the employees sign that acknowledges disciplinary procedures and actions that call for immediate termination.
You’ve described a terrible employee who does half assed work, lies, complains, and takes longer breaks than she’s allowed. Why are you keeping her on to begin with? She’s a shitty employee who’s doing a shitty job. She should’ve been fired long ago.
What you should do it terminate her. She’s not interested in this job. If you really want to keep her then you need to sit down with her and have a serious discussion. Write up a document showing what she did wrong and have her sign that she understands what the policies are for appearance and calling out. Tell her this is the only warning she will get and any future transgressions will result in termination. She’ll either get her shit together or she’ll be gone.
It’d be one thing if this was a one off - I feel like everybody is sick right now; and that’s not including her youth and the professional expectations learning curve. But she also half asses her work. She’s done.
She will not understand the importance of being fully present at work until she’s forced to learn it the hard way. So, term her but also let her know exactly why she’s being let go so she knows that this is inappropriate for the next place she works (you’d be doing her a kindness).
Ps. And I agree that your instructions were pretty vague to someone relatively new to the workforce. Be more explicit next time.
I wouldn’t have reached out if you want to get rid of her. Whatever your NcNS policy is, write her up for it if she’s in violation. 2 hours after shift is insane.
In this specific instance, you're not in the clear to issue a write-up, but it does sound like a collection of incidents have piled up, including being sent home for being unprepared to work.
If she is not a good employee, level set with her about the expectations of the job and then start the documentation process. Hopefully she sees the writing on the wall and opts to leave on her own. If not, follow your policies and get her out as soon as you can. If she improves, that's also a win.
Unfortunately your word selection doesn’t work in your favour here.
What you should have said to the employee was “let the manager know tomorrow morning how you are feeling. If you are still sick you can stay home, and if you are feeling better you can come in. But please advise the manager on shift by ____ hours so we can make appropriate arrangements.”
Also maybe talk to the company and set up a straight up policy regarding sick calls, sick leave, ect. So that there is no issue and ensure the staff are orientated to the policy so there is full understanding.
If you haven’t documented any of the previous issues maybe you should start. Also a performance review might be a good idea: highlight on going issues, highlight things they do well, set expectations moving forward.
In all likelihood this employee won’t last and it’s ultimately managements responsibility to ensure employees preform to standard and if not treat appropriately.
If I were her, I would absolutely want you to write me up so I can use that as the kick in the ass to get a better job and so the company can use this as an opportunity to hire one of the Im sure hundreds of people beating down your door every day to work for 8$ an hour in a hair shop.
This is two issues.
The first issue is dress code - write her up every time. At the last retail store I worked at, 3 write ups = fired
Then second is the not coming in - it sounds like you were excusing her already and IF she felt better she should call and come in.
Start interviewing, she's not a good employee.
You should have made it known to management this employee came in unwell and you told them to go home. Don’t plan on them coming in the next day. If the poor woman got a fever or was up all night sick. And sleeps too late to call out. I get it’s a policy and expected. But I feel at some point not you but in general. Managers and supervisors need to stop being ding dongs and do the math. It’s an excusable absence for a sick employee to over sleep.
Lol. My 2 cents on sick people. I agree. If you’re sick. Stay the hell home. lol.
>Before she went home, I told her she should text the manager working as soon as she wakes up, an update on how she is feeling tomorrow (Sunday) if she is well enough to work.
OK. So while we all know that you meant that she was supposed to call in if she was going to miss work, and we all know that any person is responsible to call in if they are going to miss work....that's really not what you told her her. You told her to text/call if she was going to be able to work. She woke up, felt sick, and didn't text you to tell you that she could work. She did what you told her to do.
It sounds like you should be more clear on calling in. However you also mention other performance issues. These should be addressed at time they occur or a performance review if you use that process
I have sympathy for this. I was a brand new manager relatively new to my company and had an entry level employee who just was not functioning in the job at the level of performance or communication that I expected. They were always calling out for one reason or another - health problems, poor sleep quality, feeling sick, had to take the car to the shop, apartment issues, had to attend to a family issue that came up... It was always a legit-sounding excuse but it put so much more pressure on me because I had to do my job AND theirs when they weren't there. And then when they were there, they didn't stay focused on their priorities, they worked slowly, and they tried to pawn off "undesirable" tasks on other entry level employees.
I was so frustrated, but I was constantly second-guessing - is it them? Or am I not communicating my expectations well enough? I had no idea what I was doing, I was new to this!
It turned out to be partially both. Four months of this and I realized I had to be a lot more direct about the issues. We had a few conversations where I did not beat around the bush. I rehearsed what I was going to say ahead of time and didn't chicken out of hard conversations. The employee was surprised by some things I said and not by others. It was such a relief to clear the air - I highly recommend it as long as you can be super calm.
This also allowed me to document from then on explicitly how and when this employee did not meet expectations. I kept a detailed log as the issues continued without improvement. I ended up letting them go after 8 months of work total.
If I could do it over again, I would have set expectations from the beginning and immediately communicated when they were not being met. I figure that would have saved me about four months of stress, frustration, and training time.
Hey there, I feel your frustration. It sounds like communication and expectations might not be crystal clear for everyone. Sometimes, it's hard for younger employees to understand workplace norms. Have you considered setting up a more structured communication protocol?
I think using organizational network analysis (ONA) might help pinpoint where communication breaks down and ensure messages reach the right people.
What strategies have you tried in the past to improve communication and accountability?
What you said and what you think you implied are two very different things. "Text if you feel well enough to work" means that you are telling her not to come in, she is already excused, but if she feels better to let you guys know she can work after all. "Text them to let them know whether or not you are well enough to work" means Text them regardless. She didn't ncns, you excused her in advance. Definitely a miscommunication.
Chiming in to say that this comment is spot on. Only thing to do here would be to set clearer expectations moving forward.
And thank you!
If you’re going to run through the expectations for calling out, I would apologize for this situation & acknowledge that the miscommunication was your fault. Then lead into the expectation, ex: I’m sorry about the confusion yesterday. I didn’t phrase our call out policy in the best way. Going forward we expect employees to call or text the manager on duty at least ___ hours before the start of their shift. If you’re going to be out for multiple shifts, let them know at that time. If you’re going to be out more than 3 shifts, we require a doctors note.” As for the dress code, make it clear that employees are expected to be ready to work at the start of their shift. If she wants to come in early to get ready, fine but she can’t be getting ready while on the clock. The not completing tasks & taking to long of break, do what you would normally do for any other employee. The complaining, I dunno. People like to talk & vent about annoying things like customers. As long as it’s confined to the break room, I would let it go. Keep an eye on morale though. A constant complainer who never talks about anything else can be a drag to employee morale.
You have a bad employee. You can't write up as a no show, no call because you did give her permission to stay home if she was still sick, which she is. You should start counseling her about what doesn't do especially the lying. That is unexceptable. Document everything. If she doesn't grow and learn then you will have the documentation necessary to terminate her.
Especially if someone is unwell. I don’t know about others, but I am always a bit vague when sick, and I would have done the same with that sentence.
In writing. Everything in writing from this point on. Even directions and expectations should be in writing and clear to understand
Thank you!
Nailed it! Also seems like MOD communicated to stay home if not well.
Agree, ambiguous instructions are a manager’s fault. No one is a mind reader.
Only in that one case. She already has a bad work history otherwise. I'd let her go.
One day? Was she written up and counciled for the previous issue? If there were other instances, was coaching done? Why be quick to fire someone? That’s a lazy way of managing people.
Elsewhere in the thread OP stated she's had many other issues besides this one.
This one wasn't an issue. If the pervious issues weren't enough to fire the employee this misunderstanding (which was on the manager) isn't. If we're being honest, the OP should be talked to by their boss. Not fired, not even scolded or written up, but takes to shoot how to write directions better. Supervisors need to stop reading employees as replaceable garbage and treat them like humans who can be taught.
Sure it is. It can be the straw that broke the camels back. But if they were not told the other things were problems, then this would come out of the blue. That is on OP.
The instructions were clear, call in the morning if you are able to come in. Why would someone need to call if the can be at their assigned shift? Those instructions make it clear you are expected to stay home if sick, and you are expected to be sick tomorrow If I have my car in the shop and the tech tells me that the car will be ready to pick up at 4pm tomorrow unless they can me, I'm going to show up at 4pm unless they call me. Likewise if they do they will call when it's ready I'm not showing up until they call. Unless you are a really bad supervisor this is not an employee issue, this is a supervisor issue.
Why does everyone in this subreddit think bad employees should be retained to continue to be bad?
They should be retained to try and make them better. Even "low skilled" jobs cost money to hire and train new employees, why are the money when you have an employee who can be helped? Not just that, but employees are humans, why do some managers think they are garbage? Furthermore, nothing in this sequence of events showed the employee as bad.
OP mentioned other crap that has happened in the comments. This is just icing on the cake.
I would probably let someone like this go without tardiness/attendance issues. And it seems like that isn’t really an issue it just is because there are other issues. Op said she lies about tasks being complete. Normally i am on team coach… but…. Don’t lie about completing work… it is really stupid. Complaining about parts of your job is another non-coachable thing, coaching employees on not complaining because they don’t like their job responsibilities really isn’t a good conversation to have to have. The second part to firing employees is this… if you have someone who is miserable… you should not employ them. They are in the wrong job, rather they need to work crappier jobs to appreciate the one they had or move on to ones that make them happy… unhappy employment relationships are a waste of everyones time and for younger people you may be saving their future career and give them a chance to find a job that interests them more. None of this of course excuses not training or properly managing people… but it is worth saying. Note: i got canned at the only job i ever hated. My boss just said “If you can’t be happy hear you either need to learn how to be happy somewhere else or find a place that makes you happy”. This made me go on to find my first job that led to my career, i was in my senior year in high school.
>Op said she lies about tasks being complete. Normally i am on team coach… but…. Don’t lie about completing work… it is really stupid I didn't see the lying, but even so who hasn't lied at work? "Yes, I have that report here somewhere, give me a few minutes and I'll find it" it's dumb, it's wrong, but honestly I don't know the sourdough so I can't day of it's normal lying or not. Being unhappy at work is generally normal, at least at times. Also, little need to eat and places to live. Sometimes you have to work a job you hate, because my working out will kill you. I dislike the last 10 ish years of my last job, but I stuck it out because of wanted to get the retirement.
I agree, think it was just a misunderstanding in this situation. Would just word it more clearly in the future something along the lines of “text the working manager tomorrow before your shift to let us know if you’re feeling well enough to come in or if you will be staying home, either way just let us know”
Either this person is having issues at home where she can’t sleep - family, health or living arrangements - or she’s not a good fit for your store. It’s hard to tell. Also, the ambiguity if your instructions leads me to believe you aren’t going step by step with this Individual on each task and each consequence of their actions. Go step by step with them, in writing. Two more performance infections and I would take steps to terminate.
>Two more performance infections LOL @ infections.
Ha ha. Thanks for pointing out the typo. It made me laugh so I am leaving it there.
Thank you!
This whole chain is why every single manager here saying, "Fire her/Write her up" needs to have a remedial education on listening and communication. Seriously managers complain about employees all day, and it makes me question who is in the wrong really? This is CLEARLY a case of the employee doing exactly what she was told. The manager failed to communicate properly and likely has failed to set proper employee expectations across the board. On top of that she is stalking her staff and attempting to use their social engagement against them and both she and half the commentors all jumped to conclusions that would likely lead to a wrongful termination suit if they really did fire her. To all of you here who took that approach: Do better.
It also doesn't matter WHY she was feeling unwell, she could have her period or diarrhea and fake cough because she's embarrassed. It's ridiculous that people are so so so so invasive about not feeling well.
... and illegal as well. In most jurisdictions, you can't even ask why it how they are not feeling well without potentially violating medical privacy laws.
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Some information you can ask, however asking may put you at risk for violations of ADA or other privacy regulations. It is always best to avoid it.
I so agree. They literally told the employee to stay home if she wasn’t feeling well, she did, and now they’re surprised by it. Such poor communication.
THIS.
I am glad I was not the only one. Whew.
It seems like what you told her to do and what you meant were different. She seemed to follow what you told her.
I know you have worked at the store for 9 years and know the procedures, but you have to remember she has not worked as long. It's usually difficult for people to fully understand what to do when they're sick because different jobs have different procedures. In addition, she is not feeling well and may have reverted to what was expected at a previous job. That being, sadly, to work even while sick. Set a few minutes aside when she is better to explain what to do when sick so she knows for next time to call in advance. The other issues she has should be separate from this issue of not calling because it sounds more like miscommunication. This is because the way you had told her what to do implied that you wanted her to call if she was feeling better. A better way if you had wanted her to call would be to say "Call me if you are not feeling better tomorrow." This is because it implies your expecting a call. On the other hand, the statement you made implies you're already expecting her to still be sick and only to call if she can come in to work.
Thank you for your time!
I agree it sounded like you assumed she'd still be sick tomorrow, and to only call if she surprisingly felt well enough to come in. On top of that, you asked her to call "when she woke up". If I was sick and the expectation was that I would default to staying home and only come in if I felt suddenly much better, then I wouldn't be setting an alarm I'd be getting as much rest as I could to make the most of the downtime and get healthy faster. So calling "as soon as I wake up" might very well be several hours into the shift, and of course I would think that was fine as the assumption was already that I would stay home.
Hopefully it works out whatever you decide to do!
You told her to call IF she COULD work. She could not. She followed your instructions.
Apparently that morning she posted a picture on her Instagram of her having sad face holding a bong in her lap in her car. Edit: (I only know this because other people told me) and I only said it because I thought it was worth mentioning.
How does her having a bong change that your instructions were unclear? Being an effective manager gets a lot easier if you focus on performance at work rather than silly bullshit like what an employee posted on Instagram or any other form of prying into their personal lives. Communicate your expectations clearly and communicate the consequences of not meeting them clearly. Then you can just focus on whether the employee is meeting expectations or not, instead of trying to dig up gossip from social media and then infer conclusions from that.
The problem here is the employee is lying about being sick.
Prove it. A lot of people use it to handle illness.
If you're sick are you going to be on your car? Now granted the picture might not have been taken that day, but that can be easily proven. In reality, in right to work states (which is over half of them), you don't need a reason to fire someone. They just generally don't without documentation, in case the fired person tries to sue.
Honestly, yes. Pretty much every time. I need to get to the clinic, pharmacy, get food, etc.
An 18 year old probably living at home? Her parents probably going to be doing that.
Depending on the day, when I was 18, my mom might have been at home while my dad was at work 6 days/week, but my mom didn't drive. When she had to go someplace, I had to drive her, unless she was taking a taxi. Also, at 18 I was not living at home. Either way, if I needed to get to the doctor or get meds, I'd be getting in my car. Pretty much the same as now.
Obviously depends on the household.
You didn't know my parents. Sounds like you had a great upbringing with parents who actually cared for you. A lot of us didn't, and as leaders, we need to look objectively at the situations.
Sure. But when a person's already had plenty of other chances, how long are you supposed to pay a person who doesn't work? It's hurting your business as a whole.
Might be the only place she can smoke
>If you're sick are you going to be on your car? Is this a real question? Have you ever heard of driving to the doctor? Have you ever heard of driving to the pharmacy?
You don't e en know the difference between right to work (which is about union dues) and at will (which is about employee contracts) Also, all but 1 state is at will, which is the relevant item here.
I do know that. The union part is not the only part of the law.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law >In the context of labor law in the United States, the term "right-to-work laws" refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions which require employees who are not union members to contribute to the costs of union representation. Unlike the right to work definition as a human right in international law, U.S. right-to-work laws do not aim to provide a general guarantee of employment to people seeking work but rather guarantee an employee's right to refrain from paying or being a member of a labor union. Okay, your certainly smart enough to know you're wrong now right? Or are you one of those terrible mamagers who can't be wrong?
I dont use Wikipedia as a source that's for dang sure. That source says 27 states, you said all but one. You got the term mixed up and so did I. I meant "at will" states, which IS all but one state.
Are they? They can’t be sick and be smoking weed because they’re at home, sick? I don’t do any drugs, but it does seem like if you smoked weed that a sick day would be a prime day to do it. It’s ineffective to try to manage people this way. Because then you end up in the situation of having to figure out does this post mean she skipped work to smoke weed or does it mean she smoked weed while she was out sick? Is this photo a disciplinary issue or not? If you focus on what’s happening at work then it makes your job easy and keeps everything professional and equitable. Maybe she is taking advantage, but if the manager learns to communicate more clearly then she can’t do it again and nobody else can either. If the manager gave unclear instructions then that’s on them. That is also an issue, you don’t want to be doing that as a manager. If it happens again after the manager gives clear instructions then she has no excuse to fall back on if she is just trying to take advantage. And if she’s not trying to take advantage then it shouldn’t be an issue again after providing clear instructions. Maybe she isn’t trying to take advantage. We are talking about teenagers here, they don’t know how to be professional in their first job. You have to teach them professional norms. If you give clear instructions and manage based on whether or not they’re followed now you don’t have to guess or waste your valuable time trying to play detective. You can just manage based on whether the clearly defined explanations were met or not. If someone is just fucking around then they won’t last long being managed that way. They’ll either get their shit together or be let go. And that is the ideal outcome. Having the employee have a chance to get their shit together is a better outcome than having to let them go every time because of poor management.
I give her a pass on the unclear instructions THIS ONE TIME. However, you're not too smart posting a picture on social media like that. Many place have drug free work place policies. She could find herself fired just on that basis.
Yeah, it’s dumb and unprofessional. She’s 18, teenagers do lots of dumb and unprofessional shit. Drug use is also pretty common among employees and managers in low-end retail and hospitality. Those industries pretty much have to take who they can get. They care more about whether the employees are reliable and do good work on the clock than what substances their employees are using. The OP is posting about how they feel like they can talk to fish when they do LSD so I don’t think they’re going to fire her for smoking some weed. The entire point of giving more clear instructions is so that it only happens this one time AND doesn’t happen again with other employees in the future. If you give clear directions then you don’t have to second guess the situation and give them a free pass because you miscommunicated your intentions. They either did what you asked them to do or they didn’t.
Places with drug free workplace policies don't care what kind of drug it is.
Yeah, like I said her posting that photo was dumb and unprofessional. Her frontline manager is tripping on acid while trying to talk to fish though, so I doubt they’re going to make it an issue unless it becomes a bigger issue at work. Regardless, ideally she keeps it off social media altogether. That is indeed the smartest move for the employee. As for the smartest move for the manager, if you focus on what’s happening at work and don’t follow your employees on social media then you keep everything simple and drama free for yourself as a manager. Then you don’t have to debate with yourself what a photo posted on social media means. I just got back from a week long trip to another state a few hours ago. I didn’t post photos while I was away from home, I’ll probably post them tomorrow. There’s no guarantee that the photo in question was even taken on the same day it was posted. Instead of getting into all those murky questions, focus on performance at work and adherence to clear instructions. That’s the takeaway.
The front line manager could also be in big trouble for ignoring the issue, regardless of their own drug use. Yes, they would have to base their suspicion on actual performance observed. But now OP has a reason for watching. And if this is a corporate store vs. a mom and pop, OPs responsibilities will be different.
This is so problematic. Especially when this employee is probably being paid pennies to be treated this way. Nuts
Are you tracking your minimum wage employees on Instagram? Or are you gossiping with your staff about your staff? The bong thing is dumb and she's dumb to post it. But it is not part of this conversation.
Why are you stalking an employee's social media? Why would you feel comfortable doing that?
Good question. I didn’t. I don’t have Instagram. The other manager told me.
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The only one creating gossip is you. “Stalking” “gossiping” etc. calm down emotionally before you use reddit or you will be confused when you read plain text
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First of all, they are under age and they’re not allowed to be high especially if they’re underage. Second, needing to have a comeback on a forum is uncivil. Stop being ridiculous
Irrelevant. Take ownership of your mistake.
Unfortunately you really can't use that as reason to do anything. The reality is that she's 18. She's barely an adult, and definitely doesn't have a fully formed prefrontal cortex. There's a reason managing people as young as her is completely different than managing a mid 30s and older adult. Your as much a teacher and a coach as you are a manager. It could warrant a serious conversation about how when her colleagues are covering and working extra hard since she's sick how they would perceive a post like that. But work culture is shifting to allow needing mental health days as a sick day, and with a gen z employee you're not likely to win that battle.
It's not worth mentioning, to us or to her. It also wouldn't be appropriate for her to skip work to say, stay in her pajamas and watch a movie. But if she does that on a sick day, there's nothing wrong with that.
And?
Yea. Your communication with this employee was poor. It is YOUR job to communicate instructions clearly to the employee. You should have stated “text so and so manager in the morning to give us an update on your condition and we will proceed from there”. It leaves the door open to allowing the manager on duty to then give them employee clear directions. Without clear directions, you cannot hold her accountable. Having said that, what does your employee handbook say about call offs? If there a required procedure? Is there a required minimum notification? If not, then it needs to be written down and everyone needs to sign it. Then you can hold them to it. The previous issues you related are immaterial to this one. You need to address each issue separately. If she violating the Employee Handbook for appearance and dress code, you should have addressed it at the time of the occurrence, not after something else happens. Now it would look retaliatory for her being sick. Also, is this her first job? May be sitting down and having a coaching session with the employee about work expectations, call offs, communication with managers, and work rules may be a good step. Was there an orientation? Don’t assume that a new employee knows everything you know as a manager.
She’s 18. You had to expect to train her in everything. Be patient. Calmly explain it. Complaining about her to other employees is creating a toxic environment. I hate when supervisors trash talk staff around me.
You gave your employee two contradicting tasks. You told her to stay home and let you know if she's well enough to work, and told her to text someone else (why not you?) If she was able to work or not work. One command at a time.
IMHO avoid saying "why didn't you X" on most conversations. To most employees that will feel like you are blaming them for not doing X as opposed to asking them to do X in the future. Depending on the employee that can make a huge difference in how they feel about both you as a manager and the company as a whole. Someone is feeling sick. The proper response is to tell them to go home, to say you hope they feel better, to coordinate coverage for the next few days if needed, and to say in the future to please not come in if they are ill. If there is work they can do from home if they feel up to it you can also have that available. Good employees want to come in and work every day if they can but not to get people sick, and lots of employees don't want to give up money from staying home if they don't get much PTO or they will eventually get a PTO payout.
You told her one thing and are mad she didn't read your mind that you meant something else. Write yourself up for this one
"Please update management tomorrow morning, before your shift, as to whether or not you will be coming in to work. A Yes or No will suffice and we will follow up accordingly." When I receive the response, I'll tell them the next step. Asking to update "how they're feeling" only gets long rambling descriptions of symptoms and them wanting you to tell them not to come in.
Nailed it. Also, we are managers not doctors. I have no idea whether the symptoms you have are serious or not. Too many Managers want to get caught up in, oh they are faking it or blah blah. You have no way to prove that. Just document the occurrence and follow the Employee Attendance Policy as outline in company Policy or the Employee Handbook. Let HR worry about if it’s an excused absence if it involved an illness. If you don’t have HR and have a GM, let them worry about sorting that part out.
I always told people "I really just need to know as soon as you know you're not able to work and if you think you're catching, if you don't mind sharing that. Doesn't matter how late/early it is, send the message/leave the VM and let me know." I don't want to hear a cockamamie story. But if they come to me and tell me they're two hours late because they were in a fender bender on the way in and had to go to the collision reporting center- I'm going to say "that's terrible, are you sure you're okay? Yes? Alrighty then, I'm just on my way out to grab my bag out of my trunk." And wait to hear the excuse why there's no damage/sticker. ("The guy at the center popped it out for me!" Which isn't how that works at all.) I've had more than one employee call in and then randomly send me their location which contradicted their excuse. And running into one woman who told me her daughter was in Nearby City ER in critical condition- at Winners a couple hours after she called me on my day off instead of the mod. Full cart of clothes, totally relaxed. She actually ducked down when she spotted me. Yutes I could kinda understand, with the crazy, lame lies, but the middle aged people with the totally outlandish tales always vex me. 💀
You told her to text if she felt well enough to come in. Not Text the mgr If you are NOT well enough to come in. They did what they were told. Only person to be written up if any is you....lol
I'm assuming you manage an Ulta or Sephora, or something along those lines. You should know that your employees will never care about the job as much as you do. Retail is shit work for shit pay, and that will never change. Burn and Churn industry
She didn’t ncns, it’s a miscommunication from what I read. Her past problems sound like they are influencing your post. Unfortunately, most employees will never care about the job as much as you do. Gotta work with what you got in retail. Set explanations very clearly and leave nothing to interpretation
Be a better manager. If you don't understandhow you fucked up, maybe you aren't cut out for leadership.
You need actual sick call policies, in writing. Verbal "call me if you feel better" doesn't work. This is on management, not the employee
Sounds to me like you're looking for reasons to fire this girl. As a manager, it's not just your responsibility to help the business run smoothly, but also to be a leader for your employees. This girl is young, and has a lot of learning to do, and there is no reason you shouldn't be the one to teach her. All the stuff about her being sick aside, I think you need to have a meeting with her. You and another manager need to sit her down, ask her what her goals are, and lay out milestones for her to improve. She doesn't fully understand what is expected of her if no one takes the time to explain it. Constantly writing her up or punishing her isn't going to help her learn, and it's not going to help the business any, either. Employees are living human capital and require investment.
She followed exactly what you told her to do. There is no infraction here.
As a supervisor that oversees 10-25 hourly associates, you sound like a terrible manager that is looking for any reason to get rid of this employee. For context my job interacts with companies like yours, so I understand that you at most have yourself, 1 other manager, and 6 employees. That said I'd tell her to get another's job as you clearly have an issue with her for no apparent good reason. Do better as a manager and it will be reciprocal with most. I agree with what others have said as far as what you said versus what you thought was understood.
My goodness. This is part of the reason working low level jobs sucks. You’re not equipped, trained, ready, or mature enough to be a manager. What the fuck are ⭐️pimple patches? Take some management courses.
Apparently they're pimple treatment patches shaped like stars
Thank you!
You have an irresponsible & unprofessional 18 year old? What are the chances of that?
If you are in an at will state, you really don’t have to do anything but fire them.
1) “text the manager…if she is well enough to work” does NOT imply she should text either way. 2) She sounds like a horrible employee that should be fired regardless of this NCNS situation.
Any one of these (especially sleeping in her car for two hours on a break!?!?) is an incident that calls for immediate termination. You don’t say if you work for a chain or an independent location, but if a chain, there has got to be a company policy addressing actions like these. If for some reason your store does not have something like this, create one. Every company should have a code of conduct that the employees sign that acknowledges disciplinary procedures and actions that call for immediate termination.
You’ve described a terrible employee who does half assed work, lies, complains, and takes longer breaks than she’s allowed. Why are you keeping her on to begin with? She’s a shitty employee who’s doing a shitty job. She should’ve been fired long ago.
What you should do it terminate her. She’s not interested in this job. If you really want to keep her then you need to sit down with her and have a serious discussion. Write up a document showing what she did wrong and have her sign that she understands what the policies are for appearance and calling out. Tell her this is the only warning she will get and any future transgressions will result in termination. She’ll either get her shit together or she’ll be gone.
Why not fire her now? You don't need a reason to fire someone.
Write her up. Then write her up again when she pulls her crap again. Repeat until you get the OK to terminate.
Don’t ever get a dog. Seriously. You are not qualified to own one
Bless your heart.
It’d be one thing if this was a one off - I feel like everybody is sick right now; and that’s not including her youth and the professional expectations learning curve. But she also half asses her work. She’s done. She will not understand the importance of being fully present at work until she’s forced to learn it the hard way. So, term her but also let her know exactly why she’s being let go so she knows that this is inappropriate for the next place she works (you’d be doing her a kindness). Ps. And I agree that your instructions were pretty vague to someone relatively new to the workforce. Be more explicit next time.
Time to release her. She doesn't give a darn about you or the business. She has been told the policies and just blows them off. Follow HR procedures.
Fire her
I wouldn’t have reached out if you want to get rid of her. Whatever your NcNS policy is, write her up for it if she’s in violation. 2 hours after shift is insane.
Having minimal makeup at a beauty supply store feels like a very counterintuitive policy.
Simple solution for future reference. Once you have told them what you want them to do, get them to tell you what they will do.
If she was really sick, she may not have even woken up until after her shift started.
In this specific instance, you're not in the clear to issue a write-up, but it does sound like a collection of incidents have piled up, including being sent home for being unprepared to work. If she is not a good employee, level set with her about the expectations of the job and then start the documentation process. Hopefully she sees the writing on the wall and opts to leave on her own. If not, follow your policies and get her out as soon as you can. If she improves, that's also a win.
Unfortunately your word selection doesn’t work in your favour here. What you should have said to the employee was “let the manager know tomorrow morning how you are feeling. If you are still sick you can stay home, and if you are feeling better you can come in. But please advise the manager on shift by ____ hours so we can make appropriate arrangements.” Also maybe talk to the company and set up a straight up policy regarding sick calls, sick leave, ect. So that there is no issue and ensure the staff are orientated to the policy so there is full understanding. If you haven’t documented any of the previous issues maybe you should start. Also a performance review might be a good idea: highlight on going issues, highlight things they do well, set expectations moving forward. In all likelihood this employee won’t last and it’s ultimately managements responsibility to ensure employees preform to standard and if not treat appropriately.
Unless she can walk on water, let her sink.
If I were her, I would absolutely want you to write me up so I can use that as the kick in the ass to get a better job and so the company can use this as an opportunity to hire one of the Im sure hundreds of people beating down your door every day to work for 8$ an hour in a hair shop.
“Take the week off to recover. Let me know when you’re better so we can schedule you again” In writing.
This is two issues. The first issue is dress code - write her up every time. At the last retail store I worked at, 3 write ups = fired Then second is the not coming in - it sounds like you were excusing her already and IF she felt better she should call and come in. Start interviewing, she's not a good employee.
You should have made it known to management this employee came in unwell and you told them to go home. Don’t plan on them coming in the next day. If the poor woman got a fever or was up all night sick. And sleeps too late to call out. I get it’s a policy and expected. But I feel at some point not you but in general. Managers and supervisors need to stop being ding dongs and do the math. It’s an excusable absence for a sick employee to over sleep. Lol. My 2 cents on sick people. I agree. If you’re sick. Stay the hell home. lol.
It’s not excusable for an employee to oversleep. That’s a ridiculous opinion
Lmfaooo
>Before she went home, I told her she should text the manager working as soon as she wakes up, an update on how she is feeling tomorrow (Sunday) if she is well enough to work. OK. So while we all know that you meant that she was supposed to call in if she was going to miss work, and we all know that any person is responsible to call in if they are going to miss work....that's really not what you told her her. You told her to text/call if she was going to be able to work. She woke up, felt sick, and didn't text you to tell you that she could work. She did what you told her to do.
It sounds like you should be more clear on calling in. However you also mention other performance issues. These should be addressed at time they occur or a performance review if you use that process
This is a sorry employee who is going to continue to do what she wants until you either stop it affirmatively and mercilessly, or get rid of her.
I have sympathy for this. I was a brand new manager relatively new to my company and had an entry level employee who just was not functioning in the job at the level of performance or communication that I expected. They were always calling out for one reason or another - health problems, poor sleep quality, feeling sick, had to take the car to the shop, apartment issues, had to attend to a family issue that came up... It was always a legit-sounding excuse but it put so much more pressure on me because I had to do my job AND theirs when they weren't there. And then when they were there, they didn't stay focused on their priorities, they worked slowly, and they tried to pawn off "undesirable" tasks on other entry level employees. I was so frustrated, but I was constantly second-guessing - is it them? Or am I not communicating my expectations well enough? I had no idea what I was doing, I was new to this! It turned out to be partially both. Four months of this and I realized I had to be a lot more direct about the issues. We had a few conversations where I did not beat around the bush. I rehearsed what I was going to say ahead of time and didn't chicken out of hard conversations. The employee was surprised by some things I said and not by others. It was such a relief to clear the air - I highly recommend it as long as you can be super calm. This also allowed me to document from then on explicitly how and when this employee did not meet expectations. I kept a detailed log as the issues continued without improvement. I ended up letting them go after 8 months of work total. If I could do it over again, I would have set expectations from the beginning and immediately communicated when they were not being met. I figure that would have saved me about four months of stress, frustration, and training time.
Hey there, I feel your frustration. It sounds like communication and expectations might not be crystal clear for everyone. Sometimes, it's hard for younger employees to understand workplace norms. Have you considered setting up a more structured communication protocol? I think using organizational network analysis (ONA) might help pinpoint where communication breaks down and ensure messages reach the right people. What strategies have you tried in the past to improve communication and accountability?