Shawnee Love   •  
August 9, 2010

It is a good thing I run my own business, because today I would be a terrible employee. Suffering from presenteeism is how HR folks often categorize this behaviour. Back when I was a kid, we had a cruel but perhaps more clear way to describe this status:  “light’s on but nobody’s home”.

This past weekend was a blast. I was a weekend warrior as only someone pushing 40 can be. Monday morning rolls around and I am stiff, tired, and my brain is not firing on all cylinders. But Monday is a work day and like many people, I am not someone to call in sick (especially not to myself).

If you are a manager, you have certainly seen this before and perhaps have been guilty of it yourself a time or two in the past. But you have objectives and an entire team of people watching how you handle this situation, so what should you do? Here are some thoughts.

1. If the employee is a chronic problem and this is just another example of poor work ethic or deliberate sabotage of team goals then you address this issue as compared to if it is a first time or rarer than a two headed billy goat.
2. If you are a new manager, you will likely want to address the issue as you are probably being tested. A long term/ experienced manager will have a track record of precedents to guide his or her decision and a team of people who already know what to expect.
3. If the team is new or the offending employee is new, then it might be as simple as clearing up any misconceptions on appropriate work ethic and setting expectations.

Clear as mud with all these dependencies? Here’s a couple more tips:

Pick your battles. Everyone has an off day. I am biased as obviously today is mine, but realistically, if your employee is typically a hard worker and good at his/her job, then pulling out the yellow or red card may be unnecessary. Good performers will put in the effort to catch up knowing they did wrong and a warning would only serve to remove their motivation.

Be consistent. If you call people on every little infraction (and don’t mind your reputation as a hard @ss), then keep it up. If you are known to let this kind of stuff go, and/or even do it yourself occasionally, then you are probably best served to go easy. When it comes to managing, being fair is much more important than being right.

Does anyone else have tips for handling these situations?