Should he stay or should he go?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I oversee a small work group. We used to be twice as large, but layoffs a few years ago diminished our ranks. Although not truly responsible for them (my manager would take the heat if one of them really messed up), I am nonetheless expected to keep them in line.

There’s a young man in my group. He’s a nice fellow, bright and articulate, producing good work at an acceptable volume. Thing is, he’s a headache to work with. He phones out sick at the last minute, is habitually late, takes too many and overly-long breaks, texts his friends while on the clock, and tends to fall asleep at his desk. Last week, he dozed off while the boss was in the aisle, visiting. She watched in amused amazement as his head nod-nod-nodded, and then he perked up with a jerk. Problem is, she was just asking me if he had been falling asleep lately, and I said, “No.” I’ve threatened to send him home if he was caught sleeping again (one time, he was out like a light for over five minutes), but lately it’s just been dozing, and he’s had his eyes open by the time I’ve made it over to his desk.

Since June 1st, he’s been late to work 17 out of 31 days. Not a lot late; the time-clock reads it as being 15 minutes each time, due to rounding. But it’s so consistent, it’s hard to avoid noticing. Several weeks ago, I met with him and did a verbal write-up (yeah, I know) that wasn’t submitted to HR. He accepted and signed it, including the part that said “I understand that if this continues, I can face disciplinary action, up to and including termination.” The day after he signed it, he was late again.

In a couple of weeks, I’m being promoted to full supervisory status. That means that my group WILL be my direct responsibility. This guy has been written up several times for this kind of stuff over the last couple of years, including being cut down to part-time, and 1- and 2-day suspensions.

So: on one hand, he gets the job done. On the other hand, it’s upsetting to the rest of my work-group. They don’t know how he gets away with it, and they’re voicing that opinion more and more. On the gripping hand, I don’t want to lose my job or get tarred with the brush he’s using to paint a target on his forehead. My manager understands all this, and says she’ll back up my decision. Bottom line, though, right now, the final say is hers.

Do I cut him loose before he brings me down with him? Or do I laugh it off, and say, well, otherwise he’s a fine worker? He’s been a bartender before, and I’m sure that here in South Florida he should have no problem finding another job. But I’d hate to do it all the same.

What say you all? Am I being a clueless softy, or does the kid need to go?

2

You’re being a clueless softy – the kid needs to go.

3

That he is affecting morale for the other workers pushed me in the “let him go” direction, otherwise i would have said as long as he is doing good work the mundane details aren’t that important.

4

Two important things:

  1. It’s affecting morale - nip it in the bud, quick.

  2. Your future underlings trust you enough and see you as a competent-enough manager to bring their unhappiness about this situation to your attention, and it sounds like they’ve done it more than once. Don’t misplace this trust because you’re going to need it once you officially take over as manager.

Everyone knows which co-worker doesn’t pull his or her own weight. If you’ve got multiple people pointing the finger at one person, you need to take a long, hard look.

5

What kind of work is he doing? Is it the sort of work wherein flexible hours would be reasonable and brief catnaps would be acceptable, as long as he gets the job done (or indeed, if they would help him get the job done)? I think that these are relevant considerations.

6

In before “how can you fire someone in a recession??? You heartless bastard!!!”

7

He’s either getting the job done or he isn’t. If he is, then I’d probably order a drug test, and try to help him through what I suspect is a need to sober up.

If the drug test comes back negative, then talk to HR about whether you can recommend that he see his doctor for a full check-up. Maybe even just call an ambulance the next time you “find him unconscious.” He may be completely unaware of how often he goes to sleep - and there are several medical conditions which would explain these symptoms. Diabetes, narcolepsy, depression, anemia, hypothyroidism. . .

Maybe just sit him down and say “Look, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough. You need to contact your doctor and find out what’s wrong.”
If he isn’t getting the job done, then let him go. It really is that simple. We are trading money for work.

8

Doesn’t really mattervif he’s getting the job done, nothing kills a team faster than the belief, true or not, that one person is getting away with something that no one else can. Follow process which typically gives him a couple more opportunities to fix things while escalating the seriousness of the warnings. It takes time dealing with HR but it will help you feel more comfortable with the final result if you know he clearly had the chance to fix it.

At the next level, probably a written warning, you could suggest the doctors visit and offer any options the company has for counseling too.

9

I had a guy on my team who would fall asleep at his desk regularly – and snore, too. I suggested he see a doctor. Turns out he had sleep apnea. He got the machine, and never fell asleep at his desk again.

But then, this guy was in his 50s. Young guy? How young? I’d suspect a lifestyle incompatibility before a medical problem.

10

It sounds like he has sleep issues. Just the snoozing together with the lateness could be the result of insomnia, right? I second the advice to refer him to a doctor. But you can also let him know that your “advice” is mandatory, since it is a real problem for you. I just wouldn’t fire him right away, since it’s not as if he’s lazy.

11

Time to work on discipline planning :smiley:

Such a warning should come with repercussions and acheivable corrections to behavior. Namely, if you are late again in the next 30 days this warning will be upgraded to a written warning. Most importantly do it, do not threaten and fail to follow through. If he is late, issue the written warning. Most workplaces I have been in have pretty detailed policies on being late to work so that 2-3 times a month probably wont kill you but habitual lateness will come back to haunt you.

Also such things should be documented in detail and if he has evaluations for raises or anything of that nature they should factor in his attendance problem. My last regular job had a policy of if you had been subject to a written disciplinary action within 90 days of your scheduled review your review was pushed back until the end of that 90 day period and you were ineligible for transfer to another department or promotion during that time. This way you don’t have someone toe the line for a few weeks to let the raise kick in before a cashout on vacation and or sick leave at termination.

12

If he does, let him be the one to present that in his defense. Variations in blood sugar can do that too, but if he is an undiagnosed diabetic he needs to want to identify his own problem if he feels he even has one.

13

The lateness and falling asleep could be a medical issue, but not the long breaks and texting.

How does he compare to the rest of the team? Are they also nice, bright, articulate, and producing good work at an acceptable volume? If he sees himself as an exceptional employee – especially compared with the others – he might think his lapses should be excused. “So what if I’m late and take long breaks? I still get more work done than Sally does.”

Yeah, it sucks to let someone go in a recession. OTOH, there are probably hundreds of people who’d do a better job for you.

14

He’s obviously not bright enough to realize that his actions are going to get him fired, even after being told plainly that they will. As you’ve mentioned, people notice co-workers who are always taking the extra 15 minutes at breaks and lunch and texting instead of working and coming in late day after day. It’s very hard to not wonder why there are two sets of rules - one for him and one for the rest of them.

ETA: Sorry, didn’t answer your question - yes, you should fire him. Maybe he’ll take his next job seriously.

15

What did he say about these things when you raised them with him? If you haven’t already discussed these things in detail, I think it might be preemptive to fire him, particularly if you are happy with the actual quality and volume of work he does. While it might be easy enough to hire someone to replace him, it may not be as easy as just giving this guy a shot at fixing the problem.

16

If you do nothing it will come back to haunt you. It may take a while but it will. You really can’t afford to be lenient.

17

I’m going to respond to this first. He’s 25. He used to be a bartender. He knows all the local bartenders. When he goes out, they tend to pour liberally. Many times he’s phoned in claiming to have a sinus infection when it sounds like he’s dying from the mother of all hangovers. TruCelt, the last time I pulled him off the floor for sleeping, he said that he had been to see a doctor, and there’s nothing wrong with him, so he couldn’t understand why he had fallen asleep. He’s always going to see the doctor. For sinus infections. In the fall/winter, he was going to school so we tended to be more forgiving, as we could understand how night classes and homework would lead to a tiring schedule. But he’s not in school at the moment.

He’s had his schedule adjusted every which-way, trying to accommodate him. We tried the 9-to-5:30, then the 10-to-6:30. Now we’re on the 9:30-to-6. Like I said, we’ve cut him down to part-time before, rather than firing him. With every change comes positive response – and then a slipping back.

He IS getting the job done, and he’s smart and he’s accurate. We’re a data processing team, but there’s a high level of analysis and data manipulation as well, so I’d hate to lose a good worker; that’s what’s making this decision so tough. Everyone on the team is bright and produces good work, though, so it’s not like he’s the star of the show.

I think drachillix has the right idea, and I’m going to pitch it to my boss: the next write-up is going to be a formal one, and one that’s submitted to HR. I think HR has said that if they see one more write-up on him, they’re going to recommend termination.

Oh, and Rand-Rover – I was wondering who was going to be first to say it. Besides myself, of course! :smiley:

18

If he goes, it will be trouble. But if he stays, it will be double.

19

THANK you! I was waiting …

20

OK, so then based on that I’d say he just hasn’t learned the discipline. Sit him down one more time, and make sure he understands what you said about HR and one more write-up. Mention that showing up on time starts with setting a reasonable bed time.

From that day forward, go every day to his chair at 9:30. (that’s the current “on-time” time, right?) If he’s not in his chair, sit down and start working. When he finally shows up, stand up very slowly, give him a hard look, and hold up some fingers. I’d start with three myself, then two, the one, then he gets the hand on his shoulder steering him to your office.

This will have the dual effect of wiping away his illusion that you don’t always notice, and alerting the team that he is not, in fact, getting away with it.

But seriously, if he gets the work done, how important is the time at which he does it? Maybe the whole team needs more flexibility to address their disgruntitude. . .
BTW the chances are that he’s not getting good healthcare. I found it nearly impossible to get my doctors to take this problem seriously. They basically stuck me for a thyroid test and then insisted that losing weight would help. Well, except when I had this problem as a 114 pound ballerina, then they said I wasn’t eating enough! A sleep test proved I have silent apnea, and a CPap or a mouth guard can solve the problem.