Wait or Go?

prunesquallor

NewShadow wrote: »

I'd check how 'Bob' was ... It would kind of depend why they were off sick - If Bob had a bad case of work related stress, I think that's a little different from Bob's skiing accident and resultant broken ankle.

I'm not sure I can agree with "depends on why" in this case - it's the fact that this person had asked to speak later as they physically weren't feeling well and this person is always reliable with attendance so wasn't stress related. I believe in this case it was flu or something similar. The fact that a person asks to talk later due to physical illness should be more than enough of an indicator to suggest that you need to wait and talk later. If it had been me, I wouldn't have cared a jot if I'd received the announcement a couple of days later. What does it matter? The outcome remains exactly the same.

I've seen it happen several times with managers where they lose common sense over what they think is their duty as a manager. Ironically with the above example, they're actually failing in relation to their duties as a manager. I know this is a bit off topic, just seems like the managers were just flapping because of the planned redundancies - which makes things worse if anything.

NewShadow

Sorry, I think obviously if someone asks to call back later, I've no problem with that. I was more addressing the first part of the question of if someone is on sick they should just be left alone until they returned to work.

If some one is off sick they should really be left alone...

I try and keep in regular contact with anyone that's isolated from the office (maternity or med/long term sick) but how I do that, or how often, would depend on the individual situation and the prognosis.

Bob of the broken ankle may appreciate more updates on the progress of work (kept in the loop), but need/want less support than Bob of the work related stress; with whom I would touch base with more often (letting him know he's not being forgotten) but try to avoid anything relating to work (and associated pressures).

That said, I'd want to talk to Stressed Bob about the redundancies as a matter of urgency if I thought there was a chance he'd find out another way (Facebook) and it would lead to more worry and stress.

Eitherway, I wouldn't just leave someone on sick alone until they were due back. Other's may have a different management style, and if it works for them/their team, it's all good.

getmore4less

If you are too sick to talk on the phone don't answer it.

prunesquallor

NewShadow wrote: »

I'd want to talk to Stressed Bob about the redundancies as a matter of urgency if I thought there was a chance he'd find out another way (Facebook) and it would lead to more worry and stress ... I wouldn't just leave someone on sick alone until they were due back.

I'd say most people off sick would rather be left alone - if you're genuinely off sick (as in flu) then work stuff goes in one ear and out the other. Long term injury is a different thing - in that case people in this team would be working remotely from home so would effectively not be on leave.

Your point about finding out another way leading to more stress - actually in my experience (2 rounds of redundancies so far) managers and leadership are clearly stressed out at having to make the announcements so it's actually more stressful when you're receiving the announcement at work from them. There's lots of repetition, justification, sub conscious flapping and explanation of strategy - none of which anyone is listening to after having been told their job is at risk.

Managers may like to believe that's not the case but I'm afraid it is. Ok - so there is no good way to make this sort of announcement, but finding out via facebook or via a friend is likely to turn out less stressful. May not be an intuitive line but that's what my personal experience dictates.

getmore4less wrote: »

If you are too sick to talk on the phone don't answer it.

True - I probably wouldn't have answered to anyone if I were sick unless it was family calling.

prunesquallor

I've been increasingly worried about whether there is a strategic move to push me out personally - whether through redundancy or just engineer me wanting to leave. Do other people think the points below collectively are a cause for concern?

- redundancies announcement & off shoring plans
- other less able colleagues being paid more / favouritism
- long term extra duties unrecognised - eg working extra hours
- inaction from management - no comms, simple managerial responsibilities not being carried out
- work stack suddenly dried up (apparently just for me) a few weeks ago

I am trying to change my career direction by learning new technology, but it's proving difficult with all of these concerns/worries going on in my head. Plus I'm not getting any support for learning, so I now have doubts as to whether I'll ever be able to learn and use the new platform.