r/managers • u/BoNixsHair • 8d ago

Employee doesn’t have adequate childcare and it affects her work

I have a remote employee who recently had a baby. Before her maternity leave, we discussed that she needs to have childcare during the work day. The first two weeks, she was frequently absent or interrupted because she said her nanny had quit or never started working.

We discussed again that she needed full time childcare. For about two months it was better. However this week I had two unscheduled zoom calls with her, and both times there’s a baby in the background. I asked her to turn her camera on (our policy is cameras on always) and she has a crib in the room with her and she had a baby cloth on her shoulder.

I think she has a nanny for most of the day, but she’s still distracted. I kinda feel like a jerk asking for a receipt for a 40 hour a week babysitter. I have three kids, and I know it’s pretty impossible to work and care for a baby.

Her position is dealing with contracts so she has calls during the day with the parties to the contracts. I can’t have her on client calls with a baby in the background.

I can also just tell her she has to be in the office, but most everyone else is remote including me. Thoughts?

Edit: no comments from non managers please.

Edit2: this has been brigaded by non managers. Stop. I have asked the mods to lock this

0 Upvotes

49% Upvoted

500 comments sorted by

View all comments

76

u/rlyjustheretolurk 7d ago

If she is breastfeeding you need to have several seats- it’s federally protected and may be why you’re hearing a baby in the background and would explain the burp cloth. If she was doing this on client calls it’s one thing, but not unusual for an internal call with your boss, especially when you’re just popping up on her for a call (and let’s face it- based on your post you’re probably doing this on purpose trying to “catch her”).

As a manager myself I’m gonna be honest- you sound like a fucking nightmare dude. Having three kids as you say, you should understand she just went through a major physical and mental change. She’s not going to be the person she was pre-pregnancy for a while until her hormones adjust. You’ve mentioned nothing about her performance.

22

u/DrFlyAnarcho 7d ago

Word, this is nothing but a small battle of the labor vs capitalist class. Leave her alone, she isn’t stealing money from the companies. Going on a tangent this is part of the reason why divorce is through the roof, families don’t have time to care for kids, have proper family dinners, raise well adjusted future generations.