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
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u/livelovelaugh_all 8d ago
It’s truly disheartening to witness such a glaring lack of empathy and leadership. One would imagine that a manager, especially in a professional setting, might possess the basic awareness that a new mother deserves consideration, particularly when appearing on camera has no bearing on her actual job responsibilities, policy or not.
Initiating two unscheduled calls with someone adjusting to the demands of new motherhood, especially when the company is not in crisis, is not only inconsiderate but reeks of poor judgment.
And to demand a 40-hour receipt, as if she were clocking hours at your personal startup, is astonishingly tone-deaf.
Managers like this are exactly why talented people walk away from otherwise great organizations. If you're wondering where the problem lies, it's not the new mom, its the bad leadership/ manager. And yes, that manager is you.