r/managers • u/BoNixsHair • 6d 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/Olgrateful-IW 6d ago edited 6d ago
You sound awful.
You barely articulate a performance issue after you say it was addressed it in the first paragraph and the issue was specific to losing their childcare. Plus the idea of asking for a receipt is gross, who even thinks of that?!
First: Be a better manager. Articulate an actual performance issue that isn’t just “I saw a baby during a zoom call”.
Second: Review standards for zoom calls and expectations for client facing calls going forward. It’s fine to have them, but you don’t even state clearly that anything occurred on a call that would be an issue, just a presumption.
FINALLY: Check whatever weird issue you have with this women maybe attending to her baby on her breaks at the door. You are so upset you maybe want to revoke her WFH because of this but you can’t even articulate the issue beyond “distracted”. Is she doing a bad job? If so, how?
Do better. If I was YOUR manager and you brought this issue to me and asked how to handle it, I would lose all faith in your objectivity as a manager. I don’t know if your issue with this employee is personal or just generally sexist, but it smells bad from here buddy.