December 12 Tip of the Week

“Work/Life Balance”

During the holidays, issues surrounding work/life balance become more prevalent, with employees feeling the added pressure of preparing for Thanksgiving dinners, decorating for the holidays, and otherwise ensuring that their families can experience the joys of the season.  At these times, the pressures and demands at work often take a backseat and the focus becomes more on the home front rather than the workplace.  As employers and human resources professionals, we understand this – we want to partake in the holiday cheer and make sure that our families and ourselves are feeling fulfilled during the holiday season and not overburdened and overworked.  Because of this, we often give our employees the benefit of the doubt when granting time off requests or dealing with additional time out of work (such as longer lunches to run errands, early departures to attend gatherings, etc.).  This largesse, however, can have a negative unintended consequence when one employee takes too much advantage of the leniency during the holiday season and their abuse creates additional pressures and discontent among the remainder of the workforce. 

Anyone who has overseen a time off policy, whether it be unlimited PTO or statutory sick leave, has felt the pressures of tracking time off, approving time off requests, and addressing employee abuses.  What are some best practices to ensure that everyone is able to remain productive during the holidays or in the summers when time off is in demand and the demands of the work remain the same? 

First, it is important to have a clearly written, widely disseminated policy on absences.  The policy should specifically state that the employer’s expectation is that an employee will meet their professional obligations and performance goals and that time off from work for whatever reason should not detract from the employee’s performance.  The policy should acknowledge and support employees and their need for leave, but it should not be written in such as way as to imply that an employee’s needs override the employer’s need for regular attendance from its workforce.

Second, the policy should have an approval process for extended periods of time off.  Obviously, when an employee needs to miss work due to their own sickness or a family member’s sickness, that absence cannot be subject to approval – it is unplanned but must be allowed to ensure that the employee feels supported and does not bring their illness to work causing others to become sick as well.  The approval process should be fair and considered and employers should not reject reasonable requests for time off from employees for arbitrary reasons.  If an employee is out for an extended period of time due to sickness, the policy should include a requirement for a doctor’s note justifying the need for sick leave.  Typically, this requirement should be imposed for absences of three or more days.  Employers should be respectful when asking for a doctor’s note and not seek details about the employee’s illness.  Also, if the employee is unable to get to a doctor due to the unavailability of appointments or the lack of health insurance, then the employer should allow the employee to provide statement of their need for leave.  Obviously, such statements should not be the regular default for the employee – as that may be an indication of abuse – but they should be a last resort option for employees who can’t get to a health care provider. 

Third, the policy needs to be enforced consistently for all employees.  There is nothing worse in a workplace than inconsistently implemented policies.  Inconsistencies are often read as favoritism by other employees and can create – at best – feelings of jealousy that negatively impact the work environment or – at worst – claims of employment discrimination.  If there are legitimate business reasons for some inconsistent treatment, such as employees who are able to work from home when dealing with a family member’s illness or their own medical condition that affects their mobility but not their ability to perform their job duties, those inconsistencies or different types of treatment, and the reasons for them, should be acknowledged in the policy. 

Finally, attendance issues and the use of time off should be addressed on a regular basis throughout the work year.  Attendance and the need to be present and actively working should be part of a regular employee evaluation system.  Employees who abuse sick leave tend to be poor performers and those performance deficiencies should be addressed when they occur.  Waiting until the employee is out of work for an extended period of time or continually calls in sick is problematic, as the employee can allege that the performance issues are nothing more than a smokescreen and the employer is really discriminating against them due to their medical condition, their use of leave, or some other protected reason that could result in liability under the employment laws.   

MyHRcounsel can assist you in developing employee handbooks that address leave and attendance issues.  We can also assist you in addressing performance and attendance issues with your employees.  The key, however, in addressing these situations is to be proactive rather than reactive.  MyHRcounsel can work with you to be proactive with your workplace policies and practices and we will be there to support you when addressing difficult employee situations.