Comments on: My Coworker is Tracking My Hours

By: Bonnie Romick

Bonnie Romick — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 15:05:59 +0000

I recently went from full time to part time and. Now work 4 hour days. This has been good for me due to my age the 8 hours had me in constant pain. I’m in my mid sixties. I can afford to do thus but the young people working with me bully and question and track my hours trying to make issue or me feel bad about cutting back. Tired if their. Jealous. Meddling and Envy. Exhausting watching them squirm. Everyday interrogations if me and my hours. Interferes with work as well

By: Mehul @ Search Results Media

Mehul @ Search Results Media — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:26:00 +0000

If you’re doing great, I’m not going to care about little stuff. But, if you’re not doing great those things become more of an issue because they might be preventing you from doing great. This can be the overall point of this whole topic.

By the way.. nice article & Thanks for sharing.

By: Harrow

Harrow — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 13:20:20 +0000

In reply to MB.

Yes, a direct conversation with boss lady is the correct thing to do.

But remember, you only have the word of “so and so” that Schmoolie has been tasked to be your temporal amanuensis – so if boss lady never asked her to do that, then *somebody* needs to have a conversation with “so and so”.

By: LJB

LJB — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 18:00:44 +0000

In reply to ABB.

This is a great point and analysis, and the performance reward may be a way to “butter up” the employee before letting them know they are being switched over to nonexempt. In the employee’s case, a little communication on the boss’ part would go a long way. If the boss asked the employee how many hours they typically work each week, this likely wouldn’t send up as many red flags as having a coworker track it. If the boss is a good one, they will find a way to explain the situation to the employee if they are planning to move the employee to a nonexempt role.

What’s unfortunate is boss’ often forget they were once in the shoes of their direct reports. Remembering the “Golden Rule” and treating others the way you want to be treated really does work in this situation.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 16:48:02 +0000

In reply to Wsw. It seems to me that "coworker “so & so”" is probably a trouble-maker.

By: Wsw

Wsw — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 15:47:00 +0000

Regardless a good manager would not be creating a hostile work environment by having peers spy on peers. Who’s to know the true motivation in that situation. Is it a busy body who may harbor issues in a competitive work environment? No matter how you slice it. A good manager would handle the situation directly. If I was the spy I would wonder when will this happen to me. Not a great situation for all involved. I could not work for a manager who thought this was a solution to concern. Just ugly. There are so many other quiet ways to know schedules. Key card swipes, system log in/outs that don’t require a spy. Call me crazy but sounds like a real immature manager and more like high school tactics. Being targeted without the benefit of a conversation is just wrong on all accounts.

By: ABB

ABB — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 15:30:23 +0000

There maybe something else going on. This exempt employee may not meet the new salary standards to be effective 12/1/16. The boss may be trying to find out how many hours this exempt employee actually works so that she could figure out if she should raise the employees pay, how much, reconfigure the pay rate to account for overtime, etc. The lesson: employers MUST communicate with affected employees. Of course, everything you said above may also be happening and the boss is just a bad boss.

By: Wsw

Wsw — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 15:06:29 +0000

First and foremost a good manager would have approached you. Maybe something has changed in your personal life if she suspects your not fulfilling your scheduled hours. The boss should be addressing her concerns with you, not your peers. If she is responsible for asking a peer to track your comings and goings that puts your peers in a very awkward position. Especially if you have a great working relationship. I would have told my boss no. Not my baby to rock…

By: MB

MB — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 14:08:06 +0000

To follow through with the potential responses from the boss:
-If your boss says, “yes, I asked Julie Schmoolie to track your hours because of XYZ,” then engage with that uncomfortable conversation with your boss. Say that you are happy to self report, that it makes you uncomfortable to have a coworker do it via peer monitoring, and that if your boss doesn’t trust you to self report, then that issue should be discussed directly between the two of you.

-If your boss says, “no! I never asked Julie Schmoolie to do that!” ask your boss to contact Julie Schmoolie directly and ask her to cease immediately.

It’s hard to have the direct conversations, but getting these things out in the open to discuss directly ASAP is really the best option for resolution.

By: Ellen Parisi

Ellen Parisi — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 13:34:42 +0000

GREAT ADVICE. Applause applause.