Sticking points

We spend most of our waking hours at work, so it’s important to get on well with colleagues. Here, Andrew Saunders looks at easy ways to deal with issues that threaten office harmony

1. Parents leaving early
When parents leave work early to pick up their children from school or to attend school events, the best solution is to ask them to make the time up – maybe by coming in earlier or working through their lunch break.

“Make sure the office keeps a record, so if a colleague without children feels that others are getting preferential treatment, you have a written reference that the person made the time up,” advises Abi Ashford from BusinessHR. Keeping a record will also help if the person complaining has enjoyed similar flexibility in the past: for an ill parent, for example, or taking a pet to the vet.

Where parents need an afternoon off, such as for a sports day, time in lieu may be better: most firms use a basic form to record this. A final route is to build some flexibility into contracts. You could calculate holiday time in hours rather than days, use term-time contracts to solve the problem of unavailability during school holidays, or provide more flexible start and finish times.

2. Unavailability
Failure to get into the office may be due to travel difficulties caused by winter snowfalls, or if a child’s school is closed. Sick children can be a particular problem, as employees may pretend the illness is theirs and use sickness leave.

Providing flexibility will discourage this sort of behaviour: perhaps work can be done at home or time taken off in lieu. If an individual’s morning commute is particularly prone to delay, consider letting them start later but also leave later.

It’s usually better to follow a company policy than to use individual discretion in these cases. Some managers may be more generous than others in insisting that missed time must be made up, which is likely to produce resentment from those treated more harshly.

The policy should contain direction regarding which staff member to call in the event of problems and whether any leave arising from non-attendance is paid or unpaid. It could also flesh out any contingency plans, such as working from home.

Parents with children under 16 now have a statutory right to request flexible working, and employers are obliged to consider it. How well an organisation deals with this challenge may be crucial in its ability to retain staff, explains Abi Ashford: “With more elderly people to look after and childcare an increasing challenge for many employees, flexibility is the key to having a motivated and retained workforce. If your organisation doesn’t offer it, then staff may look elsewhere for one that can provide it.”

3. Serious illness
Ill health is one of life’s great levellers and, although it is mercifully rare, it can strike anyone at any time. Many of us will share an office with someone who is seriously, perhaps even terminally, ill at some point.

If you are the person’s manager, then you do need to be up to speed on policy – what is the exact nature and level of support provided by the company? But the key to handling the situation sensitively is to be guided first and foremost by your humanity, and then by your professional status as a boss or a colleague. Avoid the temptation to spread the news – unless the person asks you to, of course – and be sympathetic but practical.

Jeremy Bullmore, workplace agony uncle, says: “You can’t possibly know how someone else feels – so never say you do. Tell the person, gently but directly, that as far as work is concerned, you’re going to behave towards them entirely normally, but that you’ll understand when there are occasional wobbles.”

4. Thunder-stealers
Taking credit for other people’s ideas and hard work is one of the lowest tricks in the book, but one that is common – not least because it often works. Senior management time is limited, so the underling who speaks first and loudest tends to get whatever plaudits are going.

Tackling a thunder-stealer isn’t easy. Try beating them to it by getting your word in with the top brass first, and you risk becoming known as a thunder-stealer yourself. Adopt a more discreet approach instead, advises Virginia Merritt, Managing Partner of strategic HR consultants Stanton Marris. She says: “First, collect a few bits of hard evidence, and then confront them privately. The key question to ask is ‘why do you feel the need to do this?’ Hopefully that challenge will force them to reassess their behaviour, rather than to deny it.”

If that doesn’t work, recruit others who have been on the receiving end to do the same thing: only the thickest of skins can resist that kind of peer pressure. If the culprit is your boss, it’s even trickier, so try to seek the support of a more senior but disinterested colleague.

5. Slackers
Nothing poisons morale and damages productivity more than someone who is not pulling their weight. Let a slacker get away with it and it’s a recipe for resentment – and more laziness. So, if you have a slacker on your team, swift and decisive action is crucial.

“Tackle this issue as soon as possible – it’s not kindness to withhold criticism that could lead to sacking,” advises Executive Coach Miranda Kennett. Do it calmly and professionally, and as part of a formal process. Quiet, off-the-record chats can lead to confusion and disagreement further down the line. “Make your disappointment and your expectations clear. Agree a time to review progress and record your agreement. If there’s improvement, then praise them; if not, then a formal warning is needed.”

If that sounds harsh, remember that you owe it to other, hard-working employees to be uncompromising on this. Even if the person is a colleague, rather than a direct report, your duty is to speak out and make your concerns known to their manager.