My Office Won’t Leave Me Alone When I’m Sick or on Vacation

Inc.com columnist Alison Inexperienced solutions questions on office and administration issues-everything from the best way to cope with a micromanaging boss to the best way to discuss to somebody in your workforce about physique odor.

Each time I’ve ever had a time without work, whether or not it’s a scheduled trip day or a day I’ve needed to name out sick, my boss calls and texts me with questions, many, many instances all through the day.

It would not be bothersome if his questions had been ones that solely I might know the reply to, however they aren’t. He’ll name and ask me about duties accomplished, the place he may simply look within the log we hold within the workplace and see for himself. Usually he’ll ask about one thing very minor (which he may nonetheless see for himself on this log) that I can not even keep in mind.

I’ve informed him a number of instances that I can not keep in mind these items off the highest of my head. And that since I am not within the workplace to look myself, I do not know and could not inform him, and even the place to look to search out the data himself. All of this to no avail.

I’ve tried not answering texts and calls, however he simply will get offended and calls and texts extra, telling me it is extraordinarily pressing.

I do not need to inform him flat out, “Please don’t contact me when I’m not in, until it’s a critical emergency.” That feels out-of-line since he is my boss. I am at a loss right here. Do I simply sit and cope with the calls and texts despite the fact that I am off?

Your boss is completely out of line. And it is really completely affordable so that you can maintain agency about this-not essentially that he cannot contact you outdoors of labor in any respect, however positively that he cannot count on you to reply whenever you’re out sick or on trip, until that is one thing that the 2 of you’ve negotiated forward of time.

Earlier than I am going any additional, I ought to observe that all the recommendation that follows is predicated on the belief that you simply’re not in a area the place fixed availability is a part of the deal. There are fields like that, however I assume you’ll have talked about should you had been in considered one of them.

I’ll suggest at the least one factor, and presumably two issues.

The factor it is best to positively do is that this: Beginning now, everytime you take time without work, state explicitly beforehand that you’ll not be accessible. For instance:

• “I wished to remind you that I will be on trip tomorrow and Friday. I cannot be someplace with dependable cellphone service, so I will not have the ability to reply to calls or texts.”
• “I’ve the flu and will likely be out sick in the present day. I am hoping to sleep this off, so I will not be answering calls or texts.”

Then if he tries to succeed in you anyway, you ignore these calls, as you informed him you’ll. If he will get upset that he cannot attain you, discuss to him whenever you’re again at work and say one thing like this: “I reminded you earlier than I left that I wasn’t going to be someplace the place I might be reachable by cellphone or textual content. Is there one thing you want me to do in a different way when that is the case?”

If he is unreasonable sufficient to say, “Discover a option to be reachable,” you then say, “That will not all the time be attainable with in every single place I would go once I’m on trip and not working.”

But when the dialog does go on this route, then you want to do the second factor I am about to counsel, too: Which is to have a big-picture dialog with him about his expectations in your position. Which means sitting down with him and saying this: “You have appeared annoyed when you have not been capable of attain me once I’m out sick or on trip. I perceive that in uncommon instances an emergency would possibly come up meaning it’s a must to contact me, however normally, I might prefer to know that once I’m taking time without work, I can totally disconnect and you may perceive if I am sick or busy and may’t reply.”

If he pushes again, saying that all the pieces he contacts you about is an emergency, or the rest ridiculous, then say this:

I really want to have the ability to take depart and have or not it’s actual depart: Days the place I am not anticipated to work. I do know that you simply, in fact, want to have the ability to hold your personal work shifting on these days, however my advantages package deal provides me X days off a yr, and it is necessary to me to have the ability to use them. Once I’m again within the workplace, I will attend straight away to something that is come up. Based mostly on what I’ve seen come up once I’m away, I believe that ought to hold us in good condition. However should you want somebody accessible for this work each single day of the yr with no exceptions, then we have to prepare somebody as a back-up for me once I’m out. Ought to we work out who would make sense for that, or would you quite strive seeing the way it goes, with the understanding that I will not all the time be accessible once I’m out?