“I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but I guess things just escalated.” Karyn described this latest blowup with one of her team members. “I am only her supervisor on the weekend, so I feel a little helpless. Her weekday supervisor lets her get away with leaving early. I talked to Rick about it. He just doesn’t want to confront her.”
“And when you stopped her from leaving early, the conversation turned grisly and she left anyway?”
Karyn nodded her head slowly. “And next Saturday, I don’t know what to do or say. I can’t just pretend nothing happened?”
“Oh, you could. Hope is a strategy. You could hope she doesn’t blow up again. You could hope she doesn’t leave early again. You could hope she gets all of her work done. But if hope doesn’t work, what are you going to say and when are you going to say it?”
Karyn scrunched her face, “I don’t want to wait until she tries to walk out the door again. Then it will be Groundhog Day all over again.”
“So, when would be a better time to talk to her?”
“I think early in the day, perhaps at the very beginning.”
“Good, then there won’t be the drama of her trying to leave at that moment. Now, what are you going to say?” Karyn struggled with the question. No response.
“Karyn, I want you think about this. You cannot stumble into this conversation. You have to be prepared. Think about this and we will talk again. Think along these lines. I want you to be both straight AND sensitive. What will you say?”
I value our working relationship and want to start this week off better than last week ended.
Personal emergencies are bound to happen, and for those reasons I understand the need to leave your shift early. Our working hours on the weekend are from X to X. In that time we are expected to get our job done efficiently. As your supervisor, I am here to assist you in overcoming any work-related challenges which may impede this. As a valued employee, I expect you to work your full shift and to advise me of any personal emergencies which may mean a change to your hours.