Worker Angry at 'Out of Order' Colleague Doing Job Around Childcare Backed

An infuriated worker has vented online about an "out of order" colleague doing her job around child care.

The original poster, Laughingteacakes, has been writing on Mumsnet that a colleague is "driving me crazy."

Laughingteacakes wrote: "She doesn't have childcare in place consistently, she seems to be working her job around her childcare needs rather than pay for the right amount of childcare. Money isn't an issue, think expensive car, large house etc."

"She also travels from home to work in her work time so that she can be at home at the times she needs for her childcare, without making up the 1.5ish hours this takes her each day."

Women's workplace non-profit Catalyst found in a survey of more than 7,400 employees worldwide that women with child care responsibilities are 32 percent less likely to report that they intend to leave their job if they have access to remote work. This is compared to those who don't have such access.

Laughingteacakes wrote: "The rest of the team are working really hard, extra hours, lots of stress about getting through the workload, she is breezing along with a much lighter workload and therefore managing to continue to be at home whenever she needs to for her children.

"It is driving me crazy, I am so p*ssed off that the rest of the team including myself are working so hard and she is taking the absolute p*ss."

More than 150 people have commented on the post that was submitted on Thursday. Many agree with the original poster and have advised getting a line manager involved.

JoshuaTree36 wrote: "No, you are not unreasonable. This lady is using her children as an excuse for easier work life."

SaSamhradh said: "She is thieving a wage for work that she is not doing and poisoning the atmosphere for those of you working. Should she be able to perform at the interview, she could very well be promoted.

"Your manager also is not doing their job—a toxic atmosphere of resentment is building up, and a staff member is not meeting key performance indicators (KPIs). People will quit, either 'quietly' or openly if this persists."

A survey of 2,202 people carried out by employment website FlexJobs found toxic company culture was the reason why 62 percent quit their job.

Nineteen percent said the reason they left was due to a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in place.

While some users have sympathized, having been in a similar situation before, others question the colleague's agreement with the manager.

Messymood wrote: "I think you are being unreasonable. She might have an agreement with your boss and if she is getting her job done, then she shouldn't be punished for doing it efficiently and prioritizing her well-being and life.

"I don't know if this is true in your case but in my case, those who work the longest aren't the ones doing the best job, so maybe take a lesson from her and work smarter, not harder.

"She honestly sounds like she has her sh*t together and good on her!"

NotagainTuesday wrote: "Since working from home became a thing, I'm at home more often than not now.

"I work a lot of evenings after the bedtime routine, but these days I hide behind the Teams capability to 'appear offline' because frankly I'm fed up of people (and interestingly, mostly junior colleagues) telling me when I should and shouldn't be working."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.