I have a long term employee who has dealt with serious back issues for well over a year now.

Anonymous

July 21,2022 at 2:29PM UTC

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I have a long term employee who has dealt with serious back issues for well over a year now. Female/40+ yrs old.

She is under a doctor's care but it seems the doctor is only treating her symptoms and not the issue. That is an assumption on my part based on what she has shared with me about her back issue. Her work is slipping has been since the issue started with her back. I have altered her work schedule to allow her extra time in the morning to get to work but this was only after I recognized she was coming in a hour + late every morning, not upon her request. She misses deadlines pretty regularly now and when gently called out about it, does not appear to be particularly concerned. I am also noticing tasks that are not being done in a timely manner or are simply going undone. She supervises a team of three and is currently down one employee due to their voluntary termination and she has yet to arrange interviews for the replacement, even though the position has been posted for a month now. She has consulted with HR, upon my recommendation, in regards to a possible ADA accommodation. We have provided a standing desk (she didn't 'like it' so it was removed), new office chair with back support, in addition to already altering her work hours. None of these accommodations have done anything to correct the issues I write about in this post. As her supervisor, I am asking for advice in regards to approaching these issues with her to ensure she does not feel discriminated against but at the same time, I need her to understand her performance, or lack thereof, is affecting the business negatively and cannot continue.

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AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 3:17PM UTC
This is not particularly inspiring advice but document every situation that you have accommodated this person due to the medical problems. Then separately document the performance issues. That way you can show that the performance issues are not due to medical issues and that you have made all reasonable accommodations so that she can perform her job.
We had a similar situation with a long time, valued employee. He had a multitude of severe physical problems but had done his job for well over 10 years. They changed the lights in the building and he started complaining of migraines. They bought a shield, that wasn't helping. They offered to move him to another area and change the lights there. Nope. Due to mental issues, his therapist wouldn't allow him to work from home. In the end, he ended up walking out for a month without any word to anyone. Eventually we had to lay him off.
An employer can only do so much for accommodation. I'm not saying that physical issues cannot effect work performance, however, it sounds like your employee is using her back issues as an excuse to do a sub par job.
AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 3:33PM UTC
It's now at a point that you need to not only document her reduced performance but you need to put her on a PIP so that she is put on formal notice of expectations and the time frame for improvement.
She has options of short term disability, pto, etc while she seeks medical help. But she must be proactive on care and aggressive medical treatment. She is nit concerned because she hasn't been faced with consequences.
You have exhausted your accommodations for her and now you must follow your company's policies and protect the company from liability.
That means you need yo work closely with HR and document everything as well as present the employee with a PIP attached to deadlines.
This is no longer an issue of just human compassion but one of legal responsibility and professional concern
MichelleJuly 21,2022 at 3:41PM UTC
She should get accommodations from the health care provider. Dry needling treatment from a dr. of physical therapy- a treatment that has allowed me to continue to work but that treatment wasn’t covered by Kaiser in Colorado.
She might qualify for workman’s compensation claim and eventual disability. I hope you provide those insurances and recommendations. Working in constant pain from over use is atfault.
Barb HansenJuly 21,2022 at 4:13PM UTC
I suggest working with your HR business partner to either find a solution with this employee or guide this employee towards another position (inside or outside of your company). As anonymous mentioned below, placing this employee on a PIP is one tool that you have
You need to be working hand-in-hand with your HR team to ensure that your company is following the necessary ADA accommodations while ensuring that this employee is still performing at a level commensurate to her pay-grade.
AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 4:27PM UTC
I'm not sure if this helps but I would like to give you the other side. I'm a sister of someone who was in a serious car accident where 8 vertebrae were broken. I have no medical training but I too am not sure my brother has gotten the best medical attention. In summary, it's complicated.
I want to share with you what I've learned having someone close to me in pain. My disclaimer is I'm not making any excuses for him, your employee, or anyone, and if your concern is about getting work done properly, you are talking to the right person. I get it. Here's what I can share with you:
First, it's hard to think properly when you are in pain. it clouds everything. Because you don't think properly it's hard to care. My brother is very well educated and caring, but his pain has changed him. You also need to understand that recovery isn't a straight line. She will have good days and bad. Plus, what doesn't seem to be addressed in a lot of these treatments is trauma from the injuries. I'm not sure how she was before her injury but my brother was athletic, always at the gym, and strong enough to carry me on his shoulders. It's traumatizing to not be able to do what you were able to before. My brother got help with that much later than he should have. My point is you are dealing with physical and psychological issues and it's complicated.
Second, the way insurance works in North America for injuries like this is messed up. What could actually help him (in my opinion), the insurance company will not allow him to do. You aren't wrong when you are sensing the treating of symptoms and root problems. It's probably true. I have felt the same way, but it may not be her fault.
Finally, again, I understand you are her supervisor and you have accountability from above to get a job done. I wish I had a simple solution for you, but this world you have now touched is very complicated. Do you have an EAP that would be able help her with trauma? Is she the type that would level with you if you had a heart to heart about accommodations and if work needs to be further modified?
I hope you can make some good progress. Good luck!
AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 4:58PM UTC
I can tell you as a 40+ female with back issues, it's not as simple as "just go get treatment" and get back to normal. This is not a simple cut or scrape she's dealing with. And I agree with someone that said pain affects your judgement /work, it most definitely does. And so do heavy duty painkillers. Most folks I've known with back issues have tried their damndest to avoid surgery because for many people it results in permanent disability and greatly reduced income and quality of life. Have a bit of compassion and realize that if you ding or fire her for this she can sue you.
AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 5:09PM UTC
I believe I have been very compassionate from the very beginning and continue to be compassionate. I am not trying to fire her, I simply need the work done for which I am paying her to perform. I also am fully aware her issues are complicated. You quote 'just go get treatment' and get back to normal. I did not in any way indicate that is my stance or would ever be my response to her. My company's reputation is also at stake as, mentioned above, deadlines are being missed and some duties are not being performed at all. While not helpful, thank you for your input.
AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 8:25PM UTC
The OP has shown great compassion and support. But she is not this person's caregiver. So while she's bent over back to support this person, she is responsible for the work getting done.
A back problem does not equal allowing work to go unfinished and deadlines being missed.
AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 5:24PM UTC
It’s not clear the line of work, but is it possible to allow her to do the work remotely? If that is out of the question, it looks like you did everything you could. The work still needs to get done. My colleagues eventually had back surgery when it started interfering with their work life. Although you cannot talk to her about that, I am puzzled that she has not considered that option with all the difficulties she is having at work.
AnonymousJuly 21,2022 at 8:21PM UTC
You have shown great compassion and accommodation. You are her supervisor and not her caregiver.
You reputation as a leader is now at risk because deadlines are being missed and the work is simply not getting done.
So while you have shown compassion and patience, you now must show leadership.
I agree that a PIP is desperately in order as a reality check because at the end of the day she is being paid to do a job. If she can't do that job, then she has plenty of options but she cannot under perform and neglect her responsibilities. That's not an option.
A medical leave of absence, disability and pto are redid available and she much work with her medical team and family to make those decisions.
You are responsible for the work. So your focus needs to be to do your job and not enable underperformance to take you down too.
AnonymousJuly 22,2022 at 3:20PM UTC
A lot of people have touched on the ADA aspect and a PIP, so I'm not going to add anything to that.
I do have a couple of questions about the needing to arrange interviews for the replacement. Is this something that she has been responsible for before? Or could it be something that she expects HR to be doing or you to be doing?
For that one I think it would be worth it to have a check in meeting with her and possibly HR (if they are involved in the process) and see how things are going. Maybe there's work that is being done that you don't know about, or maybe she thought you were taking the lead on it so nothing has been done.
In the past year we were trying to hire a couple positions in our group and we got lots of resumes for both but it took a couple months before we got even one resume that was even good enough to interview. It felt like nothing was being done, but in reality there was a lot happening at step 1. This might not be the case for this situation, but you won't know unless you ask.
If it turns out nothing is being done, ask questions to coax out what is stalling the process and what needs to be done and who it needs to be done by so that everyone comes out of the meeting on the same page. Just be careful when you do it. If she thinks it is her responsibility, make sure that you are approaching it from the position of getting an update on the project so that she doesn't think you're micromanaging.
I also think you could ask about the missed deadlines again. You said you gently called her out on it, but in the call out did you ask her for her plan on how to fix it or ask her what the reason was that the deadlines were missed? Was something else prioritized, were these things that are usually handled by the 3rd team member, did she forget, etc. There's lots of reasons besides back pain that the deadline could have been missed. Maybe she has a plan that she hasn't shared with you, which is why she isn't concerned, or maybe she just doesn't care.
I think it is perfectly acceptable to ask her what her plan is to get them done. As an employee I hate it when my manager does this, but I usually know when it's coming. As a manager, I hate having to do it, but I also go into it hoping that they have a plan to get it figured out. It's much better to ask the question sooner rather than later, that way you aren't getting unnecessarily frustrated. I usually give it about a week.
This got really long, but the short version is that as a supervisor you are within your right to ask why the deadlines are being missed or hiring is going slow. Once you have the information, you should check with HR before taking any actions especially ones like putting her on a PIP or removing work.
Good luck! This is a really tough position to be in, but hopefully it works out. :)
Leader135412July 24,2022 at 1:36PM UTC
I have scoliosis. I wear a corset every day, even in the summer. And I purchased a sciatica pillow to sit on. It has helped tremendously. There are exercises that you have to do 3x a week. She should go for physical therapy.
E CJuly 29,2022 at 7:35PM UTC
If you have made every effort under the ADA and HR policy, and documented them, then yes, it's time to set expectations. I might make an informal but written plan first, if your HR allows it. I would make it clear that a PIP is the next and last step.
I would also offer the company EAP, if you have one. It's not unheard of for back pain to lead to opioid addiction. Addiction often looks like poor performance at work.
AnonymousAugust 7,2022 at 2:07PM UTC
That’s what I was thinking re addiction