my employee isn’t working full-time hours, leaves mid-day, and is lying on their timesheets

A reader writes:

I’m a (decently) new manager, and I’m struggling with one of my employees.

They come from a freelance background but wanted stability so they applied for this job, which is a salaried role.

Let’s say the hours are 9-5. We can be flexible with start times as long as it’s reasonable and we’re communicated with, but employees must work their full hours.

For some reason, this employee seems to think that when their immediate work is done, it is done and they can go home. That’s not the case, and especially not so because in this line of work, work is really never done. They have many colleagues who could use a hand, and there are other things they could proactively be working on.

They also seem to think it’s okay to just up and leave mid-workday without saying anything, as well as lying on timesheets. Somehow, they think it’s the done thing across the team (it is not).

I brought this up with them, but they were very defensive and basically said, “Well, my output is good, so I don’t know why you have a problem.”

I reiterated the importance of communication and fairness, but I really wasn’t convinced they understood and I will be having a follow-up meeting with them.

I think a big problem is that they are still very much in a freelance mindset when this job is very much far from that.

What do you think I should do?

It sounds like you’re falling into a common new manager trap where you feel like you have to convince this employee to see things your way, but you actually don’t. You just need to be very clear about what the requirements of the job are.

It’s preferable if they end up understanding your perspective and you can reach a shared understanding, but ultimately it doesn’t matter if they agree with you that these policies are reasonable because they still need to follow them.

So, for example, your next conversation with them about this should sound similar to this:

You: This job requires you to work a full eight hours per day. Even when your most pressing tasks for the day are done, you’re expected to stay and continue working on other projects. If you’re finished with your most urgent items, you should work on things like X, Y, or Z, or check with me for additional things you can help with. 

Employee: My output is good so I don’t see why this is a problem.

You: This is the expectation for everyone on our team and company-wide. It’s a requirement of the job that isn’t going to change, and I do need you to adhere to it.

Employee: I just don’t see why this matters.

You: The role requires working full-time hours. If that’s not something you want to do, this job won’t be a good match. Do you want to think about it and let me know if the job still makes sense for you, knowing this is a requirement that isn’t going to change?

That framing — think about whether it makes sense for you to stay — can make this less adversarial and push the situation toward whatever the resolution is going to end up being. You’re saying, essentially, “Here’s what the job requires, it’s absolutely fine if you decide that’s not for you, but let’s figure out if our needs are compatible or not because they may not be.”

And then, after that conversation, the person person continues not to work full days, you reiterate that it’s a job requirement, explain that you won’t be able to keep them on if they don’t follow it, and tell them this is their final warning. (Before this point, you should be coordinating with your own boss or HR so that they’re looped in and you’re following whatever policies your company has about firing people.)

But also, they’re lying on timesheets? That’s a fireable offense on its own, and you need to make it very clear that there’s zero tolerance for that. As in, “It’s a non-negotiable requirement of your job that your timesheets truthfully reflect the actual hours you worked each day; you cannot misrepresent them. If this happens again, I would need to let you go. Are we in agreement that you will accurately report your hours going forward?”

There are many, many times — most times, really — where as a manager where it makes sense to be collaborative with people, rather than taking a top-down “this is the way it will be” approach … but this is not one of those times. This is a black and white situation that calls for you clearly stating the requirements of the job and the consequences for not meeting them, and then sticking to that.

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