The Office-Politics Advisers:
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"All 3 routinely take the same days off, usually 2-3 days a month."
Dear Office-Politics, My issue is with my supervisor and a couple of co-workers. My supervisor and the other two are minority women, and one of them is her cousin who she brought on board as a temp. All three routinely take the same days off, usually 2-3 days a month. No one dares say anything to them because they will scream RACISM. Her boss is new and not too happy about the situation, but he won't do anything about it. Everyone else has noticed it, but no one will say anything to them. I don't want to openly complain, because my supervisor has the right to get rid of me. My job performance is pretty good, but personally we do not exactly get along. I also suspect she is signing the timesheets for her cousin and allowing her to get paid for days which she does not work. Should I just mind my own business? If I say anything, they will likely suspect me since this is a small organization and I am one of the few non-minorities in this group. Hope I don't sound prejudiced. It just irks me when people take advantage of their employers like this. Thanks, Confidential
Dear Confidential, There are two issues here. The first is your supervisor and two co-workers taking the same day off. The second is your suspicion that time sheets are being falsified. The latter is a far more serious matter as it amounts to an accusation of fraud. If you have solid evidence senior management should be notified, but since you say you "suspect" this is happening I take it that you don't have such evidence. At this time you don't have the information needed to do anything about your suspicions. The first issue is a different matter. I assume that the problem is that when three workers in a small office take the same day off it results in an unfairly increased workload for you and others. If that is the case you have a legitimate interest in raising this with your supervisor. You don't need to demand the solution that seems most obvious (that the three of them not take the same day off), but can ask the supervisor to take steps to ensure that the workload is shared more equitably. There may be a creative way to address your concern that you and she can come up with together. If your relationship with your supervisor is too poor to make such a discussion possible, then I would suggest that you meet with the person to whom your supervisor reports and ask for his/her help in negotiating a way to deal with the unfair work distribution that is concerning you. Be aware, however, that this move may well exacerbate the poor relationship that you have with your supervisor. You will have to make the person you approach aware of this concern as it will be their responsibility to address it. If your company has a Human Resources department or officer that person may be the place to go rather than moving up the ladder. Regarding the question of race, I don't hear anything in the situation that you report that suggests you are motivated by racial prejudice in this matter. Certainly extra sensitivity is called for when dealing with minority groups. Those of us who belong to cultural groups that have been oppressive in the past need to examine our motives and feelings honestly. Fear of a charge of racism is not, however, a legitimate reason to avoid confronting an issue that involves persons who belong to a minority group. I wish you well in dealing with this matter. Good luck, John Burton
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