I am BLAZING mad!

[Gallop_Away]

Me being unhappy doesn’t automatically make the other person “in trouble”.

If it was a one off, I’d leave it. If it was something where there would likely be repeat events then I’d suggest that the person takes planned time off or has back up in place.

Of course, we might have to hire in back up, or others in the team might have to do overtime. And I’d have to pick it up if it was a job I can do.

I just, personally, don’t expect that from others when it comes to my pets. Hence the back up plans.

I think the fact you would be "unhappy" about a member of staff needing to leave to attend a serious and potential fatal emergency regarding their much loved dog, is pretty appalling in itself. I personally would gladly pick up the slack for a colleague in that situation.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

I think the fact you would be "unhappy" about a member of staff needing to leave to attend a serious and potential fatal emergency regarding their much loved dog, is pretty appalling in itself. I personally would gladly pick up the slack for a colleague in that situation.

If it was possible to pick up the slack, and there wasn’t harm or loss, then I wouldn’t be unhappy?

I literally just posted that in the above thread and then answered a question on the second clause.

I would be unhappy if it resulted in something like a canceled surgery - no BB would not be in trouble but I would feel absolutely awful about the consequences.

 

[Gallop_Away]

If it was possible to pick up the slack, and there wasn’t harm or loss, then I wouldn’t be unhappy?

I literally just posted that in the above thread and then answered a question on the second clause.

But there is a scenario where you WOULD be unhappy about a colleague leaving to care for their seriously ill pet.....

Sorry I just don't understand that at all.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

But there is a scenario where you WOULD be unhappy about a colleague leaving to care for their seriously ill pet.....

Yes, if the colleague left in the middle of surgery due to a fish tank losing power, and someone died as a result then yes, I would be upset. I may or may not share that with the colleague but I would find it difficult, personally.

We can all talk in extremes, and you seem determined to make this about how I would feel about colleagues so, yes, in that situation I would be upset.

Since my comments to the OP are entirely about how I would feel about myself, I can tell you that I would not be comfortable leaving a work situation for a pet emergency, if I was needed. If I’m not needed, then I leave work for coffee if I like. When I am needed, then I am there 100%, no distractions.

This is why I set up my personal life in a way to minimize the need for others to accommodate my choice to have horses. That’s all it is, and all I’ve said to the OP - I don’t expect others to accommodate the fact that I have horses, so I have back up plans in place.

Apparently you find that completely unreasonable?

 

[Gallop_Away]

Yes, if the colleague wasn’t there due to a fish tank losing power, and someone desperately requiring surgery died as a result then yes, I would be upset. I would not share that with the colleague but I would find it difficult, personally.

We can all talk in extremes, and you seem determined to make this about how I would feel about colleagues so, yes, in that situation I would be upset.

Since my comments to the OP are entirely about how I would feel about myself, I can tell you that I would not be comfortable leaving a work situation for a pet emergency, if I was needed.

This is why I set up my personal life in a way to minimize the need for others to accommodate my choice to have horses. That’s all it is, and all I’ve said to the OP - I don’t expect others to accommodate the fact that I have horses, so I have back up plans in place.

Apparently you find that completely unreasonable?

But you were not asked about a malfunctioning fish tank. You were asked about a specific situation whereby a much loved dog was having a seizure, something potentially life threatening, and you admitted to feeling unhappy if a colleague left in this scenario. (Again I can't help but wonder if you would also be "unhappy" with a colleague leaving to deal with a child having a seizure if that also resulted in a "loss" to the company but anyway....)

What you chose to do with your own personal life is of no concern to me, but when you project those feelings onto others, I do find that unreasonable I'm afraid.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

See I can’t understand that. So you are saying that BB would be in trouble if she didn’t leave her possibly dying dog?

I can imagine that staff phone in sick to avoid problems at work when it isn't actually them who are ill.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

But you were not asked about a malfunctioning fish tank. You were asked about a specific situation whereby a much loved dog was having a seizure, something potentially life threatening, and you admitted to feeling unhappy if a colleague left in this scenario. (Again I can't help but wonder if you would also be "unhappy" with a colleague leaving to deal with a child having a seizure if that also resulted in a "loss" to the company but anyway....)

What you chose to do with your own personal life is of no concern to me, but when you project those feelings onto others, I do find that unreasonable I'm afraid.

I’m sorry but that is confusing. As you’ve just said above, I was asked to comment on a particular hypothetical situation. But you think it’s unreasonable that I have projected my feelings onto a hypothetical other, in a made up situation when I’ve been especially asked to answer it?

I haven’t projected anything onto anyone until I have been expressly asked to comment on two situations, one on the dog, and one by you which was only “a scenario where you WOULD be unhappy about a colleague leaving to care for their seriously ill pet.....” not any particular dog.

My answer was a straightforward, if the absence doesn’t cause harm or loss to patients/ other staff/ the company then it wouldn’t faze me. If it does cause harm or loss, then I wouldn’t be happy. No one is happy when harm or loss is sustained are they?

And just to clarify again, me being unhappy is not the same as that person getting into trouble.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

I can imagine that staff phone in sick to avoid problems at work when it isn't actually them who are ill.

None of this would apply to any of my staff. My staff come and go as they need to because the way they work allows for that.

The way I work doesn’t, so as I have said, my standards only apply to me.

 

[Gallop_Away]

I’m sorry but that is confusing. As you’ve just said above, I was asked to comment on a particular hypothetical situation. But you think it’s unreasonable that I have projected my feelings onto a hypothetical other, in a made up situation because I’ve been especially asked to answer it?

My answer was a straightforward, if the absence doesn’t cause harm or loss to patients/ other staff/ the company then it wouldn’t faze me. If it does cause harm or loss, then I wouldn’t be happy. No one is happy when harm or loss is sustained are they?

It may be a hypothetical scenario but it isn't an unrealistic situation that could very well occur in your place of work. You stated that you would feel unhappy with a colleague leaving in that specific situation and yes I do find that unreasonable as whilst perhaps you would not leave work in that situation, your colleague perhaps would, and you would feel "unhappy" with them for this.
I hope this remains a purely hypothetical situation, given your thoughts on the matter.
In any event, thank you for elaborating. We clearly hold very different views on this subject.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

None of this would apply to any of my staff. My staff come and go as they need to because the way they work allows for that.

The way I work doesn’t, so as I have said, my standards only apply to me.

I didn't mean particularly your staff. And I believe that you wfh quite often, so are able yo arrange much if your day to suit? I know you have talked about lunging a horse while reading emails, in the past

 

[criso]

sorry but that is confusing. As you’ve just said above, I was asked to comment on a particular hypothetical situation. But you think it’s unreasonable that I have projected my feelings onto a hypothetical other, in a made up situation because I’ve been especially asked to answer it?

I mentioned a power issue and the fishtank as an example similar to the earthworms and heating where a lower life form may qualify as urgent however at no point did i say it was a surgeon leaving someone to die, that was your projection.

I wouldn't expect someone to down tools halfway through surgery but then I wouldn't expect them to do that for a child either however if something happens in your home suddenly and you are single, you have to deal with it.

The surgeon may not have been dealing with a plumbing or electrical issue but slipped and broken their arm, what if their child was sick and they had to stay home.

And we shouldn't be operating health care on those sort of margins where someone will die because one person is absent. (There's a whole other political debate about why this may be happening not for this thread) There should be enough slack from non urgent and elective care that no one is left to die if staff don't come in. When I had my knee operated on, we were told that they may not get to everyone called in that day. They had booked for the best case scenario however if some resulted in complications or there are was an emergency, people would be diverted.

And the truth is very few of us here are doing jobs where we are directly delivering life saving care. We are doing things that will at most cause temporary inconvenience if we're not there.

 

[twiggy2]

Deleted as this thread is becoming personal.
Being unhappy is a feeling we all have and people causing harm or loss would surely make most of us unhappy even if we understood the reason behind it, I would be unhappy if I caused harm or loss in any given situation.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

It may be a hypothetical scenario but it isn't an unrealistic situation that could very well occur in your place of work. You stated that you would feel unhappy with a colleague leaving in that specific situation and yes I do find that unreasonable as whilst perhaps you would not leave work in that situation, your colleague perhaps would, and you would feel "unhappy" with them for this.
I hope this remains a purely hypothetical situation, given your thoughts on the matter.
In any event, thank you for elaborating. We clearly hold very different views on this subject.

I can reassure you that it’s very unlikely to happen in my current place of work. It isn’t life and death, everyone comes and goes very freely, and annual leave policies are very generous.

In my previous place of work, there were many situations where staff couldn’t simply walk out. I can’t imagine a situation where someone who was needed in a critical situation walked out for a pet emergency. I would find it difficult not to find that upsetting. Maybe I’d be wrong for feeling that but where someone has a duty of care to patients, I couldn’t imagine walking out on them.

I didn't mean particularly your staff. And I believe that you wfh quite often, so are able yo arrange much if your day to suit? I know you have talked about lunging a horse while reading emails, in the past

Ah sorry, I misread that as a direct reply to Clodaghs question on my staff.

Yes, I’m in the office nearly every day unless I’m being particular lazy but I only go in for 9am some mornings and then I take my early calls with my team from the saddle or lunging. And my evening calls are pretty much always from the yard when it’s summer.

 

[SEL]

I'm finding this thread fascinating in a completely non-horse way!

I've managed teams of various sizes for decades and am probably more accommodating than most in terms of 'emergencies' and that includes animal welfare. It isn't always possible to play days / weeks / months in advance and non-work issues do crop up in a working week. I've sent an employee home after they'd just dropped off a very sick dog at the vets (fatal slug pellet poisoning it turned out), had to step in at short notice when an employee couldn't get to work because a grandparent-in law's pacemaker started to fail, asked a female employee if she wanted to go home after sporting a large black eye from 'walking into a door' and what sometimes felt like a billion more personal issues. I've blatantly told HR teams that their rule books are great for general guidance but if someone needs time off then there's absolutely no point in them sitting in the office getting stressed and worked up. Animals, children, home emergencies = whatever. If someone feels that strongly about something that they need to be present to deal with it then so be it.

In all honesty I would rather deal with the one-off emergencies than those employees who seem to have a migraine every flipping Monday or those who spend the first 30 minutes of the day gossiping at the coffee machine and never do a minutes over time.

Treat your employees respectively and they really do tend to dig deep when its needed.

Lady G - I very much used to take your approach and despite being flexible with my employees would rarely apply the same rules to myself. I've been through so many business restructures now that I know no one remembers that you logged on the day your horse was PTS to sort out the cranky payroll system, so whilst I will also remain completely professional in the work place they no longer have my undivided 'work comes first' loyalty.

 

[Gallop_Away]

Deleted as this thread is becoming personal.
Being unhappy is a feeling we all have and people causing harm or loss would surely make most of us unhappy even if we understood the reason behind it, I would be unhappy if I caused harm or loss in any given situation.

Honestly I can't honestly ever say I felt unhappy at a colleague leaving work for a genuine emergency.
I worked unpaid overtime just recently to get a court bundle complete because a colleague's mother in law was taken into hospital for a fall. Colleague left as her husband was working away and she felt someone should be at the hospital with her MIL. No feelings of unhappiness towards my colleague. She would do the same for me.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

Lady G - I very much used to take your approach and despite being flexible with my employees would rarely apply the same rules to myself. I've been through so many business restructures now that I know no one remembers that you logged on the day your horse was PTS to sort out the cranky payroll system, so whilst I will also remain completely professional in the work place they no longer have my undivided 'work comes first' loyalty.

I may well get there too at some point. Unfortunately, right now, the company is just coming through the loss of over a hundred staff despite every amount of blood, sweat and tears, I’m probably on the overprotective side when it comes to our future and the remaining jobs. For me it’s more about knowing I am doing everything I can rather than anyone remembering it. I worked in the NHS for too long to have any expectations of that!

 

[LadyGascoyne]

Honestly I can't honestly ever say I felt unhappy at a colleague leaving work for a genuine emergency.
I worked unpaid overtime just recently to get a court bundle complete because a colleague's mother in law was taken into hospital for a fall. Colleague left as her husband was working away and she felt someone should be at the hospital with her MIL. No feelings of unhappiness towards my colleague. She would do the same for me.

That is absolutely lovely of you, and it sounds like you have a great working relationship.

I could say the same about my team, we’d pick up for each other where there are cross over skills. I’ve doing a whole lot of deal making work, in addition to my usual duties, due to a member of staff having family issues.

These are examples though, of where it the absence doesn’t have a critical impact. Everyone can cope.

 

[twiggy2]

Honestly I can't honestly ever say I felt unhappy at a colleague leaving work for a genuine emergency.
I worked unpaid overtime just recently to get a court bundle complete because a colleague's mother in law was taken into hospital for a fall. Colleague left as her husband was working away and she felt someone should be at the hospital with her MIL. No feelings of unhappiness towards my colleague. She would do the same for me.

I wouldn't class that as causing harm or loss.
I would have done the same, for my current job at times of year if a member of staff just left we would have loss of life and we would scramble to cover it to the best of our abilities but it would cause losses, I would be unhappy but it doesn't mean I would not understand or do my best to cover their absence. If they left to attend one sick animal potentially risking multiples I would be very unhappy, cover should be in place, although we would do our best to be as flexible as we could.
I can't leave here for weeks at a time (it's what I signed up for in my job) if one of my own personal or work animals needs a vet then it gets to see a vet and if I cannot provide any after care that pet would stay somewhere someone could.

 

[Gallop_Away]

We clearly have very different views on this subject but I admire both of you LG and twiggys dedication to your work and perhaps when you are literally dealing with people's lives, then you consider your job and your dedication differently. As long as you don't have the same expectations of others, which you state that you do not, then it's your own choice how you manage work/personal commitments.

 

[Peglo]

I’ve not commented on any of your posts @LadyGascoyne because quite simply we cannot compare our jobs.
From what I remember you have an important role and could change lives in your line of work. If I don’t take a bag of stock nuts to a customer someone else will manage it. I’m not changing the world here.
I fully understand you making sure you have cover for your pets although it’s not something I’m able to do. But I have (deliberately) got a job where I can leave if I HAVE to. It doesn’t afford me to have horses on livery and grooms to help but I can keep horses in a way that suits me and you are doing what best suits you. All seems good to me.
I would expect to be able to leave any job in a pet emergency if others got to leave for child emergencies though. Both are a choice to have.

As for being unhappy about folk leaving work in an “emergency” I certainly have. This person was ripping the p**s and I just couldn’t believe folk don’t think twice about behaving like he did. That’s not even taking into account the accumulated hour worth of fag breaks a day I didn’t get because I don’t smoke.

 

[DabDab]

Yes, I’m in the office nearly every day unless I’m being particular lazy but I only go in for 9am some mornings and then I take my early calls with my team from the saddle or lunging. And my evening calls are pretty much always from the yard when it’s summer.

See, now I know a lot more businesses/senior managers & execs that would have an issue with work calls being taken while someone was riding a horse than would have an issue with someone having to leave for some kind of home emergency. Certainly my current employers would find it very unprofessional, and I can't say that I disagree with them.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I haven't read the whole thread but I am astounded at how many of you ask for time off or holiday.... Call me entitled, or not dedicated, whatever you want, but I am not asking to have time off, I am notifying you I won't be there. Do what that information what you will (I manage a team of 16 people across three levels, so I see this from a managers POV too).

There is not a job in the world that pays well enough for me to have no control over my own life/time, within reason. I declined a job because they wouldn't allow holiday in the first two weeks of every month, and it was a 100% payrise to my current, I then found another job that was 120% where I currently am, so clearly it was meant to be. If it's a holiday or something not booked yet then I will work with boss for a good time if need be, but if it's half the price another week, or if the horse is unwell, or a family member or whatever, sorry - I won't be there, figure something out.

Obviously I don't take the P with it, and that's why it never been an issue so far. (ETA: I'm an Accountant, so no-one is at risk of death here)

 

[paddy555]

(ETA: I'm an Accountant, so no-one is at risk of death here)

just as a matter of interest if someone cancelled a meeting on account of say their horse having colic would your firm bear the cost or would you expect to bill your client.
(as you say no one is at risk of death here)

to give you a more definite scenario. A couple of accountants from your practice had been called to a meeting. Let's say one was a senior partner, one junior.
You were say 3/4 hours from the venue. You either drove or took the train. You left home at 5.30am to get the train for let's say for a 10am meeting. The meeting would have lasted much of the day and it would be another say 3/4 hours home. Presumably all chargeable time for 2 accountants.
A pretty common scenario.

The person you are visiting has only your firm's number and that doesn't open till 9am so no way for them to contact you. You are on the train anyway.



You arrive at the venue along with a couple of your clients and you are told, sorry, the person you are meeting has rung in to say the horse has colic and the meeting is cancelled. This was going to be a complex and challenging meeting (as you were aware) and there is no one else to stand in for them. (the reason for that is the depth of knowledge of the issues needed to have a productive meeting which is not unusual)



Sometimes there are other things to consider. It may not be a case of your manager agreeing or not, or good employee relationship, or someone to cover your work but fact that other outside people are involved.

It is a difficult decision for the person with the colicky horse but sometimes others are affected. The cost of 2 accountants for a whole day or longer with travelling time is not cheap for their client to bear.

I didn't work for extra money, I got paid the same whatever. I didn't like my job that much so nothing in the way of "work ethic and dedication and ambition" . I was not particularly "managed" as such I could just ring in and say I wouldn't be coming in or would be late. It would have been assumed that I would make up the time.

Some people on this thread seem to be of the opinion that they just ring in and demand. Animals are a hobby not a necessity. Someone commented earlier about workers having a sense of entitlement.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

just as a matter of interest if someone cancelled a meeting on account of say their horse having colic would your firm bear the cost or would you expect to bill your client.
(as you say no one is at risk of death here)

to give you a more definite scenario. A couple of accountants from your practice had been called to a meeting. Let's say one was a senior partner, one junior.
You were say 3/4 hours from the venue. You either drove or took the train. You left home at 5.30am to get the train for let's say for a 10am meeting. The meeting would have lasted much of the day and it would be another say 3/4 hours home. Presumably all chargeable time for 2 accountants.
A pretty common scenario.

The person you are visiting has only your firm's number and that doesn't open till 9am so no way for them to contact you. You are on the train anyway.



You arrive at the venue along with a couple of your clients and you are told, sorry, the person you are meeting has rung in to say the horse has colic and the meeting is cancelled. This was going to be a complex and challenging meeting (as you were aware) and there is no one else to stand in for them. (the reason for that is the depth of knowledge of the issues needed to have a productive meeting which is not unusual)



Sometimes there are other things to consider. It may not be a case of your manager agreeing or not, or good employee relationship, or someone to cover your work but fact that other outside people are involved.

It is a difficult decision for the person with the colicky horse but sometimes others are affected. The cost of 2 accountants for a whole day or longer with travelling time is not cheap for their client to bear.

I didn't work for extra money, I got paid the same whatever. I didn't like my job that much so nothing in the way of "work ethic and dedication and ambition" . I was not particularly "managed" as such I could just ring in and say I wouldn't be coming in or would be late. It would have been assumed that I would make up the time.

Some people on this thread seem to be of the opinion that they just ring in and demand. Animals are a hobby not a necessity. Someone commented earlier about workers having a sense of entitlement.

Sorry, I should have clarified that I am in industry not practice, so slightly different. I ensure that everyone is cross trained, and cross aware, so that we will have stand ins for 99% of the meetings that may be disrupted, yes authority and responsibility vary in terms of what decisions can be made, but we make it work with what we have.

However, if my horse is seriously unwell eg: colic, then regardless of what it might cost, I will be there - I will find another job if necessary, or have a disciplinery, it is what it is. I have always had that mantra and always will. The health and wellbeing of myself and my family/pets I am responsible for comes first, a business owners personal wealth second.

That being said, in your circumstance the person who we would be meeting would have the personal numbers of all or at least one attendee, that's common sense. If you are on the train then you are able to work on the train, meaning it's not a totally wasted day. If the person in question had cancelled four meetings in a row then it may erode our working relationship, and I am sure my company would have a clause in our contract to cover such recurring and 'forseeable' costs, however should it be a one off, then that is life.. things happen, work is not the most important thing in the world. Unless you are a surgeon, or healthcare or something similarly important, if your business has not planned and is not able to cope with one of their employees having an unexpected day/week off then they need to seriously review their business continuity management as they are opening themselves to massive risk.

A lack of preparation on your part, does not consitute an emergency on mine. One of my favourite sayings for cr@p managers, but applied in some ways here.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I think there are different perspectives, depending on individual employment situations.
As a teacher, I could never take a days A/L at short notice and you can't arrange for the horse's colic to wait until the school holidays. School leaders are generally very people oriented, so are willing to be flexible in a genuine emergency.
I rather like the idea of teaching a class of 30 x 6 yr olds from horseback, although I'm not sure how well it would work.
I am somewhat envious of those who are able to arrange their work in that way and who can presumably deal with their own emergencies in most cases, regardless of having freelancers on standby.

 

[paddy555]

Sorry, I should have clarified that I am in industry not practice, so slightly different. I ensure that everyone is cross trained, and cross aware, so that we will have stand ins for 99% of the meetings that may be disrupted, yes authority and responsibility vary in terms of what decisions can be made, but we make it work with what we have.

However, if my horse is seriously unwell eg: colic, then regardless of what it might cost, I will be there - I will find another job if necessary, or have a disciplinery, it is what it is. I have always had that mantra and always will. The health and wellbeing of myself and my family/pets I am responsible for comes first, a business owners personal wealth second.

That being said, in your circumstance the person who we would be meeting would have the personal numbers of all or at least one attendee, that's common sense. If you are on the train then you are able to work on the train, meaning it's not a totally wasted day. If the person in question had cancelled four meetings in a row then it may erode our working relationship, and I am sure my company would have a clause in our contract to cover such recurring and 'forseeable' costs, however should it be a one off, then that is life.. things happen, work is not the most important thing in the world. Unless you are a surgeon, or healthcare or something similarly important, if your business has not planned and is not able to cope with one of their employees having an unexpected day/week off then they need to seriously review their business continuity management as they are opening themselves to massive risk.

A lack of preparation on your part, does not consitute an emergency on mine. One of my favourite sayings for cr@p managers, but applied in some ways here.

absolutely nothing to do with lack of preparation on my part. Actually perhaps it is because if I had been responsible I would have emergency cover in place so I could attend our meeting. However it seems that the question of emergency cover hasn't been that popular on this thread and it is considered more of a right just not to go to work instead. I do find that hard to understand.

. . Also I am not under contract to you so nothing on the cancelled meetings front. Also nothing to do with disciplinary. Also the meeting was such that decisions were required. The emergency cover will sort out a vet etc etc so no animals will suffer.

. Simply someone didn't go to work because their horse has colic and it has affected a lot of people. . If you were in private practice would you bill your client?



.

 

[bouncing_ball]

See, now I know a lot more businesses/senior managers & execs that would have an issue with work calls being taken while someone was riding a horse than would have an issue with someone having to leave for some kind of home emergency. Certainly my current employers would find it very unprofessional, and I can't say that I disagree with them.

She said early morning and late evening calls. It isnt totally unreasonable if someone is in the office core hours, and needing to also take calls early and late, those calls are taken on a mobile whilst doing other things.

 

[criso]

I've seen people do work calls while they hacked but I wouldn't.

That said I once did a conference call from the yard. I was project managing this particular project and organising a call that involved dev team on the west coast US, consultant east coast, client in Leeds and support manager in London. It was my day off but it was the only day/time everyone else could do that week so I organised it and said I'd dial in on my mobile.

I fed the horses and then sat opposite about 10m away on s hay bale and started the call. Unfortunately Tigger decided that having had his dinner it was time to go out and gave a deafening neigh to remind me of my duties. There was a long pause as everyone wondered if they had really heard a horse then some very funny private messaging.

 

[Annagain]

I work flexi and am entirely responsible for managing my workload and hours, within reason. I don't 'ask' for leave for anything, I tell my manager when I won't be there. I'm lucky that very little of my work is urgent in the sense that I rarely get anything that needs to be completed that day so I can make sure it's all done before I take time off or, in an emergency, it can wait until I'm back. When I was looking for a new horse, I'd often text my manager saying "going to see a horse in the morning, I'll start at 12" or telling him I'd be finishing early. I could do this as I had plenty of hours banked and was up to date with my work and never did it if I had meetings scheduled. By the same token, I'd happily work late or early if I was needed to cover a public meeting or get somewhere some distance away. It's not all me taking and never giving back.

In my previous job (same organisation, different department) we were providing a service so had to make sure there was someone available within the team but in an emergency other teams (same role different subject matter so they could adapt) would cover. A few years ago I texted my manager once to say I'd be late in as I'd gone up to the yard to muck out on the way to work to find the vet looking for a horse she'd been called to with colic. One of the girls had found another's horse down in the field and phoned the owner. They were trying to get him in from the field with him in great distress. The owner was 5 months pregnant and the other girl had a knee injury so there was no way I could let them deal with him so I stayed to help the vet, and ended up holding him while he was PTS - the owner was too upset but didn't want him to be alone. I had dealt with him a fair bit and he knew me well. When I arrived at work at about 10.30, my manager was only concerned that I was ok to be there. I recorded my start as 10.30 and it was all calculated in my overall flexi. Same with tomorrow, Archie's teeth are being done at 8.30 so I'll start work at about 10 and just record that as my start time. I wouldn't ask for or expect any unpaid leave for anything to do with my animals.

The only time I have had paid time off was when I lost Ebony, very unexpectedly to colic at 8am on a Tuesday. I wasn't in any fit state to work. I rang my manager who was brilliant and just told me to come in when I was ready and not to call if I wasn't. I went back in on the Thursday and said I'd take the days as leave but my manager wouldn't hear of it.

I understand there are jobs where it's not possible to take time off at short notice like I can or even a few hours as needed (my friend is a pharmacist and if she needs a few hours for a vet appointment etc she has to take the whole day off as a locum will only cover a day, not a few hours as a result I often cover routine vet / dentist / farrier appointments for her. I just ask her to book them as early in the morning as possible so I just start a bit later, likewise my OH works for the police and if he's in work, he's in work, it's very hard to pop out to sort the dog, especially a he works 45 away from home). If it's at all possible though, showing your employees some compassion and allowing them some flexibility is a sure fire way to build trust, loyalty and motivation.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

See, now I know a lot more businesses/senior managers & execs that would have an issue with work calls being taken while someone was riding a horse than would have an issue with someone having to leave for some kind of home emergency. Certainly my current employers would find it very unprofessional, and I can't say that I disagree with them.

It actually started it as a group of us who would have early morning calls on the way into work to catch up with each other ahead of the working day. When working from home became the norm, we realised that we didn’t have to be on Teams to have those calls so it became about going for a walk some with their dogs or with their babies or, in my case, a ride, and talking. Now that we are back in the office more, we do it less but it was a really nice thing while it lasted.