u/RamaLamaDingDong22

We have a junior employee who has some sort of gut issues - he spends a crazy amount of time in the bathroom every day. But there's no 'accommodation' due to a health issue. (Small office with a visible bathroom so it's impossible to not know where he disappeared to or for how long.) He wants to be the boss and has an alpha personality. As he sits on his throne, he sends messages to the staff from his phone with suggestions, directions or mostly delegations of his work to others while he's doing his thing. Am I being overly-sensitive to be grossed out and a even little disrespected by this? Like c'mon bruh. Handle your business then handle your business.

Currently, we have an older lady on staff who has worked for the company for nearly 30 years. She's slowly phasing into retirement. She's set in her ways and is reluctant to change and learning new things, but most of her co-workers are patient with her and she gets there eventually. However, the owners mid-20's son has zero patience with her. She'll ask a question, he'll provide lengthy AI generated instructions. If she follows up with any more questions or doesn't 'get it' immediately - well - you decide - this is his recent response: "This whole situation was completely disrespectful to me, especially my time, so in the future, do not ask for help if you have no intention of following or reading the response, instructions, etc., as it wastes my time that could be much better spent elsewhere."

She feels targeted and disrespected due to her age and he feels 100% justified. Is he just a jerk with zero people skills? His parents (the owners of the small company) truly believe he does no wrong and is the future of the company. How do I (manager) put a stop to this sort of communication style?

My Step-mom has spent a lifetime of being lazy, overweight, unproductive, irresponsible and she has always embraced every possible medical diagnosis to justify her neediness. ("A pill can solve all problems" is her motto.)

My Dad always tolerated her nonsense. Her hands never touched a gas pump or hauled a garbage can to the curb. Many years of being overweight and sitting on her rear end for 23 1/2 hours a day have taken a toll. She is now disabled, can no longer drive because she can't get herself out of her car, has no strength or stamina, and almost no mobility. She's terrible with money and often needs help financially, too. She lives alone and barely manages. Without my help, she'd have no choice but to go into a state-run nursing home.

Dad died 16 years ago. She has no other friends or family. I've tried to be a decent human being and help her out. But I'm getting older myself and it's become more of a struggle for me to continue to take care of all of her needs. Frankly, I'm just tired of it. I inherited this foolishness - I didn't sign up for it.

How do I extract myself from this without being a completely AH human?

General question. How often does your place of employment do random/unexpected nice things for the staff? I’m not talking about holiday bonuses, administrative professionals day, or bonuses based on sales or production. And what exactly are those ‘nice things’?

Question: If you give notice and the employer lets you go before the end of the notice period, does the employer have to pay you for any unused PTO you may have on the books? But if you quit or do work through the end of the notice period, they DON'T have to pay you for it?

Junior co-worker disappears for 45 min. to an hour usually twice a day to go to the bathroom. He brings his phone so it appears he's active on Teams. I've asked nicely if he has a medical condition that needs an accommodation. No. Calls out often (several times were no-call, no-show because he overslept until noon) and has used all of his annual PTO before mid-year. Comes in late often without notifying his direct supervisor (me) or the team. We see a pattern - when his work load is heavy, he calls out and others have to pick up his slack. If his direct supervisor (me) is scheduled to be out of the office, he is guaranteed to be late.

He communicates to his co-workers in a rude and condescending tone - to the point that more than 1 co-worker has accused him of bullying and he has brought a couple of co-workers to tears in frustration. Is very argumentative and will die on the hill of being right, even though he relies on senior employees for training and mentoring. Wastes a crazy amount of time creating AI research and responses to support his opinion, even if the AI isn't specific to our state or the task at hand. He came on board 2 yrs. ago and believes he and AI know more than the collective 100 years of knowledge the others bring to the table. Plays the alpha and delegates HIS tasks to other junior employees. He's in his mid-20's, ADD, takes Adderall, a late night gamer and pot user - which I believe all of these things contribute to his poor attendance. I honestly do not believe he'd be able to keep a job for long at any other company.

Here's the kicker: He is the owner's kid and his delusional parents believe he will take over the company one day.

Is there any hope for the rest of us other than leaving?