In every employee’s work life at times, they think that they wouldn’t want their boss behind them for every single minute every day in the workplace.
When the boss or the manager is out traveling then the employees receive complaints at all times regarding last-minute details and tasks to be done.
So whenever the boss or the manager isn’t present in the workplace the employees should function well together and make sure that everything is happening effectively.
So when it comes to a time when the boss or manager is absent from the workplace then the employee should consider following these points which have been mentioned below.
Tips for Dealing With a Absentee Manager or Boss:
1. Having effective communication:
When the boss or the manager is away from the workplace both the employees and the manager or the boss must have proper and effective communication between one another. If the boss may want to pass some instructions to the employee or know what is going on in the office at the moment then the employee should do that well by conveying the message to the boss.
2. Keep the boss’s calls a priority:
A person working in an office will make and receive several calls from time to time. But the employee needs to know that in the absence of the boss or the manager if any calls made by them they should give top priority and answer them immediately. Even if they are busy on the other call, they should alert the receptionist to inform them if their boss calls them up, so that they can talk immediately to them.
3. Call back if a call has been missed:
If a call has been missed by the person in the workplace from the boss or the manager then they should wait a while maybe for about 10 to 20 minutes before calling the boss back. The boss may leave a message with a number so that the person can reach back to the boss later on in a while or the person can inform the receptionist who is going to pick up the call to tell the boss to leave a phone number and a time to call back later on.
4. Always have a cell phone with you:
For answering immediate phone calls, a cell phone is the best way to communicate with one another. So the person should also have a personal cell phone with them only for communication purposes with their boss or manager when they away so that the proper level of communication maintain and all the necessary instructions which need to convey are done properly with one another. It should act as an instant hotline to contact the boss whenever needed.
5. Don’t make personal calls:
When the boss or the manager is away from the workplace the employee should know that they will receive phone calls from them to give them certain instructions. So the employee should not make or entertain any kind of personal calls from their friends or family at this time on their cell phone as it may lead to missing the calls from the boss or the manager. And it is never a good idea to mix the personal as well as professional life of an individual.
6. Set some boundaries:
Whenever the boss or the manager is out of town or not in the workplace the impression that created on the employees in the workplace is that they will help each other in their work. But this shouldn’t be the case as the person might take advantage of the situation and hand over their work to someone else. So at the beginning itself, it is very much advisable to establish certain boundaries between the other employees so that everyone can carry out their work properly.
7. Maintaining and following a strict schedule:
Whenever the boss or the manager is away from the workplace, every employee should make it a point to make a schedule involving their daily tasks to do in the workplace.
This refers to them maintaining certain things such as the number of coffee breaks taken as well as knowing the number of things to do in the day which should be strict enough so that nothing negative happens when the boss isn’t present and the tasks shouldn’t get carried forward.
8. Don’t do unnecessary favors:
It is advisable that when the boss or the manager is not around, the person shouldn’t do any major unnecessary favors for their colleagues. If there is something small involve such as providing a suggestion then there is no harm in helping out but if the request is much bigger then it isn’t advisable to do it as at that moment the tasks that need to done by them would delay. So the person must just let the other person know that they do not have time for it.
9. Never rely on other people’s orders:
With the boss or the manager not around in the workplace, there is no one in charge. But when it comes to taking orders regarding what is being gone on in the workplace, if these orders are big then they shouldn’t think about listening to other employees or colleagues.
Even if they indirectly mention that the boss has told them to tell this, still make it a point to first confirm with the boss that this order is given by them and then only it should implement.
10. Never keep last minute deadlines:
The boss or the manager not around in the workplace needs to know by the employees that they shouldn’t keep any kind of tasks for the last minute and see that everything is happening effectively.
Whenever there is a certain task which is important and the deadline approaching, the person should look forward to seeing that this complete as fast as possibly more importantly in the absence of the boss or the manager.
11. See the person’s self behavior:
When the person is monitor on an everyday basis by a boss or manager, the employee knows what are the daily things and tasks which need to accomplish by them. But in their absence, it is a great way for the employee to monitor their behavior in the workplace to see whether there is any change in their work behavior and still maintain a level of professionalism and show that the employee can still work well.
12. Use the time wisely:
The time that is present when the boss or the manager is absent in the workplace needs to use effectively and wisely so that no problems caused. The person should realize that no kind of tasks such as taking long coffee breaks or taking a long lunch break should be done as the work can further delay. So the person should act smartly in the absence of their boss or manager and ensure that their time uses wisely.
13. Staying Disciplined:
Whenever the boss or the manager is around looking over the work going on, every employee present in the workplace tends to show the level of discipline at all times so that they can carry out their work properly.
But they should have the same attitude and discipline when it comes to the boss or the manager being absent from the workplace so that nothing bad can happen when it comes to finishing the work that is yet to be done.
14. Knowing the responsibilities:
There are responsibilities on the person even when the manager or the boss is present around them but at that moment the responsibilities of the boss or the manager are much greater. So in their absence in the workplace, the responsibilities on every employee increase and thus they should realize this and not act irresponsibly otherwise the functioning in the workplace won’t happen appropriately.
15. Taking an Initiative:
The meaning of taking an initiative in the workplace is doing things without anyone telling the person to do it. This kind of quality should come out spontaneously from the individual so that whenever any kind of situation may come up in the workplace, the person does not panic and tries to solve the situation as fast as possible. Taking an initiative helps even the boss realize that the person is talented in the workplace and can handle any kind of situation which comes their way.
16. Laying a good impression:
Whenever the boss or the manager is present in the workplace, every employee looks forward to completing all the tasks well and laying a good impression of them on the boss. They should even do this when the boss or the manager is absent from the workplace as this motivates them to work harder and working in this way will even let their boss know that they can rely on these employees when they aren’t physically present in the workplace.
17. Knowing the duties:
It is most likely that before the boss or the manager is away from the workplace, they will assign their employees the tasks that need to be done in the expected time and what are going to be their duties in the absence of the boss.
So the person should realize that these are the duties that need to fulfill and carried out by them so that no misunderstandings happen between the boss and the manager and the employees and it can be done much faster if the boss or the manager lets the employees know in advance about it.
18. Start getting organized:
If the employee knows that the boss is going to be unavailable for most of the times so the employee needs to develop a set of organizational skills and take it as a big priority. The employee should know that every person in the workplace is in contact with the boss whenever it needs and knows that everything is happening clear enough. When a person starts getting organized then they will not have too many follow up questions with the boss.
19. Leading by example:
This skill within a person also knows as a proactive individual. When the boss or the manager is absent from the workplace they should know that they need to handle this is by showing that they are productive in the workplace and need to take decisions by themselves. But the right type of decisions should take so that they can lead in the front by example and perform to the best of their ability in the absence of their boss.
20. Ask for guidance:
In the absence of the boss or the manager at work, it motivates the individual to lead by example in the workplace. But at a time this will be all new for the employee as it would be a new situation in the workplace.
So it would be a great idea for the person to first look forward to opinions and suggestions from the other people present in the workplace so that later on if any mistake commits by them they shouldn’t wait until their boss arrives in the workplace.
So basically it knows that in the absence of the boss or the manager in the workplace it expects that each of the employees needs to manage the things going on. It should be their responsibility and know that they have to take charge of the workplace and know that everything should happen properly.
