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rybread
10-28-2001, 07:59 PM
I have a caretaker who has been working with me since March that I met in college. She was in my math class and was the first person in school to just come up to me and ask what happened. She had no medical experience at all and has been doing a very good job of taking care of me and keeping my room clean. Starting recently we have gone to the government to get her paid because my short-term disability ran out. We have been having a very hard time not necessarily with the county but with the company that they sublet through. Ever since then she has been showing up late to work everyday upwards of one-hour to three hours. I'm not exactly sure what to do about her being late because we have also turned into fairly good friends. In June of this year her boyfriend of seven years died of a drug overdose and she had nowhere to stay so we let her stay at my house. Since then, we have become pretty good friends and she has connected very well with my best friend, not necessarily on a romantic scale but definitely a friendship scale. I don't exactly know what to do about her being late, even though she still stays a 6 hours that I asked her to no matter how late she is. I really don't want to fire her because if I get stuck with someone from the company that she works out of, they are not allowed to drive my vehicle and I am pretty heavy to transfer into a car. Not to mention I am not able to offer any help on a transfer like that. Please help me on what I should do. She is a pretty close friend at this point and I don't think I could handle losing that and a caretaker. Thanks for any advice in advance.

marmalady
10-29-2001, 03:56 AM
Have you tried just having a talk with her? Nonconfrontational, but maybe something's going on in her life - sounds like she's been through a mess herself. Is she 3 hours late getting you up and around in the morning? Let her know how that messes up your day, and that if you get backed up in your am routine, it interferes with everything else you have planned for that day. It sounds as though you have a great work and friend relationship with her, and the conflict must be difficult; but the work situation has to come first. Use the old 'I' messages, instead of 'accusing' her - i.e., 'I get all disorganized when you're late', rather than 'You're late all the time'. Hope things work out. Isn't it crazy how people just seem to fall into our lives when we need them? Great story, how you met!

Jackie