There are a few of us who are excellent at using the office-wide calendar and checking it daily. I know when my boss has a conference or plans to be out of the office for longer than a typical lunch hour. When one of us is out sick that goes on the calendar too. Not, “Aurora has strep throat and is highly contagious” just simply “Aurora out sick-8 hours PTO.” Simple to the point, but lets everyone know I’m not there.
Not everyone uses the calendar this way. Quite regularly, we look at an empty desk and wonder is he running late? Will she be coming in at all today? This state of limbo is particularly frustrating when other people ask us where the missing person is and if they will be coming in.
If the person would just put on the calendar when they intend to be out or if the supervisor would note that the person is out sick, a great deal of confusion and frustration could be eliminated.
This is interesting to me because the office calendar is a HUGE deal where I work. Everyone in the office gets a print out of the daily calendar and an updated version every time it changes. We have to use a very specific format for conference calls, on and off-site meetings, private appointments, etc. I’m fairly certain most offices aren’t as extreme as ours (judging by how meeting requests from other offices look), but if one little thing is missing chaos will ensue.
Stephanie,
I think there has to be a happy medium. You can’t expect people to be obsessed with the calendar if no one uses it. But if everyone uses the calendar, it could make for less confusion overall. I agree there is logic in using a specific format and labels instead of just allowing everyone to use what they want. Do you find your co-workers don’t spend hours wondering where some one is or if they are out sick? Do you find the calendar worth it?
-Aurora