Communicating at Work: Strategies for Success in Business and the Professions 11th Edition by Ronald Adler,Jeanne Marquardt Elmhorst,Kristen Lucas

Exercise 1

The Unproductive Teammate
You are a member of what was once a dream team of productive workers. Until recently, everyone worked well together to meet the team's goals. When one member took time off to care for a child in the hospital a few months ago, everyone was happy to cover for him. Over the next months the same member began missing more work because of other problems-a spouse needing care, a sports injury, and moving to a new home. The rest of the team has begun to doubt their unproductive colleague will ever contribute his fair share to the team again, and they agree it's time to raise this issue.
Describe how the team can deal with this issue in a way that acknowledges both the unproductive member's legitimate problems and the team's need for the member to do his share.