"I had a coworker who was always late to work without an explanation. The other coworkers had to cover for him, creating a problem within the team. When I approached him privately, he became very defensive and hostile, telling me to mind my business. I did not enjoy working with him and dreaded going to work. After a few days of feeling this way, I had enough. I asked my coworker to lunch, and he accepted. I told him how the team felt and asked how we could fix this situation. He said he was going through a divorce and had to drop off his child at school every morning since his wife had just up and left, and that is why he was always late. After talking with me, he realized how his tardiness affected his work and relationship with the team. I asked if there was anything we could do to help and suggested changing his working hours to a later start time. He was appreciative of the gesture and was not late to work anymore. After that, everyone was happy."
