Just to look at a slightly different perspective, is it possible you're just not aware of the work they're doing? (especially since you mentioned they're a high

Just to look at a slightly different perspective, is it possible you're just not aware of the work they're doing? (especially since you mentioned they're a higher level) Perhaps there's a breakdown in communication, I've been on both ends of that myself. They could be helping a different team / org, prototyping, or working on a large refactor. Yes, a full year is a lot for that, but not outside the realm of possibility (I have 'went dark' for months at a time refactoring some legacy black-box before, or doing out-there prototyping for a layer that may not account to anything in production). That said, my productivity has gone to 25% - 50% since the pandemic started (home with the kids is not the best environment for deep thinking), so this could very well be about me :)