Dear Evil HR Lady,
I have a coworker who just talks and socializes and doesn’t work, forcing me to pick up the slack. After more tearful conversations between my coworker and my boss and frustrating conversations between myself and my boss, he called a meeting between the three of us. During this meeting he went over types of communication and expectations of the front office staff. I was told to watch my tone, as it might come off as snippy. She was told to learn to keep personal problems away from work. She denied having that issue right in front of him, and he didn’t bring up examples of why he thought she might have a problem in that area.
Basically, I felt like my boss just accepts that my coworker is “relationship oriented” and prefers not to work, while I am “task oriented.” I feel like in any professional setting, everyone should be task oriented, as that is what we get paid to do — work. I realize my boss has too many other responsibilities to really give this much time, but it’s starting to affect the work environment up front. I’m torn because in any other company, my coworker would not be allowed to keep up her unprofessional and bad behavior. I’ve tried to just ignore her, but that doesn’t work, seeing how our workload is shared. I’ve tried being nice, but that only encourages her to chat and slack off on her work. I’ve gone to my boss, but he doesn’t seem interested in the problem or flat out doesn’t have time.
I’ve gone to the HR manager, but her advice is to just ignore the issue. It’s getting bad enough that I’m considering finding another job. I love the work, but I can’t stand to be in this type of environment. I’m hard-working, young and I earn my keep. With the economy the way it is, I’m not sure that I can find a job that pays the same or more. Any suggestions on how to deal with the coworker that keeps on giving?
To read the answer, click here: Know when to give up
What was it Mike Rowe on Dirty Jobs said? Team work is great unless you are on a crappy team. There is no “I” in team but there is am “m” and “e”. EHRL advise is spot on. If this individual is not doing her share, let her sink. It is not your problem. In fact I suspect her boss may resent the fact you are doing acting on the lack of work ethic as this is his job. Make certain though it is clear who is responsible for what so you are not accused of not being a team player.
I have noticed that the younger workers, namely Gen-Y’ers, are VERY competitive. They tend to stake their domains, and they are very committed. They’re often comparing their results and performances — at least, according to their own standards — to those of others around them. Most of the time, they need to just let it go and worry about themselves and their own responsibilities. They are now in work environments — not on sports teams — where there is always a coach yelling and screaming to give it your all.
Been there, done that. It will not get better. I once worked for a company where I scheduled a day off two weeks in advance. It was a Friday before a three day weekend. Some work came in that did not get touched while I was absent. The whole pile of paperwork was sitting in the Inbox when I came in on Tuesday. In addition to Tuesday’s workload I managed to finish Friday’s work as well. Because my logon ID was attached to the paperwork the Senior Vice President demanded I come to his office to be reprimanded. The next week my coworker (who should have picked up the slack for me) was absent for two days without warning or explanation. She had gotten intimidated during a Continuing Education class necessary to keep a license required for our job, had walked out of the classroom, and gone home. She was allowed to return to work.
I should have quit then but I didn’t. The place was one “punishing good performance” nightmare after another.
K