Dear G,
A colleague who is re-hired to a similar position is giving me headaches. She asks for a checklist of what I am doing, so I said, “Ask our supervisor.” This colleague is a close friend of one of our supervisors (aka Sup2) and has the habit of leaving after five minutes of shadowing, supposedly bored, and going into closed-door sessions with Sup2.
I consider this colleague a friend, but our work ethics are totally opposite. She prefers to do chitchat over actual work.
How do I address this issue?
Confused Professional
Dear Confused Professional,
Congratulations on your new job. It’s great that you have work that you enjoy doing.
To your question, leaving will not change anything. You’ll just have a new group of people to deal with. Maybe the question is how and why this is affecting you.
If the situation impacts your work, then this may be a matter to discuss directly with the person. If you have, but she is unresponsive, then what can be done to address the issue? Is it necessary to involve the supervisor?
Work relationships are the toughest part of the job in any company. Being friends would be nice, but this is the workplace. You obviously have different values and attitudes. That is normal because you are different people with different backgrounds and upbringings. Don’t let her get to you.
Sometimes, you just need to focus on doing a great job and allow her to do hers, pass or fail. Even if she is friends with the sup2, as long as you can show that you are doing what is right and have been and continue to be a good team player, there should be nothing to worry about. We cannot control others, only ourselves.
Good luck!
G
Dear Confused Professional,
It sucks to be her colleague, right?
What I would like you to do is submit an incident report every time this colleague does something against work policy. Do you need to submit a report after every shadowing? Do that as well.
Write everything down. Send an email to your supervisor.
Alternatively, do nothing and wait for her to implode at work. Just be your proper and productive self. She will get tired, you know. Otherwise, master the zen of not caring at all. Spend your time wisely.
Plough on!
G
