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How to confront her?


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4givrnt4gtr

Ive been working at a grad assistant for almost a year now and I love my job. Its very relaxed and my boss is super understanding.

 

Lately however, my coworker who is also a grad student is getting to my last nerve. As i said our boss is super nice and flexible. She allow us to come to work whenever we want to and leave whenever we want to as long as we do the required hours. Well, my coworker has been totally taking advantage of it, not showing up to work and once at work leaving the office for extended coffee breaks.

 

We both have to do the same job and sometimes it really gets busy so we have to split it up between us. These days is really crazy and ive notice that my coworker doesnt do her share of the work, leaving me the bulk of it.

 

yesterday I was about to strangle her! I had worked two days before and we had a lot to do. I did a huge pile of files but there were some more to do along with some other simple filing. When i was about to leave she arrived and so I told her what was left to do. She said she would do it and not to worry about it.

 

So I arrived yesterday and asked my boss what there was to do. She pointed to the files I had asked my coworker to help me with so I asked her if my coworker had filed the other stuff that I had told her was left to do. my boss said she hadnt got to that either. She then pointed to even more files that had piled up in the two days that I hadnt gone and I asked if my coworker had not gone to work. She said she did show up one day but she hadnt been able to get to those files either.

 

I was furious! She had gone to work and done nothing!!!

 

I divided all the work and told my boss I would do one set and leave the other set for my coworker. She said Ok and I made sure she saw which pile was my coworkers.

 

My coworker arrived an hour after her shift had started and said she was going to be working late. I told her what her pile was she looked at me like "are you kidding me???"

 

I just ignored her and kept on working on my stuff. SHe then started saying she had to go to the bathroom, then she went online to check her email and facebook for an hour, then said she was starving and went off to get food for another hour. She then sat down, look at the pile for a while and then answered the office phone. She kept talking to the client for an hour, telling them about her personal life etc. I was at my witts end!

 

After that she said she was really tired and her shift was almost over (after being there for only 3 hours and not doing a stich of work!). She then said she was too tired and went off to lounge to take a nap!!!!

 

the pile of files ofcourse were left untouched. I was so furious that I finished my work and left for the day.

 

Now my issue is this...should I confront her? She and I have been friends since we started working at the same time, but lately her behavior is totally turning me off. Also she is having a lot of problems in school and she might not be able to finish her program causing a lot of stress for her.

 

Still i hate to have to do her work! Should I talk to her? If so how should I go about it? Im really bad at confrontation especially since we've been friends and stuff. Any ideas?

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It's not your job to confront her. Just make it clear to your boss that you're happy to do anything that's asked of you, and do it well, but you cannot and will not cover for another person.

 

And do exactly that. Ensure that the files (or whatever they are) are divided up into two discrete groups - one for you, one for her. If she doesn't get hers finished, the boss will see that.

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No, you should not confront her. If you can continue to make it clear which is your pile and which is hers, just concentrate on yours. If your boss asks you what is going on with the other pile, don't cover for your colleague. Tell your boss she is using the email and internet for non-business purposes and that she is not focused on her work. Don't say anything you can't substantiate. Your boss should appreciate your diligence and your openness. If there is unclear division of work, and you are being prevented by the other worker from fulfilling your responsibilities, make a formal complaint in writing that you are being impeded in your job. It's a matter of being business like and professional that you should not hide the situation from your boss. On the other hand, you needn't be a whistle blower if the other worker's activities do not affect you.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Since you are friends, I would normally say that you should try to intervene and help her get on track with her responsibilities. In this case, it seems like she has big problems fulfilling her commitments and it is best to let the boss handle this.

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