Work & MS

Greetings one and all.

I don’t know what to do about this one?

Are you sitting comfortably :slight_smile: I complained to my line Manager (Director) regarding a member of staff in our dept there is 5 of us in this dept.

My complaint was about her time time keeping & general time spent away from her desk and so on, and nothing was done !

So I complained at my HR manager & I am now in a position were I think my job is now untenable.Not only do I work full-time but also have a 45 min journey to work.

During the meeting on Friday just gone it feels that I am the bad person in this & I know I should ignore this but she gets away with it and it is really winding me up - Help before I do something that I might regret.

Sorry for the moan.

Debbie x

Hi Debbie

I’m not sure there is anything else you can do about this. You have brought it to the attention of your superiors and you have to leave it with them.

For all you know, your colleague may have a chronic condition herself which is completely invisible but which makes her late for work and requires her to take regular breaks from her desk.

Please try to take a deep breath every time you notice she is missing and concentrate on your own situation. I know it is easier said than done once something has become a bit of a bug bear but try turning it round. If your MS was playing up and you needed more flexible hours and rest breaks, would that wind up the rest of the team especially if they didn’t know you had a health condition? Do your best to ignore it, don’t treat her any differently than you do anyone else in the team as that will put you in a bad light.

If it is winding you up because you could really use some time away from your desk to rest, then that is a separate issue and one that you need to discuss with your line manager.

In the meantime, whenever you feel yourself getting worked up try some relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation or just take a coffee break and come her to let off steam. Anything other than getting into trouble at work …

Tracey x

Why do you think your job has now become untenable because of this? I think Tracey has given you a very good reply and I’m not sure what you could do now tbh. I wonder if you feel you could do with adaptations or rests, which you are not getting, then you do need to bring them to the attention of your manager. Cheryl:-)

Being honest, I work in an office with a small team and while there are certain things that irk me about some of them, it’s not my place to say anything. I have a team leader and a manager who are there to evaluate performance. The best thing to do is just put your head down and do your own work and let everyone else do their thing.

As pointed out this girl might have reasons unknownst to you as to why she needs to be away from her desk or come in late.

Do you have to clock in and out? Do you have a superior who works in close contact with the team and could see what is happening? If so then I think making the complaint was out of line as effectively you are going above your superiors head and creating a bad vibe in the team.

I think ignoring her behaviour is your best bet. People have their foibles and I’m sure I also do stuff that drives my co-workers nuts. But part of working with other people is just trying to get on with the team and go with the flow.