Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Covering for a coworker you don’t like
Old 04-02-2008, 09:05 AM   #1
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 961
Covering for a coworker you don’t like

Would you do the right thing and cover for a coworker you did not like?

Do the Right Thing Covering for a coworker you don’t like «

Or would you let the person crash and sink?

Have any of you ever been in a situation similar to this?

GOD BLESS US ALL
__________________
War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow. - Martin Luther King Jr.
Seek peace, and pursue it. - Psalms 34:14
Be kind to unkind people - they need it the most - by Ashleigh Brilliant.
Wags is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 04-02-2008, 09:13 AM   #2
Moderator Emeritus
W2R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,473
Of course I would! I wouldn't want the document to go out with a mistake in it. I'd probably try to do it in an anonymous way that didn't seem like I was blaming her or nosing into her business, and that wouldn't get her into trouble.

To me, the HUGE issue here is correcting the report so that we are putting out an accurate document, not getting the co-worker in trouble. I'd try to accomplish the first without venturing into the second.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.

Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
W2R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2008, 10:11 AM   #3
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
Sure! This has happened several times although I do like the person; I add "it's the only thing I noticed, sort of jumped out at me even though I didn't proofread the entire document." That comment is always spontaneous, is it the wrong thing to say?

OMG, just now there was a situation where I politely said the equivalent of "should we follow the requested instructions on this?"
CuppaJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2008, 10:23 AM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
ziggy29's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
In the spirit of professionalism, I'd do it. But I'd hope that others would get my back from time to time as well.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
ziggy29 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2008, 02:09 PM   #5
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
Quote:
Originally Posted by rachael24 View Post
I would also do it as a code of professionalism...But I need to make sure they will do it for me
How would you be sure? I remember a time when I really needed a friend at work, it came from two unexpected places. I don't always know who the loyal ones are.
CuppaJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2008, 03:00 PM   #6
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
This is a very common situation. The report represents the work of the team/department/firm, etc. including yours. I would definitely bring it to the attention of Julie and the boss, ideally in a tactful way....."now, looking at this from the point of view of the people who are going to be reviewing it, I wonder if they might question a, b, c.....is there a way we can present this that will make it easier to get them on board?"
Meadbh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2008, 04:19 PM   #7
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 961
The mission should always come first and all personal dislikes should be put aside.

GOD BLESS US ALL
__________________
War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow. - Martin Luther King Jr.
Seek peace, and pursue it. - Psalms 34:14
Be kind to unkind people - they need it the most - by Ashleigh Brilliant.
Wags is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2008, 10:05 PM   #8
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
clifp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,733
I like this suggestion from one of the readers

Quote:
How stupid would you look if you were wrong about your assessment of the report? Instead of taking that risk, go to your boss and tell him/her in a caring and non-aggressive way that you “THINK” there may be a problem with the report, and you’re not sure what to do! You could even say that you are afraid you might offend the co-worker if you approach them about it, and directly ask your boss for help. Bosses love it when their employees ask them for help.
AND ….. You’re off the hook with everyone, you’ll score “brownie” points with your boss, and you get to passively “throw” the co-worker under the bus. What could better?
Clearly this guy is no stranger to office politics.
clifp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 02:04 AM   #9
Full time employment: Posting here.
jambo101's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Montreal
Posts: 940
I'd take it straight to the person who wrote the report and point out the mistake,doing it that way may make the person think better of you and who knows it might be an ice breaking move to a new friendship,it will also show Mr/Mrs perfect employee that you can see through their BS.
Ultimately you have to do whats good for the company as thats what keeps your paycheck rolling in each week.
__________________
"Second star to the right and straight on till morning"
jambo101 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 02:26 AM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 5,072
I would probably point out the error to the person.

There is often competition in the workplace that may cause people to have ruffled feathers. But helping others when one can, helps to develop allies when they are needed.
chinaco is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 08:27 AM   #11
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
lazygood4nothinbum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,895
i often corrected problems and helped others who didn't deserve it.

but there was this one who i had a little fun with. you know the type, rising on the backs of others. management material for sure. an original thought in that head of hers, as they say, would have quickly died of loneliness. i actually kind of liked her but she started getting a little full of herself and universal karma wasn't doing anything about it.

i had noticed her using a number of my good ideas to advance her position in the company. advancing at our level meant travel at best and leaving the area at worst which i wasn't about to do as i was caring for mom. but i was ok with that because they were good ideas deserving implementation so i shared them with her.

but then she started thinking and acting as if my ideas were hers. so, for my own entertainment, i started feeding her really well-constructed, bad ideas. which she tried implementing. if you're looking for some corporate fun, gotta tell ya, watching her being called on the table for some of those bad ideas was just so funny. well, for me anyway.

i'm such an instigator. i'm a baaad boy.
__________________
"off with their heads"~~dr. joseph-ignace guillotin

"life should begin with age and its privileges and accumulations, and end with youth and its capacity to splendidly enjoy such advantages."~~mark twain - letter to edward kimmitt 1901
lazygood4nothinbum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 08:43 AM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum View Post
an original thought in that head of hers, as they say, would have quickly died of loneliness.
Love it! Can I use the quote?


Quote:
Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum View Post
i'm such an instigator. i'm a baaad boy.
Yes you are!!!!
Meadbh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 09:05 AM   #13
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
tryan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,594
I can remember countless customer briefs where the analysts were critiquing a co-workers slide on the spot. The tech-talk would go in circles until the dept. manager would step in and pull the slide ... not good. But it happened alot with these guys. It was thought that the customer - also a technical guy - enjoyed the "discussion".
__________________
FIRE'd since 2005
tryan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 09:45 AM   #14
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
My company is so small that if an oversight, regardless of source, is not nipped in the bud, it will blow up on my desk: I will be the one to deal with the phone calls, respond to the e-mails, un-do the problem, re-do it the right way, write the cover letter, and so on. It’s more efficient, less time-consuming and face-saving to just deal with the momentary un-ease of pointing it out.
CuppaJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 12:28 PM   #15
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
lazygood4nothinbum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,895
Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh View Post
Love it! Can I use the quote?
wasn't mine to begin with so it is all yours. actually the more succinct quote is "if he/she ever had an original thought it would die of loneliness."

Quote:
Originally Posted by CuppaJoe View Post
My company is so small that if an oversight, regardless of source, is not nipped in the bud, it will blow up on my desk: I will be the one to deal with the phone calls, respond to the e-mails, un-do the problem, re-do it the right way, write the cover letter, and so on. It’s more efficient, less time-consuming and face-saving to just deal with the momentary un-ease of pointing it out.
so it's not that you were covering for another's incompetence; it's not that you were covering your own future ass; it's just that you're a team player. go team!


another thing that ticked me off about how corporations changed: when i first signed on we used to get a bonus if a good idea of ours was implemented successfully in that it either saved money or made money. but after "re-engineering" that policy was replaced with: we're going to put all our ideas into the corporate pool for the benefit of the team. read: no compensation. go team! good-bye team!
__________________
"off with their heads"~~dr. joseph-ignace guillotin

"life should begin with age and its privileges and accumulations, and end with youth and its capacity to splendidly enjoy such advantages."~~mark twain - letter to edward kimmitt 1901
lazygood4nothinbum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-03-2008, 12:47 PM   #16
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum View Post

....

so it's not that you were covering for another's incompetence; it's not that you were covering your own future ass; it's just that you're a team player. go team!
....
Au contraire, yeah, maybe; but more importantly I'm covering my future time which can be put to better uses, like reading this forum.
CuppaJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Covering a mortgage without losing your ass(ets). Nords FIRE and Money 103 12-14-2014 07:48 PM
Frustrating coworker accountingsucks Young Dreamers 8 04-17-2007 10:37 PM
Covering a gap until pension starts utrecht FIRE and Money 15 11-30-2006 04:42 PM
Barney Fife (Don Knotts) Dies REWahoo Other topics 11 02-26-2006 07:45 PM
Don Adams of 'Get Smart' dead @82 dex Other topics 9 09-27-2005 03:20 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:22 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.