Co-worker Vent

[Luckyeshe]

So, we have a very very small company. There are 2 advisors (President of the company and VP). I am the direct assistant to the Pres and I help the VP with anything he needs and I pretty much take care of the whole office as well as training any new girl. Normally there''s 4 people including the 2 advisors. Sometimes there''s 5 if we have a receptionist at the time. Well, it''s just me and a new girl and she''s only been working with us for less than a month. The two of us make up "admin/assistant/receptionist/marketing". Because it''s just J and I who take care of the office, we pretty much rely on each other to be able to take a lunch break or whatnot. Keep in mind that she''s only been here for a max of 3 weeks.

On her 3rd day on the job, J, did not come into work until 1230p (office hours are 830-5p) because her car broke down. She didn''t call because she didn''t have a phone. Fine. (We have an arrangement between the two of us. She comes in at 830a every day and any day that both of the advisors are out of the office at the same time she gets to go home early. I come in at 930a every day and stay after 5p whenever either of the guys need me to stay because they have late appointments. There have been times she''s left the office by 4p and 2x already that she''s left at 330p. Last Friday she called in sick because her son was sick and she needed to take care of him. Today, she had 2 doctors appointments and I told her that she needs to be back by 2p since I have to catch a flight to go to Seattle and it leaves at 530p. I was planning on leaving the office by 330 at the latest since I still need to go home, grab my bag, and take care of my dogs before being gone for a week. It''s now 311p and she is STILL not in the office! I am sooooooooooo pissed off!!!! I feel like my kindness is being taken advantage of and I''m just getting sick of it. Too bad I don''t have the power to fire her because trust me I would. She finally called me at 3 to tell me that she''s just finishing at the doctor''s and that she''ll be here in 30 minutes. We''ll see if she makes it. I''m definitely going to have to have a talk with her when I get back into town, but I am afraid I''m going to kill her when I see her. I don''t understand what the hell is going on in her head that she thinks it''s ok to behave like this after only working for the company for 3 week!!

Sorry for the long vent! I''m just sooooooooo mad right now. I hope I don''t miss my flight!

 

[tlh]

I hope you make your flight too. I wouldn''t miss my flight based on her actions.. what would you have done b4 she was hired? I would do that... But I wouldn''t really cover for her anymore, either.

No good deed goes unpunnished.

 

[LilyKat]

She's one of those unfortunate people who takes advantage of other peoples' generosity.

Stop allowing it to happen. Draw up a rota of who is doing what times on which days, so lines of responsibility are clear. If she needs to take time of for a sick son/doctors' appointment/whatever, fine, but she'll have to make it up to you another time.

If she still doesn't get her act together and stick to the rota, you need to tell your and her boss, and let them deal with it.

 

[D&T]

goodness, she sounds like a gal that used to work in my office (she was later fired), we have a small office too, if you don''t have the authority to fire her, can you voice your concerns to those that do? Thats not a great start for a new girl to be doing what she''s doing. Yes, I understand the whole kid situation ( I know I have two myself) but she doesn''t seem very conscientious (spelling?) of her work ethics.

 

[zoebartlett]

I hope things work out soon. I guess I don''t understand the arrangement you two have though. If office hours are 8:30-5, why don''t the two of you work those hours? Why does she get to leave so early? Was she hired as a part time employee? I know these questions don''t have much to do with your predicament, but I''m curious. I would *think* that if you just started a new job, you might not want to begin looking for a way to leave early so soon. The time that the advisors are out of the office would probably be a good time for her to get trained in her varying responsibilities. Obviously she''s not taking this job seriously, and someone should talk to her about that.

 

[jewelerman]

Waiting to hear what happened?Can I have her position when she goes?

 

[tyty333]

I would make sure you document all the tardiness and early departures. I think you need to talk to her and let
her know its a problem (her job could be on the line). I would also give your bosses a heads up that it might
not be working out. She may have too many "issues" to work in a small office and might be better off in a larger
office where there is more coverage. She should know that jobs are not easy to come by right now.

 

[Luckyeshe]

Thanks for letting me vent! I am now on vacay and couldn''t be happier. I made my flight, but barely. I won''t have to deal with her until after labor day when I get back.

The reason that things are the way they are at the office is that we don''t really have a very strict office. Unfortunately, the big boss has gone through 8 people since January and most of it is because he''s just a very particular man. He likes things a certain way and I pretty much take care of him and everything else. It''s not a strict office because as long as we do our job, we are given certain freedoms as long as we don''t take it for granted. He expects us to be able to handle things on our own without much guidance which understandably is hard for most new hires. He likes to hire people he think would help his practice and help the office overall. Now how that person goes about doing that is up to them. I am the backbone of the company and he wants someone that focuses on the marketing aspect. I can''t do that when I''m taking care of all the clients, paying bills, making sure all paperwork are processed, everything is compliant, and the advisors get paid on business they produce. He hires them because he believes they have the marketing ability the office needs, but she hasn''t been able to do much in the 3 weeks she''s been there. The advisors don''t always come into the office either specially when they don''t have appointments. I figure that as adults, me and my counterpart (new hire) can and should be able to handle the office whether or not the advisors are in and you have to be able to trust each other. Well, it''s just not working out that way. She''s great with the clients, but she''s horrible with just common work etiquette. Personally my job is very stressful and I have been looking for a new job since May. I need stability. Our turnover is soo high, it''s sad. I''m just getting tired of training new people and then one reason or another, they get replace and I train someone new all over again. I''m there until I find another position somewhere else where I''d be happier. Honestly, the boss is already interviewing again and I know it''s to replace her. She might not be there by the end of next week and I feel bad for her, but you reap what you sow. It''s not that they don''t know what''s going on. They''re also giving her the benefit of the doubt since she has a baby to support.