Colleague advice

[itsme_calista]

I need some honest advice.

In the office where I work, there are two MD Offices.  My boss is one and there is another office with another MD, his PA and her assistant.  The MD is a bit of a male battleaxe.

The PA has had some personal problems over the last six months and her whole attitude to work has been pretty dire, taking days off ill, faking illness to leave early, coming in late, taking excessive lunchbreaks and her assistant has been picking up the slack.

More recently the PA does virtually nothing but play on her mobile phone all day, she does very little actual work and is constantly moaning about tiredness.

Initially her assistant came to me for a moan and all along I've encouraged her to speak to the MD, he's made some of the right noises, but seems to avoid actually doing anything about the problem.  The PA used to be super organised and very good at her job so he thinks it's just a phase.  The poor assistant feels unsupported and is indeed underqualified to do the job, she is now thinking of looking for another job, as she's reported the problems three times and he's done nothing.  Last time the MD told the assistant to make an official complaint and then he would have to act on it!

The problem is that after six months I'm, to be blunt, sick of hearing the assistant moan and sick of having to apologise to customers for the other business.  The PA makes excuses and her boss is turning a blind eye and believe me if it was anyone else they would have lost their job a long time ago.

I don't doubt that the PA has some very real issues, however, she is milking them for all their worth, and taking us all for monkeys!.

Do I ...

1) Stay out of it, potentially we lose the assistant.
2) Speak to the other MD and try to be tactful about the problems?
3) Speak to my boss and see if he will address the problems?

Although I'm not directly affected, I do resent having to wait for the PA to finish her personal calls before dealing with anything (and we are talking a considerable number of hours on the phone).  

We have customers who share the premises and her behaviour hasn't gone unnoticed there either.


Callie

[gee4]

Unless the PA's attitude affects you directly, then stay out of it.  However if you think you are going to lose a good assistant, then speak up.

Is there anyone you can have a word with re the PA about her personal calls?  I have to say I only make the odd personal call for doc or hair appt lasting a max of a few secs.

[spitfire78]

I think it depends on the relationship you have with your own boss.  If you have the type of relationship where you feel comfortable confiding in him, then my opinion is that you should schedule some time with him to sit down and put it all on the table.

On the other hand, if you don't have that kind of a relationship with your boss and are afraid that this will come back to bite you (i.e., get you labeled as the "troublemaker"), then I would say just keep to yourself and let the chips fall where they may.

Perhaps I'm a bit naive, but I always try to do what is best for the company.  That is where my paycheck comes from and I feel they deserve my loyalty.  Therefore, if I see something that I think is harmful to the company (such as customer service suffering because of this person's attitude), then I feel it is my duty to speak up.  I will say that I have in the past spoken up for this reason and then been shot in the foot because of it.  But there are other times when my opinions/suggestions have been accepted and appreciated.

So, I guess it all depends on the environment in your office, your relationship with your boss, and your comfort level in inserting yourself into the situation.

[itsme_calista]

It doesn't directly affect me, in that I don't work in the same room as the other two ladies, but morale is so low in that office and when you walk in the atmosphere is so bad.  We share all other facilities and do have to liaise a lot with the other PA re diaries, conference calling etc.

I do have a very good relationship with my boss, and he would definitely listen and either offer advice or have a word with the other MD but I'm also afraid of putting myself in the position where he HAS to act on what I tell him and that creates further division in the offices.

If it was just a case of coaching the assistant I am more than happy, but I really feel that I've gone as far as I can with her, and now her boss is standing in the way of progress. I've seen her go from bored, to enthusiastic when encouraged to take on more, to now, and she's permanently "angry" and bitter about the situation. If either of the other two left then I can see more being pushed our way and we're stretched now!

TBH I'm just sick and tired of it all now and I guess that's the real reason I want to do something ~ to save my sanity and prevent a "snap".

C

[spitfire78]

Well, it's certainly your call to make.  However, if you really have that good a relationship with your boss, perhaps you should consider strongly sitting down with him.  Even if you just tell him that you want to use him as a sounding board - that you don't really want him to act, you just need to talk to someone before you explode.  Sometimes just venting to someone can make a huge difference.  And he may be able to do something to make it better for everyone, even without causing a big "to-do".

[Katie G]

"We have customers who share the premises and her behaviour hasn't gone unnoticed there either."

If you feel you must say something, this is the angle I would take.  If this has moved past internal office politics and is not affecting the way customers are perceiving your operation, then it's time to say something.  Has a customer actually made a complaint?

[itsme_calista]

Not an official complaint, more indirect comments.  She left early the other day and there were some sarastic comments about her leaving early and the amount of time she spends on her mobile phone.

If they actually made a complaint then I'd have no hesitation in bringing to my MD/her MD's attention.  I just very wary of addressing the situation based on sarcastic comments, because should her MD ask then they are the sort of people to deny knowledge!

I think I will just try to sound off to my MD.  Don't get me wrong, I do really like the other PA, and I would hate to see her get into unneccessary trouble during these problems, but at the same time she shouldn't be allowed to continue with this appalling  behaviour.   She has been offered Occupational Health support and refused and it's now at the point where we can't ofer her any more support than we already are.. i.e. counselling, acting as a soundboard, encouraging her to address certain issues.

I feel stuck betwen a rock and a hard place.  If she was a sub-ordinate then I'd know exactly how to deal with it, but this lady has been in position a long time, was generally well respected until recently.

Callie

[ozbound]

It sounds to me like your PA might be clinically depressed. But since you work for an MD I'm sure he (and you) probably recognized that already, especially since she's been offered Occupational Health support. It's really a shame she's refusing because it sounds like she could really use it. Now she may just have to "hit bottom" before she recognises her need for help.
Sounding off to your MD does sound like a good idea though--if only for your own sanity's sake.
Good luck!

[geminigirl]

Coming in a bit late on this one...

Have you - or anyone else - tried talking to the PA who's the problem?  It might be very difficult to do but it may help if you gently tell her that comments are being made - you don't necessarily have to be specific and to name names.  She might be unaware that her behaviour is being noticed.  Some people really are that thick-skinned.

It's not on that her own MD has been made aware of the problem and refuses to act.  Is there an HR department that the assistant can talk to?

Your first loyalty, however, is to the company - somebody mentioned earlier that they're the ones who pay your salary, after all.  And if this person's behaviour is having an adverse effect on the company and that her behaviour is noticed "outside the family" so to speak, it is probably time to act.

And yeah, it does get very tiresome when someone is constantly moaning about someone else and nothing gets done, and it brings everyone who hears it down.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[itsme_calista]

Thanks gemini-girl, both the assistant and myself have approached her about various things.  The assistant has resorted to be quite blunt about the use of the mobile etc, but she just shrugs it off and says that if it was a real problem the MD would address it!  And the assistant has told the MD virtually word for word.  

It appears that he simply refuses to take any action, be an informal chat or down the route of a disciplinary.  As I've said before if it was anyone else, then they would be in a discplinary process, the MD just doesn't "want" to address the problems and it is becoming a problem for other staff.  

I can't force her MD to do anything, I'm aware of that, but it could set a precedence, reflects badly on our image to customers, is highly unprofessional and we could lose a good assistant over it.

My MD is out of the office now for a few days so I'm going to draw something up on paper and then sound off to him.

Callie

[itsme_calista]

Just an update on this.  Three days after this last post 07/03/07 the PA went off sick and still hasn't returned to the office!  Last week she called and told us she was sat in a pub on the coast with her boyfriend seeing as it was such nice weather!!

The assistant is still here and coping admirably, she has spoken more to her boss and he still seems to think it's a phase!  

[Jackie G]

my 2p.

If you're off sick then you're off sick and no way should you be sitting in a pub anywhere!!!

Unless you're doing a day of seeing how you get on, out and about, preparatory to returning to work the very next day, you should be at home.

Is she self-certificating or has she now been off long enough to have to go to the doctor to get a sick note?  If so, does she have her doctor under her thumb?  

Either way, sounds like your HR need to get involved and some serious verbal/written warnings procedures need to be started.

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[itsme_calista]

Must admit Jackie, if she was employed by me then I'd have started disciplinary proceedings a long time back!

She is under a Docs cert, so far she's been off  6 weeks, and the incident with the pub was a week away not just a day!

The problem is that her boss refuses to do anything, she has him wrapped around her finger over an incident where he treated her unfairly some time back and so now he treads on eggshells round her!  HR haven't even been told about the problems and for either myself or the assistant to go and say anything would be seriously more than our jobs are worth.

[gee4]

That is totally unfair - what is she playing at - does she think you are totally stupid?  I would report her immediately.........grrr!!

[dettu]

I had a co-worker who did this kind of thing--she called in sick one day, then later in the day called me at work to ask directions to a local shopping mall. SERIOUSLY! I told her, the phone book has local maps in the front, check there. (This was before Google.)

Her boss thought she was just great. She spent most of the day on the phone making personal calls. I lodged one mild complaint with my own boss (who reported to her boss) and then let it drop, because I knew her boss would not ever discipline her. And he never did...I left that position a while later, not because of her but because I was going back to school. Thank goodness. I really liked her as a person, but she was a terrible co-worker.