Pulled up for “picking on someone at work”.

This an excellent idea OP copy in your manager but Bcc your manager into the emails and your colleagues won't know they can see them only you and your manager will know it. One of my friends did this when her colleagues were blaming her for work they hadn't completed. One colleague flat out lied to their boss blaming everything on my friend until the boss produced the emails my friend bcc the boss into apparently colleague was silent and couldn't explain themselves lol

This is excellent idea. I think also copy their/your managers into the email, especially inview of the complaint made against you. It sounds like your management are taking a lazy approach

Op write the codes down and instructions down give it them or as another poster suggested send them a mass email with the codes and instructions then when they complain you're picking on them or not helping show your manager the email. You aren't their mum they're grown adults in the working world its time they started acting like adults. I've worked with people like this at first I thought they were just unsure but I quickly realised they're just lazy and expect everyone else to pick up after them, the fact they were quick enough to play the bullying card and complain tells you they know exactly what they're doing they're just trying to cover themselves by throwing you under the bus.

I eventually told my manager very matter of factly I have shown them xyz numerous times they won't help themselves by writing it down I'm no long willing to keep doing it for them or they won't ever learn. Then ask your manager how they would feel constantly having to pick up after them and then when you get annoyed they accuse you of bullying, even the most ahole manager would understand that. I sure as hell wouldn't be helping anyone who expects me to do everything for them then accuses me of bullying them they're lazy, entitled and ungrateful twats and can't have it both ways. If you're manager doesn't deal with this go over their head to their manager which is what I would do and have done when I've had the piss took out of me one too many times.

I get the frustration as I’ve been in similar work situations myself, but I would have taken it further up the line rather than trying to tackle this yourself

That's what I was going to suggest as that is what we do at work.

We have a tutorials folder with all the different processes and a spreadsheet with various log ins and passwords.

I'm surprised the management haven't done anything like this TBH.

I think my reply would be "Sorry, I can't do that" in a 2001 Space Odessy voice 😂

Seriously though... Be less available. Say, "Sorry, I'm just in the middle of a task I need to focus on right now" or "Sorry I'm just in the middle of an urgent email" etc then offer to help them when you're done. If it's the photocopier, make them wait an hour. If it's the pass, maybe fifteen minutes. They will soon find someone else to ask. And where I've worked, if you don't have your pass you've always needed to get a temporary one as it was against guidelines to use your pass for other people.

If you have a teams channel or share point system which you can all access, we tend to write up these processes there so people can refer back to them. If you can set up something like that and what pp has suggested, this will look good. Also if you’re looking for a new job it’s something to talk about in interviews.

It’s not part of my job to train people.

i don’t know what job you do, but it’s normal in mine that the experienced staff show the new people what to do. For the big technical stuff the manager of the newbie will organise the list of required training (as a pp mentioned) and schedule with the people signed off to do the training. But for the smaller “how to work the photocopier/ find stuff on sharepoint” we all pitch in as needed. It would not be acceptable to say “not my job to train”.

However, it would be expected for newbies to be responsible for managing their own learning to make their own notes of things like access codes and location of shared files. Everyone is happy to help the first time, and the second time too because we all know what it’s like being new and taking in lots of information. By the third or fourth time, comments would be made to the newbies manager on whether the newbie needs more support in organising themselves. It sounds like the root of the problem that OP has is, as others have said, the hands off approach of her management. Unfortunately I have seen for myself the disruptive nature of the type of entitled newbie who is outraged to find they are expected to turn up on time, work and be accountable for the quality of their work. But we’re quite good at spotting them now within a couple of weeks or so of them starting so they get the “shape up or you won’t pass probation” talk, and it’s amazing that they don’t shape up and they do fail probation. Happened twice now. It’s still a pain to document everything for HR but it’s done by the book. Unfortunately they’re good at talking the talk so difficult to spot during recruitment.

For us access passes can’t be shared, it’s a disciplinary matter as they’re linked to what areas you have permission to be in (think server rooms, archives etc) and also the roll call for the building in the event of an evacuation. You have to go to the security hut to sign for a day pass and they inform your manager every time you do so it then becomes a disciplinary matter if it happens too often. OP, you must have a similar process for day passes, just point them in that direction.

Excellent idea @Allergictoironing. OP, this can be a nice way to approach your management as they love people coming with solutions, rather than problems. You can say to them that you noticed staff lacked training and you came up with a way to streamline the induction process.

Regarding having to show them multiple times, we have an induction programme that includes a list of tasks we are expected to learn over about 3 months. Every time a task has been learned by the new starter to both their and their trainer's satisfaction, both have to sign it off & date it. There's a column for notes where you can add things like why it hasn't been taught yet, or dates when training has taken place.

Even if these newbys have been around for a while you can even introduce it and say everyone has to have one including yourself and backdate it to month and year learned. I would suggest a pdf copy is kept & replaced every time something is signed off - this prevents them doing things like the sneaky b who added dates & times including adding his trainer's sig. He was caught out when he was asked to do a job that according to the sheet he'd been signed off for, and didn't have the faintest idea where to start.

Re the pass, is that not a security issue mislaying a pass so frequently?

With things like login codes I'd just send a follow up email saying "as a reminder this is the process/code" and then every time they ask, tell them to check the email. I know in an ideal world they would take notes of it themselves, but for one reason or another plenty don't!

I think you need to say to Colleague you are holding me up now, I can’t get my work done and it’s delaying the whole project. Can the manager not do the training? Can they not get some kind of temporary card? All things you need to raise with the manager. I think you need to send all this upwards. You’ve tried and you have to get on with your work.

OP, could you not give them a typed guide and ask them to sign something to the effect they have been shown/taught this particular task and are confident to do said task unaided now.

I recommend either:

cc your manager into every email and no longer have anything other than small talk in person. Really blunt and clear like

hello,

I am waiting to receive xyz so I can complete xyz by this time as requested by manager. I will be unable to do so if I do not receive this.

thank you,

name

literally every time in a new thread. It’s not bullying, it’s highlighting the issue with receipts.

or

stoo doing their work and if you’re asked why it’s incomplete in an email say you have completed what you are responsible for, xyz was so and sos job

orrrrr

work as hard as they do, get paid the same amount, when anyone asks or questions it say that it was made clear that this is the standard of work expected to you, as you were called up for bullying people into doing more

The part that jumped out at me was someone asking you about a task and the response being they have been shown enough times so they need to stop asking for you to do the task.

Now I agree, doing the task for them doesn’t help them learn, but new employees require training. If they can’t ask questions, they can’t improve efficiency. Good training in this situation might be to have them do the task while you watch and answer questions that arise. Then hopefully the next time they won’t need someone to hold their hand the whole time.

if you have not been allocated time to train the new employees or it is not your job to train them, then speak to your manager and let them know the training has been insufficient.

if training is part of your responsibility, then you need to ask yourself if part of this situation is of your own making.

training people is a skill. It actually doesn’t come
easily to everyone, but it can be learned.

Just go to work. Focus on your workload. Do that to a high standard.

something Mel Robbin’s says…let them.

Unless asked for help…let them

offer help if you absolutely can help and build a relationship. People work differently. It will soon show who’s doing the work and who isn’t.

Point out that your break has given you clarity and that you are fed up with the lack of accountability by people in the same team as you.

This happened to me and I actually got given a different manager because my relationship with the first one was so broken down.

If work isn't being done, you need to raise it with management along the lines of you having asked for things without deadlines being met or asking for clarity on what their expectations from you are - and don't do the work of others.

I work in hospitality in single person shifts that depend on handovers and people completing mundane daily tasks as part of everyday. It might not be suitable for your job but we solved 90% of these issues with a handover notebook and shift checklists. This definitely falls into the category of micromanaging which I generally hate but it was a necessary evil and it usually works.

Did you actually bother to read where the OP said that their manager expects them to sort out issues between themselves? Because that is what they are trying to do, resolve the issues without involving management.

To quote the OP's words "We have always been told that we are mature enough to talk to our peers directly about issues, and not involve management." So she is doing exactly what her line manager has told her to do - talking directly to them & NOT involving management.

I can see the situation as being one where the OP has asked nicely, mentioned the issues she (and others) have been having and been ignored and no improvements. On raising this with her manager, they've been told to sort it themselves, so after the 8-10th attempt at getting someone to a) do their work and b) follow acceptable office behaviours she may well have got just a little irritable - and whinged to her other team mates who are having the same issues.

By the way, assertively does NOT mean aggressively. Assertive could be on the lines of "look, this is the 5th week in a row you haven't done the stuff we need & we've had to cover for you, and we've now got maggots in the sink due to things not being cleaned on Monday/Tuesdays, please can you try to pick things up a bit2

Don't do the extra work. If work is left undone report it to your manager. Don't do it.

Their manager is the problem for allowing this lack of work to impinge on others - if they've said you're picking on them because things you've mentioned, just turn it back around to their lack of work and tidiness with bins etc - good luck

Complaints made to whom op?

the issue you have is this could look like bullying, and possibly even feel like it.

is there something else going on here, something management will suspect, do you resent these new starts, I don’t mean for the issues you mention, like not emptying their bins or washing their cups. But for being there in the first place.

it reads like you’re trying to show them you’ve seniority and they should do as you say, when I really don’t think that’s the case.

is there a back story here, habe you started a turf war?

The bit about dealing with peers and "not involving management"? Poor. Thats a sign of poor leadership. Management are there to manage people.

If you arrive on a wednesday and work has not been done, report it immediately in a neutral way in a context of managing expectations. Eg

Hi Manager
Im picking up project x and unfortunately a, b & c haven't yet been done so i'll have to do those before i can get on with d & e. This will take until Friday so I will not be able to deliver by the end of this week as expected.

Do this every single time you arrive to find work not done. Also after first report, email the people who aren't delivering copy the manager and say:

Hi
I'm planning project x. Please can you confirm by close of business today if a, b and c can be done by wednesday? Please let me know monday afternoon if the work is behind schedule so we can re-plan the timetable.

If they don't reply, send a chaser again with management in copy saying "hi please can you confirm the deadline or let me know when i can expect a, b & c from you?"