To be annoyed at colleague for doing too much work?

It makes me feel (and look) inadequate.

That is very much a you problem

The fact she was working when she was supposed to be on leave is unfair, as that sort of behaviour raises the managers' expectations for everyone on the team, where they'll start to wonder why you can't all do the same. The French have a term for that sort of behaviour, something like not showing solidarity.

Personally I think it might be worth having a little word, coming from an angle of concern for her, that she shouldn't get into the habit of giving up her leave because it could lead to burnout, the company won't appreciate it in the end, all it will do is raise their expectations.

The other thing that might work if you are collaborating is setting clear deadlines and check in dates. So x needs doing/reading/writing we will check in with that by x date with a firm deadline of x date for completion. Then she can knock herself out to do it early, but there’s no reward for finishing ahead of the deadline except she has cleared her desk.

As someone who works super quick and always has you can’t really dictate the pace at which another colleague completes tasks but you can arrange a collaboration to give everyone adequate time to prepare and contribute at their own pace.

Oh, and this too - we talked about the split of work with my line manager. X task is my responsibility.

My line manager does not want my colleague working up a storm about X when his task is Y.

He would love us to support each other with Y and X - NOT for one person to do X and Y.

The key question is why?

Is she super-ambitious and trying to show you up?

Is she anxious about failure and overcompensating?

Is she neurodivergent? (ADHD in particular can look a lot like this)

I think you need to figure this bit out before you can work out the best way to handle her.

You can’t really say to her can you slow down you are too bright and keen you are making me look inadequate?

Be kind and supportive, but maintain your boundaries ‘wow, it is so impressive you’ve done all of this prep already, thank you. I don’t work in the evenings or when I’m on leave, so you’ll have to wait to x date for my response.’

‘Working together as a team’ isn’t what she’s doing. The work should be done together, and if she’s still quicker than you then she should explain what she’s doing.

And you don’t sound bitter at all, I’m surprised someone said that to you.

Employers are owed a day's work for a day's pay. That's not 'shirking'. Obviously we all have to go over and above sometimes at work if we want to do well, but putting in regular unpaid overtime sets an unhealthy precedent.

You can’t speak to her! What would you say?

’Look babes, can you just be a bit more..um…I dunno…shit? All this positivity, working when you are on leave, sorting everything super quickly. It’s getting on my tits coz it makes me look crap’.

Yabu. You need to get one step ahead of her. I wouldn't put up with this. She's doing a grand job knocking herself out working while supposedly off etc - that's the kind of enthusiasm employers want! If you cba going above and beyond then maybe find another job. Employers want workers not Shirkers!

She’s just young and hasn’t learnt the best ways of working yet. Or that working on your leave is a fools game.

It’ll be over soon I assume

I've just come back from mat leave, and am slightly intimidated by the sheer volume of detailed work produced by my cover.

Worse - he's staying on an extra year because we've got a bug backlog to do.

But then I copped on to the fact that he's overdoing tasks. He's not being proportionate to business need. He goes all in every time without checking with our line manager's appetite. He doesn't have the soft skills to work up the need for a project, bam, straight in with a 10 page proposal.

As a line manager myself, these people were so annoying! Hours wasted on tasks that I hadn't assigned. And having to let them down on projects they'd already convinced themselves were needed.

Are you working at your best standard? If so, there's not much you can do about it. In all walks of life we meet people who are better than us at things. I'm sure there are things you are better at than she is. You can't expect her to work less to make you look better, that's really not what your company would want either.

YABU.

I was the manager of a large team where some staff were brilliant, some did the bare minimum required, and a small number were inadequate.

I can't tell you how many conversations I had with the 'adequate' people about their resentment and jealousy of the brilliant people -- why was such-and-such promoted, given opportunities, given a bonus? They wanted the rewards without putting in effort. I do feel that there should be roles where you can do exactly what's required and be valued, but also think the people who set high standards for their work ought to be rewarded.

If I were the young woman's manager I would absolutely call her out on working during her leave: burn-out benefits no one and everyone deserves a break.

OP, be secure in your own abilities and don't get drawn into a silly running-race. Ask yourself if you are working to your full realistic potential. If the answer is "yes" then just let your colleague get on with it. @Coruscations upthread gave good advice. Try not to let your feelings colour your professionalism.

but she’s already looked at all the stuff and is asking me what I thought (I haven’t looked yet, busy with other stuff!) she’s prepared a lengthy summary document on her findings to share at the meeting.

You can simply point out to her that you were in work last week and busy with your normal workload, hence haven't had time to look at it, suggest that you will do so while she catches up on hers as she's been away, and suggest a quick pre-meet to discuss it nearer to the main meeting.

If she has time to do these things prematurely, maybe it's time to delegate more tasks to her?

you are being unreasonable, but gently and i completely agree with you. her work wont make you look bad, dont worry. its her own prerogative if she wishes to work during her leave, and in my opinion those who do this look odd and unorganised, as if they cannot even manage to structure their work days properly enough to have actual holidays. just try to focus on meeting your own objective and not to let it bother you or pressure you into overworking either. overwork may look good at first but its a one way ticket to burnout, at which your performance wont look good to anyone at all.

YANBU about working while on leave. It sets an unrealistic expectation for others. Others (usually younger without kids) in my role work extra hours on the quiet to stay afloat. I can't/won't (three small children!) so always look inadequate. But I'm working my bum off for all the hours I'm (badly) paid for!

As you invited her to work on this with you, it sounds like she is trying really really hard to impress you.

You should take confidence in your own abilities as she obviously looks up to you!

Maybe give her a bit of reassurance - let her know there’s no big rush, no need to over complicate matters, and that you don’t expect her to work when she’s on leave. This might help her relax a bit!

STTE I think I'd be a bit annoyed, but mainly because she worked while on leave. I have colleagues who do this and it sets the unspoken expectation that we're all on, always. I refuse to do this and I think it does make me appear lazy, but I'm not sacrificing my life for a job, even one I enjoy very much.

also it’s like someone giving you the answer to a maths problem before you’ve done the working out. By racing ahead it means I don’t kind of do the process myself which I need to do.

@User364837 this part is reasonable because it is the part that affects you. An insistence on completing tasks well before the deadline is preventing you from truly benefiting from the task. I think you could explain this to your colleague and then schedule times to do your own prep and to discuss with your work colleague.

I'd also keep an eye on the taking credit for work that's not hers. Nip this in the bud if you can - I've found it easiest to call out when it's done to other people e.g. when she's presented a report thanking and complimenting her and then highlighting how crucial Bob's contribution on x was. That way managers are clear she isn't single handedly doing all this work and you aren't made to feel petty by anyone when you point that out.

I think you just need to learn to co-exist with a worker like this and be confident in your own style (slower/measured) and boundaries (no working on leave).

I have had the opposite experience with a couple of interns and younger colleagues who were downright lazy and were not prepared to put in the graft that serves you well early in your career. So, personally, I’d be a little bit grateful for this attitude.

before I even opened this thread, I read the title

To be annoyed at colleague for doing too much work?

and translated it as

to be annoyed at colleague for showing me up.

Having read the OP's post, I think that's what it's about. It maybe the womean is over qualified and too bright for the role, in which case that will solve itself in due course but you are unreasonable to be annoyed for the reasons you've put in the OP.

That sounds exactly like my experience in my last few years of teaching. Young NQTs were very keen to do everything and stayed up to stupid hours to do more and more(not something you can do for 30 years). Posters will say that is a good thing and they were working hard. However,they were very good at getting people they deemed important to notice their work and never gave credit to other who have have had the idea or had started the work before them. They were very ambitious and already has a career plan. Once they had been deemed to be amazing ,they were very quick to apply and get posts that took them out of the classroom!