...to report my colleague? (WWYD?)

[WheresMyMountainGoat]

I've NC'd for this.

I work in a small team of two in an open planned office, with our boss working in a different location.

In the past few months I've noticed my colleague spending a lot of time doing non-work activities on their (work) computer; things like online shopping / personal photo editing / news reading.

I'm not sure if this has gone unnoticed by my boss. We rarely share deadlines, but I have noticed these being missed. Delays are often blamed on other people within the business.

The lack of work doesn't really impact on my role, which is why I've kept my nose out thus far. However, its increasingly annoying watching the procrastination happen (often for most of the day), and then listening to the bullshit stories covering for it.

Whilst a few people in the office have noticed, they won't comment as separate teams - they're also my friends, so more likely to mention it to me!

WWYD? AIBU to mention it to my boss?

[user1483981877]

I know, I just felt like adding a different view as someone mentioned safeguarding further up the thread. The whole place was a complete shambles and it was a relief to walk away from the who situation to be honest. Shocking.

[Gwenhwyfar]

Yes, safeguarding is very different to going on the internet on work time.

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

Well if its any consolation to you User148. I would also report a safe guarding issue. I'd have no qualms about doing so. There's no way I'd have someone's death or serious accident on my conscience. A safe guarding matter is entirely different to whst this thread is about.

[user1483981877]

Years ago I snitched on someone due to safeguarding. It did not go well. The office staff informed the person who I had informed on, it got incredibly awkward I ended up leaving. I wouldn't advise it unless you are 100% sure.

[IntoTheDeep]

What they dont understand is I already know - always. I know who is doing what, and I will be managing things as I see fit.

How can you be sure that you always know what your team's up to?
There's been a few cases I can think of at work where management have been unaware of things. Including one where employees on one team were emailing hard core porn about using work computers - they only got caught because some of it was accidentally forwarded to a client and the client complained. The employees who'd been doing the emailing were sacked on the spot, and the employees who'd just received the emails got formal verbal warnings for having known about it and failing to report it to management.
That's a more extreme case of wrong doing than what OP talks about, but it's one that flew under managements radar until it was reported.

[Missbohan]

Agree with haveacupoftea - most managers already know exactly what is going on and are managing it in their own way. You do your job - let everyone else do theirs. Anything else is going to cause problems.

[haveacupoftea]

Their colleagues, not my colleagues. Although they often try complaining about other managers too

[haveacupoftea]

I understand why you are annoyed, but as a manager I am most unimpressed when members of my team grass on my colleagues. What they dont understand is I already know - always. I know who is doing what, and I will be managing things as I see fit. Emails complaining that X is doing this, that or the other and something needs to be done about it will be met with very short shrift!

[daisychain01]

They set up new email accounts like '[email protected]'.

That stuff would get swallowed up by our turbo-charged spam filter

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I do understand why people are saying 'beaky outy' and 'no-one likes a grass/brown-noser' - but I can also understand why people would get pissed off when they are doing their job properly, but someone else is pissing around on the internet and photo-editing, so that all their colleagues are either having to pick up the slack or are getting blamed for missed deadlines.

It is not fair or right that conscientious workers should get the blame for Slacker colleague's poor work, IMO.

If the OP gets bollocked for a missing deadline on a joint project with her slacking colleague, I think she would be entirely justified in saying that she'd done everything she was supposed to, and it was her colleague's slacking that caused the missed deadline. Otherwise, I think it is up to the colleagues who are either having to pick up the slack, or who are getting blamed for missed deadlines, to report her.

[angeldelightedme]

What happens is this

1. A reports B
   
2. B gets reprimanded
   
3. B works out it is A who grasses
   
4. B tells C through to Z
   
5. Nobody ,B to Z, wants to work with A
   
6. A is 'managed' out of the business

[MissDallas]

They set up new email accounts like '[email protected]'.

[daisychain01]

How can you get anonymous emails?

I've worked in IT security for years and I'm unaware of any organisation that would permit that, not least of all for audit trail and compliance purposes. Every electronic mail needs to be traceable back to a human being.

[MissDallas]

I work for the boss in a very large organization and man his Inbox. We get anonymous emails snitching on people all the time. Maybe this is the way to go?

Ordinarily, I would not condone snitching, however, the co-worker is blaming other people for her poor performance and that is not fair.

[Steve1970]

Nobody likes a grass. Even the boss

[Paninotogo]

As babyspider says beaky outy stop making drama, what does it have to do with you?

[MaisyPops]

Let someone whonis directly affected do it.

If you havd any involvement with this person then keep a paper trail e.g. if shes doing nothinh but you need something then email her saying 'so that i can do x, y, z I need a,b,c by friday otherwise the deadline might be missed. If youre struggling with workload like you said earlier, why dont you ask manager for an extension? I can adapt my own workload to account for a new deadline'.
If she doesnt do it then youve got all your date stamped emails and you can have a quiet word with management about your colleagues wellbeing e.g. susy doewnt seem herself, ive not been able to do my tasks because she hadnt completed x,y,z. I dont suppose shes been to see you. I suggested she might if therea something going on.'

[Missbohan]

Ps I was in a similar situation in a previous job where an event had a lot of problems on the night due to one girl not doing half of what she was meant to in advance. When manager predictably was furious and wanted to know what happened, i said 'x didn't do bla bla bla' without thinking, and i was the one who got punished - manager said something along the lines of 'i don't care who is at fault, you are part of a team so all responsible, stop trying to get other people in trouble'!!! So since then I am very careful and actually now I work for myself from home so avoid office politics. But if other person doesn't impact your work and you can get on with yours without them then I would just go with it and leave the manager to "manage" them as they wish

[Missbohan]

I don't think it ever works out snitching on a co-worker. I have seen it before so many times - whatever the outcome you will always be seen as a grass, so not worth it. Just don't do it - concentrate on your own work and yourself and don't draw the drama on yourself!

[daisychain01]

When it's time for your yearly review, or after a few months, you have evidence that you have effectively done the job of 2 people and you deserve a pay rise/ promotion accordingly. Your boss can draw his own conclusions

I don't agree. That's a blatantly self-serving thing to do. And it will come across that way.

[Postagestamppat]

Office politics. I completely understand why it would be irritating to watch someone being lazy when you and other people are working hard. Being stuck with the same person for up to 40 hours a week is annoying in itself let alone knowing that they are not pulling their weight and dropping others in it. But this could reflect badily on you. A couple of pp are apparently managers/owners and have stated that they would think of you as a tell tale presumably because it is easier to cast aspersions on the bearer of bad news than recognise that there may a problem that they have missed (putting them in a bad light). I'd just suck it up and hope that they leave soon. Office politics is sadly mostly about protecting your own back because that is what everyone else is doing. Also if this person is prepared to blame other people for missed deadlines etc what they do if pushed into a corner by management? If they know it was you that spoke up things could get really nasty.

[MichaelSheensNextDW]

Does the business not have an internet use policy?

[Zucker]

I wouldn't feel comfortable mentioning it to the colleague. Whilst we get on really well, I feel they would take it badly (they're prone to overthinking)

Clearly they're not prone to over thinking their job! Say nothing, the messenger tends to get shot.

[Jenniferb21]

I'm a regional manager looking after 30 employees or so, some office some road based. I would personally not blame someone coming to me with genuine concerns about others for this sort of thing. I would be thankful for their honesty. However, I would appreciate more knowing that they tried to address it directly with the other employee first regardless of being on a different team as managing colleagues is a cery valuable skill.

The thing is only you know your manager and their style. However, i doubt it would show you in a really bad light because most managers would be livid if staff were being paid to not work. further to this point it's not fair on others who are working.

I would therefore address it with them directly. I'd say 'name I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time persuing personal interests online. Are you not very busy?' This way you've addressed the issue and if they ignore you I think it's more than okay to speak to your manager. There's plenty of good motivated individuals who want wok in this country, this person is very replaceable and should be replaced if they are not doing what they are being paid to do.

[38cody]

Didn't your mother tell you not to tell tales? You will get some pleasure from brown nosing your boss but everyone else will think you're a bitch.