Work Colleague

[snash12]

I know someone posted here earlier that this isn't a forum for employee / employer issues but I literally want to smash my stapler into my face right now, repeatedly.

I have one work colleague who just takes the piss all day every day. I genuinely wonder if she does any work at all. She is excellent at appearing busy / flustered when anyone asks her to do anything.

My main issue is her phone calls to and from her husband. On average i'd say it's anywhere from 10-20 calls per day for maybe 5-10 minutes or the occasional 30 minute call. She doesn't hide it, go outside, move to another room for these calls so it is so distracting.

Its infuriating for me because I sit right near her and its otherwise a fairly quiet office.

Because they speak so often they have NOTHING to say to one another. So I have a big chunk of my day trying to block out

"Yeeeah"
"No"
"How was the traffic" "have you had lunch" followed by 5 minutes of byes .
"alright then darling, I better get back to it.... what'?" and then it starts all over again
"okay then baby love you, love you, ... what?" starts again

WWYD - just tell her to shut up?! I've tried ear phones with music but she has a very loud laugh so it doesn't often work.

Has anyone been in this position? The bosses are fully aware because she often answers the calls in front of them or is on the phone to her husband when they enter the room. I guess it doesn't bother them so there isn't much point in complaining.

That would be lovely @napqueen but I’d not have enough time to get all my work done!

I’ve never sat and added up the time she’s wasting as the poster above - that’s shocking , 13 weeks a year!

Oh I dont for a second think he will agree to it. More to make him realise that this is essentially what she has from the company daily.

Sounds like she is actually bored! Perhaps he should reduce her hours and pay accordingly unless he can give her more work.

@random

Possibly but when I’ve seen other colleagues try and give her work she says “well it definitely won’t be done this week” or when asked something on the phone “I’m literally up to my eyes in it right now so I can’t do that”

Is she supposed to pick up work from other staff? Is this monitored in any way?!

Really you need her line manager to be across her productivity. But it sounds like he's opted out of that.

Gah. I'm so annoyed on your behalf!

"Im literally up to my eyes in it"

Id not even try and bite my tongue here. If she has enough time to spare to waste on the phone then she has enough time spare ro do more wprk

I was going to suggest that in response to his question about what we could do about it you could suggest you could help coach him through preparing for the difficult conversation that he needs to have with this woman, maybe by role playing how he might deal with it...

@arrrggghhh She is office admin so people would ask for client folders to be made up or stationery ordered. If the boss asks it is done pronto but anyone else it will get the resistance and a few days delay.

This is is difficult. I've worked with many a work shirker (civil service is rife with it) and it gets to the point where it's not possible to deal with it because so many people have tried and got nowhere. In one job I had, I was given a major part of someone else's job to do because one of my colleagues (same grade, job and pay) didn't "do" report writing, well our job was largely to write reports, so they thought it was fine to give me all his work because he had made such a fuss about it. I moved on. If your manager won't do anything about it, you won't get anywhere with her. I'd take the desk in another office offer!

@jersey omg that’s crazy! Sounds like I should count myself lucky because I’m not having To pick up the slack of this skiver!