colleague taking all my work

[cofingalthetime]

If you havent seen my other post - I heard today that I didn't get a job I did an interview for the other day. In the meantime, my colleague applied for a different job, and got it. She's currently doing her new job, and 'covering' her old job, but she literally won't let me do anything, she is taking over. I've just let her today - she took a load of work off me that the manager (who is on annual leave) told me specifically to do. She just took over, and has it all done. She's coming to a meeting now at 3pm, even though I was supposed to be going. I'm going too - I said to her there was no need for her to go as well, but she wouldn't hear of it, and is coming too. She picks up my work all the time -s ome of it comes through a generic email box, and if she hears things in the office, she calls out "i'll look after that", even if I say 'I've got this", she's really polite about it and says "no no problem, I'll look after it". I don't even know why she wants my work - she has so much of her own. She enjoyed telling me she "had" to log on on Thurs and Fri last week as she had so much to do - I was telling her how lovely it had been to have a complete break from work, and not to have to worry about anything cos everyone was "closed". I dunno. I'm just letting her get on with it today as I'm feeling down anyway. It's really bugging me, but I don't have the energy to "fight" her on it any more. It's too exhausting. WWYD. BTW I've spoken to my manager about it before, but she makes a few noises, and does nothing. I don't get on wiht the manager at all, but she loves this person.

To be honest she is arselicking your manager and trying to make you look like a fool in the meanwhile. Unfortunately if your manager is unwilling to actually do something about it i would get out of there as soon as possible....sorry you going through this and have a crap manager and a passive aggressive colleague.

Thanks for replying @123becauseicouldntthinkofone Yes I've been quite upset about colleague as being naieve and stupid I thought she was my friend, but she isnt.
I'm so weary now I just let her get on with it. I thought when she got the new job she would be working out of a different office so I wouldn't see her, but no, she has decided she wants to "help us out" in the big office, so she's staying here. She wants to do all the counter and phone queries as well, so I'm letting her. Today anyway as manager is away, so who is she even trying to impress....!!!

Manager loves her. I won't be telling colleague anything about applying for any jobs in the future or anything like that. She was "sorry" I didn't get the job, but I'm sure she can't help being proud of herself for getting her job first time.

She will be waiting to tell said manager when she gets back how much work she has done! Been here afraid and the best thing i did was get out. As now a manager myself I have learned that this is the type of employee you do NOT want as they create their own little empire, change processes and dont pass on the new way to do things and then leave you stuffed. Good luck new job hunting, there does appear to be plenty out there at the moment x

Same thing happened to me a couple years ago, I ended up leaving. Found a much better job and am so much happier now!

Let her get on with it. Look for a new job and tell no one .

she sounds the type to think everything would fall apart without her.
I've worked with someone similar.

Are they going to recruit for her old job?
Just she can't do her new job, cover her old job and take all your work for the foreseeable future?
Unless she plans to never ever go on holiday etc ??

This reminds me of a colleague I worked with many years ago. She did everything, everyone including the manager thought she was wonderful and I was a pain as I kept pointing out that the correct procedures were not being followed. She rarely took a day off but one day had a medical appointment so was unusually away. A customer she always dealt with came in with a query which led to us discovering funds missing from the company's accounts. She had been fiddling the accounts for years. It led to her serving a jail sentence and the manager loosing his job.

Keep looking for another job. Ignore this colleague as much as possible. If she tries to take your work just say no that’s my work, you obviously have plenty as you are logging on outside of working hours so you clearly have enough work and need to concentrate on work life balance.

At some point she will realise that all this killing herself through work is pointless and not appreciated by anyone. Does she have a life outside of work?

She has a 3 year old! I don't understand as when my kids were that age I couldn't wait to logoff, and get home to them. I feel like she prefers working. She works from home and says the 3 year old is "very good" and plays on his own. I feel a bit sorry for him sometimes. I mean, if you send her an email she will reply within 5 seconds, even if she's at home. Which is good, but sometimes I say to her I don't think my kids would have let me work so much, but she just says he is very good.

Yep, this is exactly what's been happening to me. My colleague has been talking so much of my work, then they were surprised I handed in my notice. Jokes on her, they aren't recruiting for my position, so now she's stuck with all my work, not just the bits she was taking. Meanwhile I cannot wait to start my new job!
In honesty, I'd keep your job hunting quiet until you get a new role and can hand your notice in with glee!

Thing is she was brought in to cover sick leave, and the person has not come back, so yes I would say she will continue to cover. When she got this new job, I said to the manager, and to her, that I would cover for the sick person - I'm honestly not busy, would love more to do lol!!! But they decided between them that she should do it. Before I got the call today I was thinking she would probably love to do my job as well when I leave. I mean it's just getting ridiculous - whenever someone comes in she jumps up from her seat and offers to help them - sometimes they even look embarrassed. If she even hears me saying something she says 'oh don't worry I'll take care of that'. She's constantly emailing me asking have I done this that and the other. She showed me all these graphs and spreadsheets she had made - I mean, they are nice, but honestly nobody will ever look at them. She intimated I should be doing them as well but why would I bother. I've realised that nobody cares, just get your job done and go home. We don't get paid enough for all this extra stuff. To my mind anyway.

I know I can't wait but it's been about 4 months now I honestly thought I would get something straight away and have imagined handing in my notice so many times. I know they won't even care but it will cause a little bit of inconvenience to my manager to get someone else etc etc.

I know I can't wait but it's been about 4 months now I honestly thought I would get something straight away and have imagined handing in my notice so many times. I know they won't even care but it will cause a little bit of inconvenience to my manager to get someone else etc etc.

You'll find something, just try and rise above her in the interim. Have you signed up to agencies? That's where I found my new role, I did find another one through LinkedIn but decided against it.
And yep, it will cause inconvenience and it'll be of their own making for not pulling your colleague up on their behaviour.

Paper trail. Email her 'Manager X asked me to look after X, but you've done it. This has happened multiple times. Please can you try and communicate more as you seem to be overriding Manager's requests a lot Thanks.'

CC in Manager if you want to be brutal.

OP is she a single parent? If she is she is using the tv or a tablet as a babysitter. If not she is dumping her childcare responsibilities on someone else.

Nah I couldn't do this - all it would do is make ME look bad. She would come out of it smelling like daisys and I'd be the big bad troublemaker. She's only trying the HELP you see.
Ah god, she is doing the cleaning ladies' jobs now as well - collapsing the cardboard boxes and wiping down all the desks as she is working from home tomorrow and "likes to leave it looking nice and clean".

No she has a husband. He works too though.

I feel mean now - the trouble with these kind of people is they make you feel inadequate. That you're only doing half your job whereas she is doing 120% all the time. Probably that's why the manager loves her and why she got a job first time round. I guess it does pay off. I think there's a way of doing it though, cos for ages I did everything 120% but nobody noticed, so I just did what I had to and no extra.

Sounds like she's headed for burnout.

Maybe she's covering up for problems at home. Throwing herself into work to avoid facing divorce / ill health etc.

I think I would have to ask her if she was deliberately trying to make me unemployed. I'd go in armed with a list of all the things she'd done that I should've done and ask her what the hell is going on. While I was at it I would ask if she intended to get the cleaners made redundant as well.

You only have two choices, if you stay.

Talk to her bluntly about it - ask her straight if her goal is to do you out of a job

Talk to your manage bluntly about it - ask if he thinks it is such a good idea that one member of staff takes on so much of the workload, even outside of her contracted terms, conditions and hours - he has a duty of care for her and her mental health.

Maybe do both.. and then leave as soon as possible. Thin of it as practising so as not to get caught in the same bind in the next job.