Fit to EXPLODE - re work colleague

[cofingalthetime]

Sorry for the rant, but honestly, I feel like screaming.

So a colleague, who has worked with me for about 18 months just finished in this role, and has a new job - different department.

BUT, she just won't "let go" of her role. I'm supposed to be looking after her work until they get someone, which I was so happy to do as I don't have enough to do at work, and I want to be busy.

Already the manager has tried to take work off me, and says she will do it until they get a new person - but I argued and said it was no problem

Anyway, what is making me explode today is this colleague is actually on Annual Leave, starting today, until Tuesday - but she is still on her email - she sent her first one at 7.30 this morning. She won't put on an out of office directing queries to me, or to the generic inbox. She is replying to everything, and doing everything herself and just copying me in. I responded and asked her to put on OOO directing them to me, and saying she's on leave, but she hasn't replied and in the meantime has replied to more emails. i've copied in the manager, but she is silent - as she always has been since this started - colleague has been trying to do her job and mine since she began in the role.

It's just so demoralising - I mean what is the point of me even being there. She had a meeting with another person yesterday, and told them she was moving role, but they could still contact her whenever they want. I just replied to an email that came through to the generic inbox - but was too late - she got there first!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel like just logging off and letting her get on with it. I mean, she can't keep doing this can she? The manager hates me, so she just stands back and says nothing, or just laughs it off, and says "ha ha, XXX is just very dedicated".

So fed up

BTW I am looking for another job, but have failed in 2 interviews - it's not easy to get another job - well for me anyway.

Use a fake email to send a really complex request that'll take her ages. Then crack on with the real tasks.

Keep looking for something else. X

I think @Rosscameasdoody has a good point - surely her departure is an opportunity for the post to be absorbed into your role, saving half a salary? In the NHS, whenever anyone left, their role couldn't be advertised until it had been justified to a 'vacancy control panel', and there were times when there was almost a blanket ban on advertising for clinical posts anyway, oddly enough managerial posts seemed to be so vital they were exempt

This is such an obvious and money-saving thing to do, that if it meets with a brick wall, I would certainly be worried that you are being manoeuvred out of your role

tbh I think you have to blunt and send an email to her with your manager copied in stating you are now responsible for the role, that it is up to you deal with queries/emails etc and that in order to ensure there are no crossed wires or confusion for others it would be best that the workload is left to you.

If I were you I'd get in touch with your union rep. This is workplace bullying.

You say you are in a union, they will be familiar with your business, speak to them today and seek advice re next steps.

Ha, ha - I was pleased to see this because I have exactly the same situation (or near enough) - I am a freelance temp sec and cover for regular clients and have done for many, many years. There is just one who goes on her nice holiday in the sun and seems to spend her whole time checking work emails and replying to some of them and if she isn't doing that, she is still reading them all (every single day). It is like having a stalker. I wonder what the other members of her family on the holiday think of her obsession. I think some people have control issues. I have to get quite blunt to get her to stop. Currently, I'm thinking of suggesting she runs the job from her holiday and I'll just go home and leave her to it.

I agree with this. And keep job hunting. You’ll get something soon!

You say you don't have enough to do so it's a perfect opportunity to ramp up your job search on their time and their money. Discreetly of course! Cover your ass by getting everything done that you are assigned to do to the highest standard then in spare time do serious directed reading on interview techniques, plan practice questions for you to do at home, really widen your search for jobs, polish your CV til it shines and fire it out to recruiters in your sector. Do strategic overview research of your industry and best practices. Work hard on that and get the hell out of there! Good luck.

At best this is an incompetent manager and an overzealous, workaholic colleague. But if she is doing what you have been told to do, this doesn't reflect well on you. "Oh she's supposed to be doing the job but x is having to do it instead".

But I'm Inclined to be suspicious too and wonder if you are being bullied out, or whether there is something more sinister going on that she/tha manager don't want you to find.

As you are in the union I'd suggest having an informal chat to your rep about what your next steps should be.

Is her manager the same person as your manager? Be ause if not, I’d think her new manager needs to know how much of her time she’s spending on work that isn’t her responsibility.

Absolutely this.

Contact your union for advice but you definitely need to be creating a paper trail.

I think your boss is trying to manage you out of your job using this colleague.

You need to get advice and start to document everything.

I would let her get on with it but I would also say to my manager that this continues to be her responsibility. She cannot do a bit and then drop it.

Then I would use the time I had to actively apply for new jobs.

I third this advice. Your manager has you pegged as a trouble maker anyway you may as well perform as expected if they’re going to be a knob.

We had a massive financial fraud uncovered when someone went on holiday and continued to control the correspondence. They dropped the ball when something went wrong and another person intercepted some messages.

I don't think it's 'dedicated' to think you have a say in who gets your job when you leave, more controlling!

Yep, this is bullying. If your organisation doesn’t have reporting pathway outside your line management chain, you might want to contact ACAS.

But as others have said, this is also the kind of behaviour that would be expected of someone who was covering up fraud (or incompetence). Was the move to another department her choice?

I agree about the fraud thing. It is usually uncovered during a period of sickness or a holiday of the person concerned or when they change job.

I know of a school where an office worker looking after finance had been taking money for years. This person worked long hours - was always in was the one to be relied upon. Then -after a car-accident- the job had to be 'covered' by someone else. That someone first found that money was missing (some kind of mistake they thought), then that there was a huge running fraud (one that had been going for many years).

If not that, it does sound as if neither of them value you OP. Time to get a job where you are appreciated.

Higher up manager/hr

I'd be suspicious about why she needs to spend so much time working.

I replaced someone like this a few years ago, and as I got into the role it became quite apparent that rather than being the dedicated company man he was thought to to be, he was actually terrible at his job so had to spend huge amounts of time covering up for his incompetence.

Yes it very much appears so. Hope you are a successful in your job hunt soon OP.

What a loser. Can't even have a holiday.

You need to have a meeting with her and your manager and be polite and calm about it. Did she want to move roles? She may be terrified at letting go. She sounds awful but there may be more to it (mostly down to weak ineffective management if you ask me). But a quiet and calm chat saying she does need to hand it over and almost act like she won’t be doing the work is needed; they need to understand how undermining and demoralising this is for you.

I think @bumpytrumpy has a good point about:

1 - investigate there is no sinister reason for this ie she's trying to cover up fraud or something which would be uncovered if she let go

In the area I work, all full-time employees are required to take at least 2 weeks of annual leave in one chunk to guard against fraud. And they wouldn't be allowed to login during this time.

We also have lots of whistle-blowing procedures, and in this situation we would be encouraged to raise it with our managers, and if unresponsive, raise it through other channels specifically put in place for this purpose. We're told that if we see something suspicious, or something that doesn't seem quite right, and don't raise it, we could potentially get in trouble ourselves.

No idea what area you work in, but if there's anything risk that this person could be covering something up by working all the hours, you do need to flag it through the appropriate channels. Your manager could get in serious trouble for not paying attention to a whistle-blower, so putting it like that should start to kick them into action too.

Working excessive hours and during annual leave isn't being dedicated. It is either:

• covering up fraud/incompetence
• covering up inefficient working practices
• covering up ineffective management (workload balancing is a management responsibility)
• control freakery

If you HR department don't stop it, they're incompetent. I'd focus on getting a new job tbh, you won't win this battle so simply refuse to play the game.

Looks like you are being managed out of your role. Id be putting everything on paper and looking for another job