My least favourite colleague has returned to work

[nodoubtinmind]

And I’m in a grump about it.

They palm off their work onto others, distract everyone and are just genuinely unpleasant to everyone else. When they’re in, the office feels like it’s on eggshells because of how they act.

It’s been such a pleasant few weeks and now it’s shattered 😫

OK - what are you looking for from this thread?

To be told I’m not unreasonable to be grumpy 🤣

Don't accept the work when they try to palm it off.

While easy in practice it’s not possible in reality because it just doesn’t get done otherwise

Why haven’t you reported this? I’d be bloody unimpressed if one of my team were doing this and want to know so I could address it

The managers know.

it’s a tough situation. Lots of factors at play but the end result is the team suffers

You don’t have to passively accept it. Have a phrase and use it eh I don’t have capacity to pick that up for you. Unpleasantness or distraction tell their line manager. Don’t walk on eggshells.

And that's on them.

I recently started doing it when a colleague (senior to me but not my boss) started emailing me to ask me to "pick this project up". I spoke to my boss so that it didn't fall between the cracks, gave my reasons, then stopped responding to the emails.

He was trying to stitch me up with projects that he'd way under-quoted for.

Just keep pushing back. It's not fair otherwise.

If Managers aren’t doing anything keep reporting and if need be go tier above.
You don’t have to do extra work.
If they are being rude you don’t have to put up with it call them out.

Did you do this?

In my head!

In all seriousness - so what? What's the consequences for that? And for whom?

If it doesn't get done by that person, let them take the consequences of their inaction. Or throw them under their own bus.

I work in the public sector so sadly, people will suffer if the work isn’t done.

As do I, and have done for 25 years, but sometimes you have to let someone visibly fail to get managers to act.

It’s like when your most loathed colleague/boss goes on holiday for two weeks and its bliss, and then they’re back 😡

Well, so what? If it's not being done, presumably someone managerial will investigate, and find the culprit.

But it’s not you letting them down it’s your colleague and management.
If you haven’t got capacity to do his work then tell him and if you are concerned it’s not getting done and public are suffering tell/cc a a manager.

Yabu.

Just stick some laxatives in their coffee when they aren’t looking.

If you are public sector there’s probably free courses you can go on to help your confidence and assertiveness in workplace. There’s all sorts where I work not just technical courses.

You are enabling this colleague and your managers to slack. Choose what you want to do about it.

Oh, definitely YANBU - they sound awful!

You say it’s been a few weeks. Has she been on holiday, or “off sick”? I wouldn’t mind betting it’s the latter.

Document each and every time you end up picking up a task, complete with details of any tasks that ARE you responsibility that slip, or would have to slip, as a result. Your managers want to bury their heads in the sand and hope it will all go away - that she’ll either magically pull herself together or just see the writing on the wall and quit. Don’t let them. Be a nuisance!