Manager wants me to keep tabs on other staff members

[Polarbearflavour]

I feel really awkward.

I work in a small office (part of a bigger company).

The atmosphere is awful. My manager wants me to keep notes of any inappropriate comments made by other people, how long they spend doing personal tasks during work time etc so she can make a formal case to HR!

I don’t mind my colleagues and I’m quite friendly with one of them but I feel really uncomfortable. I’m allowed to work from home some days now as the constant chatting and disruption and telephone calls are driving me to distraction!

Most of the talk is baby talk as they all have children and I’m the only none pregnant one and it’s pretty much what I hear for around two hours a day and some pretty tactless comments have been made about my lack of a baby! Only my manager knows that I’ve had a pregnancy loss and conceiving problems before.

I’m not really sure the job is for me for various reasons anyway but I’m feeling like I just want to leave now and that my colleagues really won’t like me after this formal HR complaint!

Why don't you all go out for coffee (or whatever) and warn them all in a friendly way? It should nip both problems in the bud, they hopefully will reign themselves in and you won't have anything to report on.

Why have you been chosen to keep tabs, has there been a complaint made against the staff. If the manager knows that staff waste time and make inappropriate comments could she discuss it informally in a staff meeting or have confidential one to ones.

I wouldn't be happy to do this and I think I'd tell my manager I'm not comfortable with it. A colleague of mine did something similar and she ended up looking like a complete snitch and nobody trusts her. Your manager should deal with it and not get you involved

I would stay non-commital, don't mention the matter further to your manager and wait to see if they quiz you further.

If they come out with " OK let's have a look at your list of inappropriate comments and things you want to report" just say you cannot report anything. As far as you have been aware, you haven't heard anything specifically of concern.

If they give you a hard time personally for that, then I would seriously consider getting another job.

Forcing staff to split on each other is a sign of a toxic environment.

I’ve already applied for a few jobs.

Everybody I speak to says the manager is temperamental and fussy. She thinks she is professional and she likes things done a certain way. But I don’t think that creating a toxic environment is professional!

The office is so much nicer when she isn’t there!

Don't get dragged into doing the managers dirty work and being the office brown nosing snitch, if she has issues with the staff she needs to sort it out in a professional way and not ask you to get involved and I suspect it's a bitchy place to work anyway if everyone is talking about other people all the time and slagging off the manager. I'd just look for something else.

Don't do it.
I know someone in our office reports every bloody thing to one of the managers. I've seen her 'spy' s/sheet. None of the others know and are going to have issues of trust when they find out. It won't help make the atmosphere less stormy.