Conflict at work

[Monzo1ss]

How would you handle this?

There’s a person in the department I work in, who is constantly a bottleneck, ie doesn’t complete work. I just report this back to my manager, as I cannot complete my work until they do theirs.

So the manager I report to has been chasing that person for updates, assigning them tickets on Jira etc. I have just documented the issue on Jira as directed where relevant, but kept a distance myself.

Anyway today, out of the blue, I was pulled up by the manager of the data team. He asked for the manager I report to and I to stay on at the end of another meeting. When it was us 3 on the call, he was basically like any further communication needs to go through him for triage and that I am basically causing this person stress.

I felt thrown under the bus, because the communication has been from my manager, not me, but I was being made out to be the issue(?)

In the 5 min call we agreed to go through him. But I felt my manager could have backed me up, ie by saying something like she had asked for updates not me. Instead she mostly kept silent. So I felt, this criticism of me was unfounded.

Contact HR and your rep tomorrow first thing

I think going to HR at this point would be a bit enthusiastic, but I would want to get what has been agreed in writing so you know what you are expected to do and not do.
People may not know but Jira is a software mechanism where pieces of work are recorded and can be used to check progress as above. If what I am reading above specifically means you are not meant to do this on Jira or record his items as blocked, I would specifically ask by email if this is what you are being told. I would also state that you will follow this and understand that this persons work is no longer to be tracked by you and any blockages caused by lack of completion will be handled by their manager. This may have an implication to on time delivery which I would flag as well.

It’s possible there’s more going on with your colleague than is visible and their manager is trying to resolve that.

It could be something impacting their work or that their manager needs to know so they can manage performance. If an employee says they are being caused stress at work, then it would be considered how that can be alleviated.

I wouldn’t take it personally. It doesn’t sound like it was criticism of you particularly? Just asking for a different method of feedback.

Don’t take it personally - there may be more going on than you know. It may even be that they’re looking at your manager’s performance. Follow up in an email with your manager and the senior manager to say something like, ‘Thank you for our very useful conversation yesterday and for finding a way forward. As agreed, our next steps are…and I will…I am very pleased to be working with you to resolve this issue’.

At the meeting did you explain what has gone on, including the work delays, that your manager has communicated directly with the person and that your manager asked you to raise JIRAS?

Depending on the management arrangements and ways of working, your manager chasing the person directly and asking you to raise delays that way seem faux pas at best. Rather than speaking to the person’s manager about the problems and going to them on delayed tasks.

Also depends on what your JIRA updates said!

Would do something along the lines of @rookiemere ‘s suggestion.

‘I am pleased’ wouldn’t be true. No need for insincere fluff

It could well be true if it resolves the situation. What is also does is create alignment so everyone in the meeting is positioned as being on the same side and suggests that the OP is working alongside management as part of a team to resolve the issue.

It’s clearly not true in OP’s case, as the recipients would know having been in the meeting. Saying that would be insincere at best and come across as passive aggressive.

Your suggested wording was all fluff.

I otherwise agree with the approach of emailing that@rookiemere and you’ve suggested.

I would also add when it gets to the point that a piece of work is blocked by non delivery of this person, I would email the details to your boss and their boss. “As per our conversation I am not updating the ticket, this is to flag that blockage will lead to late delivery of this item, which will impact overall delivery date for Y.”
I suspect at that point they may change their minds about no chasing up late delivery.

Are you putting them as 'blocked' on Jira?

Did they say you personally were causing the person stress, or did they say the situation was causing the person stress, and you took it personally?

If the former then speak to your manager and let them know you’re happy to follow the new process but you were a bit upset as you rarely chase the person.

If the latter then no need to email a rambley recap or anything, just start emailing when needed - it sounds like your manager will be the main one doing this so won’t have a massive impact on you?

I don’t think problem employee’s manager has said don’t chase up, he still wants the employee chased up but via him rather than directly.

Which I (perhaps incorrectly) think it sounds like he wants evidence of how much chasing is needed of his employee.

If a ticket is assigned to me then sure, or I’ll raise a ticket unassigned to flag a major blocker. However, I don’t touch tickets assigned to him. He doesn’t update Jira, aside to say something is still being looked at, so there’s zero visible progress. I then get pushed to give an update during meetings as they have daily progress calls, so I just say it’s with him/ask him.

Btw, I’m not even early career or anything! It’s such a micromanaged, strange environment. I am an external consultant as well so luckily I’m not there permanently.

they raised specific things I did which was:

• forward him meeting invites such training that another team put on, or work-related calls, that he didn’t need to be on and he felt his attendance was pointless as he could not contribute
• I just said I asked him if he wanted me to extend invite in advance, and he said yes so I was following his instructions
• plus in writing ie the meeting forward request I said I was sharing to be polite, there’s no pressure to attend, share with team if better suited etc so I just said to his manager that he’s always been given the opportunity to decline and teams has that built in functionality
• plus the meetings I shared with him were “nice” in the sense of, he wasn’t expected to contribute but just being made aware of what was going on

secondly they were suggesting that I contact him too frequently with work, so it definitely came across that I was being complained about

Also so far I’ve just taken the approach of putting all discussions on Jira & getting the person I report to do their job & chase.