As a manager how would you deal with this?

[user237800]

A member of staff who has been a bit more blunt recently and refusing to do certain jobs that other staff members have left for her. After speaking to her she says that she has been bullied previously many years ago and as a way of trying to fit in she would do all the jobs no one wanted to do and doesn’t want that to be the case again so is now refusing to do certain jobs to set boundaries.

What's in their job description?

Why have the jobs been left for her? Are they the jobs no one else wants to do?

Are the jobs ones the person is expected to do? Are they being handed the shit stick in regards to tasks?

Setting boundaries is perfectly reasonable but she is expected to do so with professionalism and the boundaries need to be in line with her job remit. If she feels she is being asked to take on tasks that fall outside that remit then she should politely but clearly explain that, if needed she should refer to her manager. I would look at supporting her to be assertive while still maintaining a collaborative relationship with her colleagues. Look at how she can communicate more effectively with people what her remit is. Does she have a point though? Is she being asked to take on work she shouldn’t be doing because others are failing to get it done? Is workload an issue?

It depends. Are the tasks she is refusing to do within her job description? Are others refusing to do them too? Who is meant to do them?
If it is the case that the last person to say no is expected to do these tasks then create a rota so everyone takes a turn and expectations are clear.
All tasks required for the operation of the business should rest within a role. If there are several people sharing that job description then all tasks should be fairly shared out.

It depends are these actually jobs that have been “left” for her or jobs in her job description that she just doesn’t want to do? Refusing to do jobs that are in her job description is something I would be nipping in the bud asap, no one should be “setting boundaries” within their job description.

Can you make a clear rota or list for how the unpopular jobs are shared out and make sure everyone does an equal share.

Depends on job description and why jobs are left for her. Why are staff not completing the work if it’s theirs? Are they working as a team? What is the set up meant to be?

Id look at all the job descriptions and see if they reflect what the work actually is. Is the work being left in addition to her own?

Do you do annual reviews? What about probation meetings to check how it’s going? This seems like an issue about the team, but I’d make sure her JD is accurate and how work is distributed. She might be right or unreasonable. You need to check.

Is it typical to leave jobs? Are the jobs fair? Does she leave jobs for others? Are the jobs in her job description?
if she is being unreasonable you need to explain that setting boundaries does not give her the right to not do her job properly

There’s no information to go on here at all. Why are her colleagues leaving jobs for her to do? If she is refusing to do her job I would be giving her a warning. If she is refusing to do someone else’s job I would say good for her and give them a bloody warning.

Why are the other staff members leaving jobs for her rather than the manager allocating them?

How would I handle it? I would check and ensure that jobs were distributed fairly and as equally as possible.

You definitely need to investigate further. It could be that she is over sensitive and sees any little extra as taking advantage of her. Or that she is the type of person that people presume is a pushover and they are doing exactly what she expects. I think you need to find out exactly how things are being allocated and what the system is. If she isn't doing her fair share she needs to be dealt with. If another colleague is taking the piss they need to be dealt with.

Are you her manager? Why are other staff members leaving jobs for her? Surely the manager sets the jobs for everyone. Then all the crappy jobs are divided fairly and equally?

I am the manager but have supervisors in each department, the jobs are in everyone's job description but everyone is trained to a different level at the moment and she is the longest serving/most experienced. When the supervisors have left jobs for her she has always done them except last week when she had to delegate a job to some other colleagues as she had some urgent tasks that needed completing that had piled up on her days off (the job that she delegated wasn't completed).

In that case, she sounds entirely reasonable (and different from your OP).

Then i think she has a point and you should focus on training the other staff to a higher level. If she were to go off sick (or drop dead like one of my colleagues 🙁) your business will be vulnerable.

I'm with the employee here. Others (including supervisors) have been taking advantage of her experience, speed etc.

This sounds reasonable from her.

Those she delegated to, why didn't they complete things?

1 - Were they too busy with their own work?
2 - Not sure what they needed to do?
3- Refusing because she isn't someone they expect to give them work?

I'd say if 1, then you need to make it clear which tasks are a priority, and which can be left until it's less busy - for everyone, not just individuals. Some people are good at prioritisation, some are not.
If 2, there needs to be training- and as the most experienced, maybe she can help with that.
If 3 - either she needs to be given authority to delegate, or if she refuses to do the work because of her own workload, then the departmental supervisors need to know it's their responsibility to make sure someone can pick the work up.

The other option is not to do the work, which is obviously what happened- what were the ramifications of this? Some jobs need doing on the day, others need doing soon, but can wait till the next day. This goes back to everyone understanding their own and departmental priorities, so ot might need communication around that.

She sounds totally reasonable and not refusing to do jobs. She can’t pick up all the slack and do her primary function.

Why are the supervisors leaving those jobs for her? The she’s most experienced is not a good reason. In fact it highlights a weakness in the supervisor’s knowledge base that they either can’t do it themselves or can’t be bothered with mentoring other employees to gain the same level of experience she has.

Why isn’t her work load being covered on her days off?

That sounds like very poor management

If she's the longest-serving and most experienced, I expect she is thoroughly pissed off with still being in the lower orders and that upstart supervisors are giving her stuff to do when she's already at full capacity. She is obviously feeling really put-upon and that she has all the experience and responsiblity without any of the authority.

When was the last time she was promoted or given a decent pay rise?

She sounds like she’s being totally reasonable from the information given so far.

How can you change things so she is not being left all this work to finish off?

@user237800 The staff are not organising the work efficiently or effectively are they? It’s like an in-tray exercise. What’s urgent and cannot be left m? Do it first. Don’t let it pile up - make sure staff are resumed to do
it. Then look at how other work is distributed. This doesn’t seem to be a team effort. Letting work pile up because it’s allocated to one person who isn’t actually there makes no sense whatsoever. This is poor management and as I said, look at job descriptions and work allocations and make sensible judgements on what’s urgent and how people clear work and work together as a team. Accelerate training if people have a JD they cannot do!

Does her renumeration reflect her additional skills and experience? I think you need to ensure other staff are trained up and the tasks are fairly allocated.