Dealing With Difficult Co-Workers

United States
January 19, 2013 5:24pm CST
How do you deal with a difficult co-worker? I remember one time when I was working front desk at a motel. It was on a weekend and the manager was suppose to be out of town. There was a maid that when I would work front desk would come in late,wouldn't do her job and would even take things out of people's rooms. I had been complaining to the manager that this was going on, but yet my complaints were landing on deaf ears. This weekend in particular was a busy weekend. As usual this maid came in late, thinking that the boss wouldn't know, well the boss knew because he came in. I had told him that if he didn't fire her I would quit. Now, I was an asset to the motel, I did laundry, cleaned rooms and worked any shift at the front desk when either people didn't show up or if extra help was needed. Well, it ended up that the manager told me to go to the laundry room to help the girl in laundry. The next day, I was helping the manager find a housekeeper. I know that's an extreme way of dealing with a difficult co-worker, but she was caught in the act of not doing her job.
4 people like this
11 responses
• United States
19 Jan 13
I don't blame you at all. I've worked with many girls that just didn't want to work, so I did all the work. Um, no, not going to work that way. There was one young pretty girl who had a bad hip, so she limped. Everyone felt sorry for her including me because she walked so slow and it took her a while to greet the customers and help them. Eventually I saw how she was really milking this problem. Everyone would jump up and let her sit around. I kept watching this and thought to myself, is she doing this on purpose? I mean, I'm not stupid. So I kept an eye on her and was talking to my other co-worker/friend and she told me this girl said that she gets her own way all the time because people just feel sorry for her, so she doesn't really work that hard. I had her fired, or I should say, I fired her and told her not to come back. Found out later, she was fired from two other jobs because of the same attitude so I didn't feel bad in the least. Such a shame to take advantage of people like that.
@trisha27 (3494)
• United States
23 Jan 13
I have dealt with a difficult co-worker as well and eventually I got fed up with it and now I am glad that I am no longer working with that company. Because this lady could practically get away with murder and no one would care. But anyway, I would have done the same thing, if I were you, because that is just crazy that this lady just gets away with everything with coming in late and everything and the manager not do anything about it. Good for you for sticking up, and good thing at least the manager listened to you and it looks like he didn't want to lose you. The people that I worked with didn't want to lose me, they were like I was the best that they got, but hey they didn't blame me either for part of the reason for leaving. Because I couldn't put up with that ladies stuff any more. Anyway now that I am no longer there, then maybe she won't get away with all the stuff she used to get away with any more. Because now I am no longer there to cover up for her and clean up after. People have become frustrated with her too because she doesn't do her work on time, and I'm always good with time management. Well, now I don't know how they are managing without me and personally I don't care, but for one thing, I know it has to be a mess there. Oh well.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
20 Jan 13
What I think happened was that he knew about her and did not want to let you know. He had to catch her in the act, and probably had security cameras and questioned the other employees while pretending he did not hear anything. H has to make sure for himself that there is a legitimate reason to let her go, so that she does not wind up suing him. I probably would have done the same thing. By the way, did you happen to see that girl even a glance while you were talking to your boss? She might have been listening.
@AmbiePam (84668)
• United States
23 Jan 13
That's good that they liked you enough to make a change. You can't be blamed for getting tired of someone else's irresponsibility. The co-worker I had that was the hardest to deal with was a guy who got angry because I wouldn't go out with him. Oh man did he try to make things hard for me. But I was as sweet as could be and eventually other co-workers told him to get over it and leave me alone. Thank goodness I left that job because he was determined to get at me.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
20 Jan 13
I have one that in the past made working a living h*ll....so one day I started crying and my boss came in.....she asked me what the heck was going on....so we three went into the office and my boss said I could say anything I wanted.....so I turned to the gal and said....what have I ever done to you to make you hate me so much! She turned so red....then my boss lite into her and in all these years it's been good!
• Philippines
20 Jan 13
your action and decision to let your highest authority in your office know it. this is only proper to give her a disciplinary action according to the severity of the complaints toward her behavior and unprofessional ism toward her work. this type of attitude should not be tolerate. she only deserve it though the severity of the complaint and the penalty should only equal to the irresponsible attitude which cost the company and waste of time and money to keep her stay.
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
20 Jan 13
I am working in a 5 star hotel and we are very strict to all our staff specially those who are coming always late. Three times we give warnings, if they repeat again, termination of contract be their final decision. It's very hard to work in the hotel specially peak season. I am the supervisor of the housekeeper so I find hard to adjust those who are coming late. Your schedule be destroy, together with the assignments given to the roomboy. So far, no one of mmy staff come always late.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
20 Jan 13
hi stoutJodee Thats a good question. I used to work in the local library shelving media and they hired a new page. Marge who did not want o be a page but a clerk so she did half her work , l eft the other half to me, and then went in to the clerks office to hang around them and talk.Finally one day my supervisor came over to me and asked why I was not taking my lunch break. She asked whose cart that was that I was sorting and i had to teller the truth.,she asked if I was doing her shelving for her and i had to tell the truth. so I guess in essence I got her fired. but no she got came out in tears and told me I made her get fired but I said " No yuou made yourself get fired."Sometimes you have to j ust tell your employ er the truth no matter what happens.,
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
19 Jan 13
I am a firm believer in that if someone is outright not doing their job, they are costing the company money and I will not stand by to watch. While I do not wish to be open and outright front with it, if I can will anonymously alert the boss' to what is amiss. With that being said there was one time I was a cashier at a chain of dollar type stores. No it was not a dollar store. In any case, the key carrier had been stealing money from the register and seeing as I was the only cashier at the time, the blame fell to me. Funny as I was in fact finding money off the floor long forgotten behind things I would clean and hence putting it in the drawer itself. I was younger, mind you, so while it's wrong to do I didn't think anything of it. The thing is I was not stealing at all, rather contributing. The only manager at the time was the assistant as we had not yet been given a replacement for a manager. The assistant then started to count my drawer herself and realized I was telling the truth, that I had not been stealing but rather contributing a penny here and there. So she apologized to me, though half-heartedly, and the woman who had been stealing was talked to, reprimanded but not fired.
@jenny1015 (13366)
• Philippines
20 Jan 13
I could tolerate to a certain degree, but if it has become habitual or abusive, I need to take the next step. It is awfully unfair if I'd be working my butt off everytime and another person would not even care to come early and do her job.
@911Ricki (13588)
• Canada
20 Jan 13
I know that feeling, I use to work in a coffee shop on nights for about 8 years. I use to get teenagers who would want the money but not work. They did nothing, I would give them 3 strikes your out. I was the biggest biatch, the managers didnt want to listen to me. We had video tape she they had proof.