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Assertiveness in Work
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
So I am struggling in work...
I confided in a colleague today that I feel I am being singled out by a supervisor. I work in a very busy environment, where we get a lot of stressed customers and where the workload is extremely high. My team is fairly small, so say if somebody is off sick, we have to carry the workload between us...
I'm currently having trouble with a staff member, who supervises my floor. I feel often like she singles me out.
For example, I was doing online training the other day and she bought two customers along to me. I told her I was doing training, that they should see somebody else (as a lot of people were free), but she brought them over and just put their appointment cards on my desk leaving me to deal with it, meaning I couldn't get training done.
She always comes to me... I'm not joking. And the things she makes me do would take her just a few minutes to do herself. I have a bust back to back diary, but not everybody else does...
One time she got me in my lunchbreak and started telling me how my 1:30pm appointment was there waiting for me and I had gone on my lunch. I argued that I had no 1:30pm appointment but naturally, I was wrong. So I left my lunch early to find somebody who missed yesterday's appointment and who I told to come in before 1pm sitting there.
She could have asked another collegue to see him.
Today she got angry, saying I shouldn't have gone on my lunch because I had people to see... But I had already run 30 minutes in to it and the people who turned up were late and missed their appointments.
Procedure is that if you're late and miss it, you wait, as we are entitled to lunch break and I would have had no other rest today (as I didn't have another break). I was also covering somebody else's diary, so need a break...
I told a colleague today and he said that she's a strong woman and I'm quite 'reasonable' and he thinks she reads this as vulnerability... I usually just do things and don't argue... I don't mind doing a bit of extra work and it's unfair on customers to be flinging them from colleague to colleague.
The fact is I am hard working, but I am working my way in to the ground. I'm just stressed and unhappy at the moment and she is always at me...
But I don't know how to tell her to lay off me because I am starting to wonder if she's taking the piss or something...
I don't want trouble, but I do want to be able to do my work effectively and I do want the workload to be shared...
What do I do?
I confided in a colleague today that I feel I am being singled out by a supervisor. I work in a very busy environment, where we get a lot of stressed customers and where the workload is extremely high. My team is fairly small, so say if somebody is off sick, we have to carry the workload between us...
I'm currently having trouble with a staff member, who supervises my floor. I feel often like she singles me out.
For example, I was doing online training the other day and she bought two customers along to me. I told her I was doing training, that they should see somebody else (as a lot of people were free), but she brought them over and just put their appointment cards on my desk leaving me to deal with it, meaning I couldn't get training done.
She always comes to me... I'm not joking. And the things she makes me do would take her just a few minutes to do herself. I have a bust back to back diary, but not everybody else does...
One time she got me in my lunchbreak and started telling me how my 1:30pm appointment was there waiting for me and I had gone on my lunch. I argued that I had no 1:30pm appointment but naturally, I was wrong. So I left my lunch early to find somebody who missed yesterday's appointment and who I told to come in before 1pm sitting there.
She could have asked another collegue to see him.
Today she got angry, saying I shouldn't have gone on my lunch because I had people to see... But I had already run 30 minutes in to it and the people who turned up were late and missed their appointments.
Procedure is that if you're late and miss it, you wait, as we are entitled to lunch break and I would have had no other rest today (as I didn't have another break). I was also covering somebody else's diary, so need a break...
I told a colleague today and he said that she's a strong woman and I'm quite 'reasonable' and he thinks she reads this as vulnerability... I usually just do things and don't argue... I don't mind doing a bit of extra work and it's unfair on customers to be flinging them from colleague to colleague.
The fact is I am hard working, but I am working my way in to the ground. I'm just stressed and unhappy at the moment and she is always at me...
But I don't know how to tell her to lay off me because I am starting to wonder if she's taking the piss or something...
I don't want trouble, but I do want to be able to do my work effectively and I do want the workload to be shared...
What do I do?
0
Comments
If worse comes to worse take a dump on her desk when she's out and look for a new job.
It sounds like she knows you will do it without arguing so she is taking advantage, it's probably the easy option to ask you to do it as she knows what the others will say if she asks them. You should remind her of the law as you should not be expected to work through lunch, especially to help those that failed to keep to their appointment times. In fact I would suggest that she toughens up to the people that turn up late because if they keep getting away with it they will keep doing it!
Have you had a look at your company's grievance procedures? You may find that there is some useful information to help you in there.
Good advice. Also, depending on the size/nature of your company, they may have a formal Anti-harassment and Bullying Policy. If so, there may be an informal route to resolving this issue without resorting to a Grievance. Often a person exhibiting bullying behaviour will not have realised the effect their behaviour is having. In any event, one of the first steps towards any resolution would be to talk to the supervisor frankly about the distress her behaviour is causing you. If you have a sympathetic workmate, most anti-harassment policies would advocate taking someone along to the meeting as a witness to the discussion. Though, if you do take someone with you, it is important that they remain an impartial witness rather than become embroiled in the dispute.
It can be really hard when you get a clash of personalities at work - when someone's working hard and is happy to help out if someone's off ill (like you are
It sounds like you've got a really good attitude towards your work and customers so it's a real shame that this is being exploited. Good luck and keep us updated!
Tbf, the past couple of days I haven't had much hassle. But then I have changed my ways... For example, if I go on lunch I say to her I have checked my diary, I have no more appointments, anybody who turns up is late and can wait. So hopefully no more trouble then...
Maybe if I look more stern too lol:p
I have an assessment coming up. I wanna bring up that the medical team said they are to go easier on me because I have a learning difficulty/disability, but am scared I will be kicked off the team because I am a liability. I have trouble with training in a busy room for example...