Struggling to keep my cool . . .

cecilyandgautam

You may remember my post a few weeks ago about disengaged, absentee coworker. Well, I finally figured out a way to bring it to my boss's attention and ask for her help in addressing it so I could focus on my other tasks - that conversation went really well and she said it just confirmed what she had already noticed. Coworker has now been back from his vacation for a few days and he's still showing up at 10am, leaving by 4:30, as far as I can tell, hasn't been given any new responsibilities and I'm still shouldering 80% of the portfolio, will probably have to work after DD goes to sleep tonight . . . and I am just fuming. I can't stand the sound of his voice. When he comes to my cube to update me on his one piece of work, I really have to force myself to be polite. I know I have to give it more time, this won't get fixed overnight, and I shouldn't carry this resentment around - but any survival advice in the meantime? I can over hear him planning some boondoggle right now and I am so mad. 

2chatter

Just focus on doing what you are doing.  The conversation with your boss whet your appetite for justice, but the wheels are slow to move.  Other than patience, I don't have much to offer.

Curls218

Since he's just back from vacation, are you able to pass anything to him to handle?  I know his work ethic isn't great, but maybe even giving him a few small tasks could help relieve you of some of the burden.

I'm glad your boss had noticed it too and is keeping an eye on the situation!

asyph107

I know it is really hard but keep it up! It will be worth it. The conversation with your boss was great! As someone who deals with hiring and firing, it is really important for your boss to be careful in her actions of monitoring and tracking this other worker. It could take a while for change to develop. 

Just know you are doing the right thing and it will pay off.  

jnnfrrose6

I would make sure my boss continues to be aware of the problem.  They've already acknowledged it, but now that the coworker is back from vacation and still not shouldering responsibility, you should be able to continue the conversation with your boss.  While it won't get fixed overnight, you also don't want to give it too much time.

cecilyandgautam

Thanks for the reassurance. I kinda just need to take a breath. 

In response to the questions, I can't just hand over tasks to him because he's rarely here so even if he accepts a task, he'll suddenly miss 3 days of work and I have to take it back on and when he does accept tasks, he does them so poorly that people come back to me asking what this is and why did I let it go forward (fyi - I'm not his supervisor). I'm thinking about reading that Lean In book to see if it has any inspiration.