Posted by Racer on November 7, 2000, at 11:38:29
In reply to problems w/ co-worker, posted by kellyR. on November 6, 2000, at 20:37:28
After reading Rainwoman's response, I reread this, and see her point.
If you want to handle this yourself, rather than going to your boss, start out by recognising the main points here:
she's not your supervisor
She's not doing your job.
If she's paying this much attention to your work, she's probably neglecting her own.
So, you want to wonder why that might be, and you might approach it that way: "What is it about the way I do this that's really bothering you? You don't have to step in and do this job, so I just don't see why the way I do it should bother you so much?"
Now that I've said that, of course, I have to add something else:
Is it possible that the way you do your job impacts hers? Does she have to dig through mounds of misfiled documents? Fill out forms based on incomplete information? Cover when someone else complains? If it could be anything of that nature, tread lightly!
I guess, overall, I'd start out by asking her what the problem is. Not in an aggressive or defensive way, just to find out what's really bothering her. She may be feeling inferior and trying to self-medicate by criticising you. Maybe she's just an overgrown high-school cheerleader who has to put someone down to feel alive. Maybe she's just so nitpicky she can't help it. Maybe, of course, the way you are doing something interferes with the way she does her job...
Good luck!
poster:Racer
thread:2191
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001031/msgs/2227.html