On-the-Job Primer
Answers to Questions about Workplace Issues
The following are questions and experiences you might face as a new job hunter or as someone who is currently on-the-job. The answers will help you understand and navigate the work environment.
If you have a question about work that you would like answered, please visit the Ask the Author page to find out more information about how to submit your question.
Q. What should I do if I sense co-workers are jealous of me?
Unfortunately, jealousy in the workplace is as common as jealousy outside the workplace - with friends and family. Jealousy is such a basic human feeling as people tend to feel they need to be better than others, or work better than others, and especially that they should be given recognition over others. However, jealousy is not a good human characteristic and it could lead to some very unpleasant outcomes.
You are probably asking this question because you are sensing some of those unpleasant outcomes. Jealous co-workers may do things such as putting others down, talking behind their backs, refusing to cooperate with co-workers, holding back work, etc. A person who is the victim of jealousy needs to remember the importance of remaining professional at all costs. This means you have to ignore the remarks, and be creative in trying to win cooperation from the jealous person. This is not easy, but in the end you and that jealous person may even become friends. Many times, jealousy results from an individual lacking self-esteem. If you befriend that person, and make him or her feel comfortable that you are not a threat, the manifestations of jealousy may actually disappear, or at least ease up.
I experienced jealous co-workers all through my career. Their jealousy took different forms. I still talked with them, worked with them, and cooperated with them even though I knew they might not like me, or even try to belittle me. It was sometimes not easy to deal with, but in the end I got my work done, and remembered what was most important - I had a job to do, and I concentrated on getting that job done to the best of my ability.
Q. What should I do if I see a co-worker stealing in the workplace?
A. When you see a colleague doing something like this in the workplace, it can be very disconcerting. You don't want to be considered a "rat", and yet it is very important to uphold the integrity and ethics of the workplace.
Stealing anything in the workplace is wrong, especially if it relates to someone else's equipment, money, or other possessions. You should bring this type of behavior to the attention of your manager. Your manager should know how to deal with it without implicating you as the one who brought the matter to his or her attention. Your manager will probably have ways to involve security, or other appropriate person, in watching this individual and ultimately catching him or her in the act.
Q. What if I take a summer job and within the first few weeks, I realize that I don't like the work and I'm not happy to be there?
A. We don't always like what we do at work, and sometimes we realize that we have accepted a job that we are not really suited for. In the case of a summer job, unless you have another job opportunity, and since the job is only for the summer, I would make the best of it. Not every job, nor every aspect of a job may please us totally, but this is what life is all about, and we have to learn to adjust to sometimes disappointing situations.
Even though you may not like your summer situation,it's important to realize that you are still gaining valuable work experience. You may look back a few years from now and realize that you learned important workplace lessons in that job.
Just be careful that you don't let your performance slip if you are in such a situation. Sometimes when one doesn't like where one works, there's a tendency to not want to work as hard. You may not feel motivated. However, it's very important you try to do your best. You may need a reference from this job to get the next job. In addition, sometimes when we put our good efforts into a job, we may be surprised that we are given more responsibility, and then our feelings about the job may turn around.
In the meantime, try not to worry about the possibility of not liking your summer job. Try to focus on finding a job that is most in line with your interests and skills. In that way, you can have more confidence that you will be happy in that job.
Q. "A co-worker at work openly criticizes my ideas. How should I handle this?"
A. This is one of those very disconcerting experiences in the workplace. A co-worker's criticism of your ideas could be based on jealousy or bad humor. It is bad taste and unprofessional behavior for any employee to criticize another open. Even if one's ideas may not be the greatest, a professional employee would never criticize a co-worker in front of others.
The best strategy to handle this situation is to discuss your feelings with the co-worker about his or her open criticisms. You need to let them know how you feel in a calm and professional way, in private, and that this type of criticism is making you very uncomfortable. You should ask them politely to cease this type of behavior. Once you confront the co-worker - always behaving professionally and calmly - the co-worker should back down.
Employees should never hesitiate to express ideas, and they should feel comfortable doing so. Managers value employees who express ideas, and it is your manager who is the important judge of your ideas. Keep those ideas coming!
Q. "Why is everyone doing drug tests now?” (Alex, Massachusetts)
A. Alex, I remember when drug testing started. It was about 20 years ago in mostly large corporations and health care facilities. Today, most large employers will ask you to take a drug test. Most states and local governments permit a business to conduct a drug test as a condition of employment. However, the employee must be told in advance that he or she must have a drug test in order to be employed.
It’s important that an employer know that you don’t do drugs. Young people that do drugs cannot perform their work optimally. Even when an employee tries to hide drug use after he or she is hired, it is common for the employee to have more absences and lateness than other employees. When you are applying for a job, an employer wants to ensure that he or she is hiring someone who will do their best at the job they are hired for. Anyone impaired by drug use cannot do their best, and employers are also taking a risk that a person who uses drugs might steal from others or from the company in order to pay for drugs.
I had two experiences with staff who started to take drugs after being on the job awhile. At first, I didn’t know why their work was starting to falter, and then I was tipped off by some other employees about what was going on. Unfortunately, one individual who was doing cocaine had to be let go, because she began stealing from the company to support her drug use. The other individual eventually asked for help, went for treatment, and came back to work and began to excel in his work once again.
Q. I am working in a part-time job and doing my best at work. However, my co-workers are goofing off a lot and getting away with it. What should I do?
A. This can happen in the workplace, and it is unsettling to the worker who is dedicated to his or her job. In most cases, when you see co-workers goofing off, it is very likely that your manager also sees this. You may not be aware of it, but the workers who are not doing their jobs might receive a poor performance review, or may ultimately be given a warning prior to termination if their behavior is interfering with their productivity.
If the “goofing off” becomes very distracting, or is getting in the way of your own work and productivity, it is time to address this issue confidentially with your manager. You want to be sure your manager knows that you are not part of this behavior and wish to do your job. Be professional when you go to your manager. Tell your manager that you are trying to do your job, but are distracted by others who are not paying attention to their work. You may not have to name names, but it will give your manager an idea that things are getting out of hand, and he will take care of it from there. Your manager will know that you are responsible and want to do your job well.
Q. "Why can’t family go in the same register line that you are working?” (Jasmine, Massachusetts)
A. Jasmine, I assume you’re talking about working at a cash register in the store and you have been told by your manager that he doesn’t want a family member going on your line. If that’s the case, there could be a few reasons for this. The manager might have had a situation where a worker did not charge the full amount to a family member for her groceries. It could also be that maybe workers at the cash register have stopped to talk to their families and it created a back-up in the line. It could just be store policy that, in order to avoid any type of fraternizing during work hours, or wrongful behavior at the cash register, the store set a policy to avoid any of the above situations.
I remember once I went into a store where a friend was working the cash register. I noticed she was very formal with me and I thought it odd. Later on when I talked to her, she told me that she had to treat everyone the same, and that she didn’t want her boss to see her talking to me too much, especially with other people behind me on the line. So, I can understand why your manager may have this policy in place. In the workplace, we have to be sensitive to “conflicts of interest” meaning, taking care of someone you know perhaps better than someone else, or putting someone we know first on line, when others should go first, or giving someone we know a job, rather than someone who is more qualified. The policy of your store is probably set to avoid these conflicts of interest.
Q. I am working for a manager who I feel is not very nice to me. I do my job, but sometimes he criticizes me in front of the other staff and it’s embarrassing. What can I do about it?
A. Not every manager has good management practices. While every employee should be open to constructive criticism and understand what he or she needs to improve, it is also important the manager approach that employee in the right way.
If the criticism is appropriate, the manager should not criticize you in front of others. He or she should bring you into his or her office and explain what it is you may be doing wrong. Most managers will not criticize you without reason, but some managers are human and sometimes you can be at the receiving end of a manager’s bad mood.
In this case, ask to speak to your manager privately and explain to him or her that you are embarrassed that he or she criticizes you in front of others. Tell your manager that you are open to improvement, but are very uncomfortable with how you are approached. Hopefully this will make your manager more aware of how he or she approaches you with criticism, and the open criticism will stop. If you feel that your manager is overly critical, also ask him to explain what you may not be doing right. Be sincere about wanting to correct any issues, and tell him or her that you want to maintain a good working relationship with him or her.
Q. I have a summer job in an office and have been given very simple tasks to complete, such as filing, writing short letters and bringing mail to mailroom or to other offices. I’m getting very bored and feel like I can do more. What should I do?
A. This is a common problem of young people in summer jobs or high school students working part-time during the school year. Employers realize that you are new to the workplace, and usually give the most junior tasks to new employees. Employers usually watch how you work very carefully, and if you are quick in what you do, and do it well, they will usually add more tasks to your workload.
If you just started that summer job, give it a little time to see if your employer adds to your workload. If your employer doesn’t add to your duties, and you feel you could be doing more as you observe what goes on in the workplace, you can ask the employer if there are other tasks you could help with. If you see a particular thing you can do and would like to do, mention this to your employer. This will show your initiative, and the employer should be pleased that you have asked for more work.
Q.I just started volunteering in a hospital and I am working with a lot of different people depending on where they need me each day. I am embarrassed that I can’t always remember the names of the people I work with since I have met so many workers already. How can I get better at remembering names?
A.I have actually experienced this problem. When I worked in a large company as a manager, I met a lot of people from different areas. Sometimes I would not remember their names the next time I met with them. I tried to “fake” it by just saying hello and hoping that someone else would call them by name. Sometimes it worked. A better way to remedy this is to try to associate something about the person with their name. For example, you meet Helen and Helen has short black curly hair. Try to make a mental note of that, and maybe even write it down.
If you are new on the job, it will still take time to get to know everyone by name. You may even remember them at first, and then forget their name again. Try to relax about it. You will get to know everyone in time.
Q. I am working in a very hectic office and have been given several jobs to do at once. How can I work on all of them and do them all well?
A. Whenever you are given multiple tasks to do at work, you must first know what jobs are the most important to complete first. If your manager has not prioritized your work, but just handed you one thing after another, you need to speak to your manager and find out what are the priorities. Those tasks must be tackled first. One mistake many employees make is that they don’t ask questions. They try to tackle everything at once, or just one thing, and maybe it’s not the right thing to start on first. When you ask your manager how you should organize your work, you are showing initiative and good judgment. It will also help to reduce the stress of handling a lot of things at once. You will know what you need to tackle first and then go on to the other work.
Q.“How do you deal with a difficult co-worker or supervisor?”
(Yvette, Massachusetts)
A. Yvette, the first thing to remember is that no matter how difficult a co-worker or supervisor can be, you must always respond professionally. Difficult co-workers or supervisors are one of the major challenges everyone faces in the workplace at some point in their lives. I would be able to answer this better if you could give me an example of how the co-worker and supervisor are difficult because each case can be different. In the meantime, I can give some general advice:
Depending on the circumstance, you may just have to deal with the difficulty the best you can. This means not talking back to a co-worker or supervisor, but remaining professional and patient. If you think that the co-worker or supervisor is approachable, you can think about speaking with them privately about what it is that is bothering you. Think about how these individuals are being difficult, and how you would like their behavior to be different. The ideal situation is for you to approach the difficult co-worker and ask to speak with him or her privately. Explain how their behavior is affecting you. This should be done in a very calm and professional way. You can say something like, “I feel that what you are doing / saying is affecting how I am working. I would like us to get along, and work together better.” Hopefully the co-worker will realize that he or she cannot “throw his or her weight around” or not be cooperative. Sometimes I found that if someone was not nice or cooperative with me, if I just kept being nice and helpful to them, somehow they got the message and starting behaving better towards me.
Regarding supervisors: I have experienced a difficult supervisor and this is how I approached it. I asked to speak with her privately and told her nicely that I was upset by her behavior toward me. My supervisor never liked her staff being out sick. In my case, I had a few months of poor health that was unusual for me. When I came in from a few days out sick, my supervisor was very cold and short-tempered with me. When I went into her office, I closed the door and told her that I realized I have had some problems with health lately and that I was doing my best to manage my health. I then pointed out all of the work I had been doing in the office. Nothing had fallen behind. I told my supervisor that I was dedicated to my job and wanted to support her in every way. As soon as I entered her office and began speaking with her, her attitude immediately softened. We talked very calmly. She realized I was a good employee and told me that her manager was looking at her staff’s absences and that’s why she was concerned. In the end, we worked together very well.
Whenever you face difficult people at work, the key is always to be professional. Remain calm, even though you may be boiling inside. Assess the situation you are in. Think it through thoroughly before you act. In the end, you’ll find the right time to address the individuals who may be uncooperative.
Q. I’m an 18 year old female, and a few weeks ago I started working in a part-time job in a large office. There are some other students working there also, both male and female, but they are not very friendly or helpful to me. In fact, I feel like they are purposely ignoring me and don’t want me part of their group, even thought I say hello and try to talk to them. It’s making me feel very uncomfortable. What should I do?
A. Unfortunately, this is something that can happen when you start a new job. This is something that happens when you are dealing with immature or jealous co-workers. Fortunately, it is not very common, but it is very disconcerting when you feel like an outsider.
When you have a clique or group of employees that are around the same age as you, and you are new to the workplace, sometimes this group might be threatened by you. Maybe they fear you will be better than them. Maybe you got a job that they wanted. There are many reasons for this type of behavior. It is really very immature behavior. However, usually things will get better. Gradually, as this group gets to know you, they will “invite you in”. Maybe it will start with one or two persons from this group beginning to talk to you or help you in what you need. Then, the others will usually follow suit.
In the meantime, you need to remain professional. You need to say hello and talk to them, even if they don’t start the conversation. If they are talking about something that you know something about, join in the conversation. They’ll begin to listen to you and you’ll probably find something in common. Above all, don’t let their lack of sociability get in the way of your work. The most important thing is that you pay attention to your work. You will find that you’ll meet other, more friendly people at that job as time goes on, and you’ll want to develop a good working relationship with those whose cooperation you will need the most.
REMEMBER THESE IMPORTANT TIPS ABOUT DEALING WITH WORKPLACE CONFLICTS
- Never lose your temper or speak crudely to another employee or manager
- Assess the situation fully before you decide to speak with a manager or co-worker about a situation
- Always address workplace issues with an individual in a private area. Do not discuss conflicts in front of others.
- Always be the professional, even if others don’t act like one.