IF you were faced with this situation, and trying to keep a pleasant work environment,, what would you do?

There is a coworker, who has admittedly been there several months longer than you have, who seems to mostly have the job of filing papers. There is a superior, who is training you, who teaches you procedures and rules that apply to the position he does(a position you would like to be qualified for).

You must work closely with this coworker because, in an office of only six people, you are the two who have yet to earn supervisor or management roles.


In the short time you have been there(two months) you have been trained on many different things, well enough that your supervisor can often leave his desk to accomplish other tasks while leaving you to 'cover' the desk alone, and you feel confident and flattered by it.


BUT, the coworker(who has more seniority in terms of who has been there longer) constantly shadows you and asks you why you are doing the tasks given you by a supervisor or manager. She talks your ear off about how you should be just filing as she is because the rest is 'not your job' and she constantly hovers over you and asks you questions whenever she gets the chance.

You dont want to hurt her feelings, you dont want the work environment to become anymore uncomfortable, but she really becomes a distraction when she is there.....how do you handle it gracefully?

Shank her.

lol..


Even though we sometimes disagree, I really loves me some RUTH,,,

Sorry I don't have better advice for you. My brain is fried tonight. I'm sure others will come along with a less drastic solution.

having a good laugh was worth it,, thanx

Tell her the truth, the supervisor told you to do it. She is obviously jealous of you.

Tell her you don't mind doing the extra work because it makes the day go faster and you prefer to be busy

it sounds like she doesn't have enough to do if she has time to be bothering you...not good....for her I mean

excuse yourself and walk away when possible - with the "I'd love to chat but I have to crunch these numbers...." or whatever

do not feel obligated to answer her questions ^ same as above

Ditto......... That plus tell her you like learning new things. The more you learn the more of a chance one has to move up as well as raises..

I have always been lucky I guess the last office job I had for 12 years and now the one I have now I've been the only in the office. I don't have anyone hoovering over me or questioning what I'm doing or why I'm doing it...

excellent ideas,, and good for keeping the peace, which is important to me,,,

Every time she comes over to ask questions, say "Oh, you're not busy? Here, do this ..." The questions will stop.

lol,, another good idea,,,

Say things like, "Don't worry about it". Smile and say thank you, that's a great idea but you've got it under control.
She probably feels threatened by you and wants to be needed even if you don't need her. Offer her candy every time she butts in. If all fails sprinkle sea salt around your area to ward off negative energy .

She's probably on her way out the door soon anyhow, and she's feeling the heat. Hence she is looking to just get under your skin to make you slip up. The more you outshine her, the more she realizes how unstable her own situation is. If she was good at her job, then maybe they would have let her train you instead. But....they didn't. So don't let her get to you.

I like the "it keeps me busy" idea, but I would keep an eye out for any backstabbing, such as misfiling, or even not filing, papers then blaming you for it. That's the downside of using the "it keeps me busy" line - some people use it as justification to pile more of their own work upon you. It may suck, but all you can do in that situation is straighten her mess so she can't make you look bad. As long as you don't allow her to do that, then the bosses are likely to show her the door soon enough.

I would just tell her that you are doing the job that your boss has asked you to do and if she says it "isn't your job" remind her that whatever your boss tells you to do, is your job. When she asks questions about what you are doing, mention you would rather she ask the boss to train her when he/she has a chance because you aren't qualified to train since you only started. If she tries to tell the boss that you don't know your job, tell the boss about her telling you not to do anything other than filing.

Good to see I am not the only one who believes honesty is the best policy.

Just say you were asked to do the tasks by your supervisor. You're not obligated to get into the details. If she's been there for a long time, yet has not been trained on other things, there's likely a reason. If she has a problem she should take it to the manager.

I would let your supervisor know what she is saying to you. I worked with someone like this once and after I left, I found out that she wanted my job. I don't know what this person's intentions are, but just play if safe.

This cracks me up so much I
can't concentrate hahahahaha

To the point.

When you work in an office with other people
the level of ambition differs greatly.
Some will want to benefit fom your abilities
which may be far better than theirs.
Coat-tailing as it were.
Talk to you about what you are doing as opposed
to doing something on their own.
Tis the nature of the beast.

I would be kind.
Show by example how a good employee handles
distraction. (You may have to flash
your 'STFU' badge.)
They might be your boss one day.
Then, of course, the shank is an option.