Bad Coworker- Critical Position. Your Opinion on How to Handle?

In My Humble Opinion
1

First, a teeny bit of SDMB background: I’ve asked for opinions here before. Sometimes it was a little hard to take, but I have gotten very good advice and it was sometimes hard to listen to, but I promise you I did always listen. Sometimes I took the advice even though my very soul was crying out against it…and I have never regretted it. So, thanks for everything, all, and here is another one which shouldn’t be so difficult as it is not for my personal life, but a situation at work.

Problem background: There are two of us here who are responsible for maintaining this system (ERP system? Like Oracle FinApps or PeopleSoft or JD Edwards or OutlookSoft Everest). Two. Me & her. It is a massive system which basically the entire sompany runs on, everything from accounting to human resources to purchasing, etc., etc., etc. Normally, there are 4-10 people supporting this. 4 is they are gurus, more if not. She has only about 4 years experience in this system, myself, I am just learning it, about 7 months’ worth which does not qualify as even barely competent…OK, maybe barely so. Point is, we are severely undermanned and severely undertalented.

Here’s the problem: She is melting down. Over the lasst few months, she’s gotten ruder, cruder, and louder. This I can take as I have a very great amount of tolerance. But, twice now, she has shown up at work drunk on her ass.

I can ignore her drunken ravings (last time, she pounded a keyboard so bad she broke it). That’s not the problem. Focusing on the company, though, we HAVE TO HAVE SUPPORT for this system. It will be a long time before I am able to do so by myself…actually, one person couldn’t do it, but could at least hold back the rising tide until someone else gets on board…and we can not afford to lose her right now.

The company’s hiring process is very long and the software in question is a “niche” product and there just aren’t many people in the world who know it. My focus is on the company here.

I don’t “squeal” on coworkers, but I really think I should tell my manager what is going on. If this woman shows up drunk and gets seen by the wrong people, we are gonna be in shit city.

Do you think I should give my manager a heads-up on this, informing him of the crisis with a clear “I’m not accusing anyone, and this converstation never took place” or should I keep quiet and just silently pray? Or…is there another option? I really, really, need some feedback.

(Talking with the coworker is not an option, in my mind. She doesn’t listen to anyone, preferring to interrupt and talk about how wonderful she is…it is literally impossible to have a give-and-take conversation with her about anything even as mundane as say a recipe. She will NOT listen to anyone, she’s in her own world. How she got hired to begin with is beyond me)

Note: I am OK with working with her, I’m not asking for advice on how to handle her, that’s OK. I’m just scared spitless that she’s gonna get her ass fired before we get another knowledgeable support person out her. Which would be very, very bad.

Once again, as always, thanks is advance for any advice. And as always, I WILL listen to it and will quite likely take it!

-Harry

2

Somebody somehow needs to wake up in your company if that is the real situation. The whole place can go down the tubes if she does something malicious, stupid, or the gremlins just get the upper hand.

I hope you have someone above you who will listen.

If the company does not care enough to make sure that something so important is not taken proper care of, then you have even bigger problems and probably sooner than later.

Good luck.

I would find someone higher up to give a heads up to even if you just warn them about being way understaffed and don’t bring up the co-worker at all.

I recommend doing something.

YMMV

3

Yeah, this is precisely what I am afraid of. They’re (I think) doing the best they can given the circumstances, but…

I think what I need to do is clarify things so they will know that right now the alarms are ringing…

Question is, though, what’s the best way to do this? So many ambiguities (sp?) here. I guess the whole thing is in 2 parts.

Part 1 is they don’t know this.
Part 2 is they’re trying to get an expert out here, but it is hard. There are maybe a hundred people in the world who really, really know this stuff from soup to nuts. Sorry 'bout the cliche.

I will be OK whatever, it’s not about my position/career and I am not a “company man,” either. I’m just thinking in a fiduciary responsibility way. They need to know that the volcano is rumbling…

thanks for the input…

4

Does your company have an Employee Assistance Program? This is a program, typically free to the employee and absolutely confidential in terms of what goes on, that provides counseling and refers to specialists. In one sense your company would probably have no trouble finding a way to dismiss this person for cause, but if that’s not going to happen, or at least not yet, having a manager refer her to the EAP could be a good idea. If you mention this to your manager, you can just say she has been behaving erratically. Mention things like yelling, mood swings, not staying on the topic of conversation. That is, if you want to bring it to management’s attention without making the accusation of drinking. You may know for sure she was drunk, maybe she told you or whatnot. However, there are some health conditions and medications that can also cause erratic behavior, and even a smell of alcohol, so if you don’t know for sure it’s best to just describe the behavior and let management make the decision on how they want to deal with it.

5

Yes. It’s a no-brainer. This isn’t usual petty office bullshit. It isn’t passive-aggressive stuff that’s difficult to pin down. She has shown up raving drunk twice. That’s a huge fucking transgression.

You have no other choice.

6

Mmm, yes we do have an EAP. We are encouraged to use it.

I like your suggestion of not just assuming she is drunk…Erratic behavior <> drunk, this is a good point.

I’m not afraid of her finding out I was the one who ratted her out, I’ve had probably two decades worth of experience in kicking ass. She’s a mere amateur at that, so don’t think that is my concern. It’s just that I know I can’t change her behavior, so only she can do that. I don’t want to contribute to further degeneration is all, but I think I have to let management know that we are teetering on the brink her unless something is done.

We just can’t lose her, and I do think that we are doing so. I sometimes wonder if this is not just her way of “arranging things” so she can leave the island without having to actually make the decision to go.

(footnote–I know from what she’s told me that it is the first time in her life she’s been really without a SO, she has a 16-YO daughter in the states whom she misses terribly, and just quite frankly, single living on Kwaj is not having a healthy effect on her. Just to be fair, there are legitimate issues here.)

((and just to be more fair, I have been VERY careful to not post my views on soming to work drunk; not a moral problem, just a concern on the effect on the company and its customers. this is not a moral issue or lecture))

7

It sounds to me like there may be some major stress going on here. If there are only the pair of you maintaining this installation and it really needs more as you say, and as she is far more experienced and likely to be taking the bulk of it on her shoulders, then she may well have been pushed to breaking - or at least close. If you are the only person who has noticed this (and your management is remiss if they haven’t) then you have, in all good conscience, for the sake of this woman’s health and the company fortune, got to let someone know.

I can’t offer specific advice to someone who lives in a different legislative environment, but don’t play up on the drunk thing. Your colleague needs help, not censure.

8

I just read this after I posted. It doesn’t seem to me that your motivation is entirely concerned with the good of the company.

9

Another vote for discussing this with your manager. As you said, it’s not a “ratting someone out” issue, it’s a serious company survival issue.

10

Well, just to elaborate on that. Please look at the context. What I was trying to say there, and probably didn’t do a good job of it, was that I was not in any intimidated. My concern is the opposite of what postulated…I am ONLY concerned with the company and its customers.

Her behavior I am not in any involved in, save as a worthy human being and that is outside of work…in work , I am only concerned here with the potential consequences of her being forced to leave us. We absolutely have to have her.

Other than that, please rest assured that I just don’t have any other concerns here. No underlying issues. Unless maybe you’ve uncovered some issues I’m unaware of…and I mean that sincerely, it has happened in the past.

My concern is in NOT losing her. I have no problem with backing off here, please believe me, and I would much prefer to do so. I can get another job or whatever, I’m just thinking of our department and our customers (i think–this is where you all come in))

Thank you for the input—I do need to have alternative opinions.

11

First of all, you owe it to your co-worker to let her know that what she’s doing is not okay. Don’t be accusatory, just say things like: “Don’t you think you should tone it down a little?” or “Hey, can we try to keep it professional here? If you need to vent, we can take a long lunch today, but I need you to be 100% here when you’re here.”

Beyond that, this is the kind of problem that they pay managers the big bucks to handle. The EAP is a good first step, but you need to have a lot of this in writing. Send an e-mail on the company system to your supervisor, and then forward the sent note to your personal e-mail account. The note should say something like “I’d really appreciate it if I could meet with you about hiring more staff for our XYZ system. I think <coworker> is not handling the stress well, and the longer we go without extra staff, the worse things are likely to get.” Follow the note up with a call to his secretary (?) and ask to meet with him for ~15 minutes. The key is to bring him a solution: “We need to hire an expert in XYZ soon, even if you have to pay more than the industry standard. Coworker is cracking, and I can’t do it myself at any price. I’ve checked the listings on a few sites - you might ask HR to call the names on this list. If you can send me and an HR person to ABC conference coming up, we might be able to find some folks interested in jumping ship.”

12

The problem that I see is that your department is severely understaffed.

(Worrying, but not surprizing - companies can be fools)

I would raise that problem with management, after discussing it with your cow-orker, if you do it in such a way that they have to look into things, then they’ll talk to her and probably realize that she is turning into a flake.

I would frame a memo in terms of there being insufficient cover if either of you take leave or either of you have an accident. By stressing that you cannot cover for her, down to system knowledge/experience, you’ll push the focus onto her.

Probably they have a sort of contingency plan involving flying out a highly paid consultant from the supplier of the software, in which case you need to focus on the areas that consultants would find difficult to cover.

Going to management and sticking the boot into her could well be misinterpreted, regardless of your motives, people tend to think the worst.

13

You need to tell the boss. Point out that you’re doing this because you’re worried about your coworker/trainer and about your (collective) ability to provide the service the company needs. Your coworker needs help (for whatever reason) and the sooner she gets it, the better.

14

  1. How the heck can a manager not know about a problem like this? Just what does he/she do to ‘manage’ anyway?

  2. This is a massive, critical system to the company, necessary support staff is severely understaffed, obviously stressed out and “melting down”, yet nobody is paying attention to this problem? What the heck are the managers paying attention to?

  3. “The hiring process is very long” – meaning that the bureaucracy has taken over the company.

Forget that crap – focus on yourself!

Get your resume up-to-date, and start shopping it around.
Be ready to jump ship as soon as this co-worker melts down to the point where she is canned or committed or quits, because otherwise you’ll be the one left running madly trying to keep it working, and won’t have time to find yourself a decent job. As soon as you get a decent offer, go.

Frankly, if this company is as dependent on this system as you indicate, it doesn’t sound like the company will last long. (Unless it’s a government agency, or a utility or similar business without any real competition.) You’re better off leaving the ship at a time of your own choosing, rather than waiting until the ship sinks underneath you.

Sorry to be so pessimistic, but that’s how I see it.

15

I had to find Kwajalein on Google Earth; Google Maps doesn’t have enough resolution of the Marshall Islands to show the island. That done, I can see why she might be coming apart. She’s a single mom, living half a world away from her daughter on a rock with only 2,500 other people. I might drink if I was in her shoes.

Yeah, I’d talk with your manager about her. She needs help, and your department needs help keeping things going. Quite frankly, while businesses don’t like to take on added responsibility, I think that it would be good to help her with whatever she is going through and it might be good to help her with any transition she may make.

Also, I have to ask, why is a software support role placed in such an isolated location? It seems inefficient when the jobs could be placed at any sort of mainland offices that the company has. I would assume that more people would be willing to work in Australia, Japan or the US than in the Marshall Islands, and they would probably do a better job for less.

16

I think more than one person is being irresponsible and your coworker is more responsible than your management.

You are critically understaffed. What if, instead of drinking, your coworker got in a car accident? Had to take family leave to care for her ill mother? Came down with mono? Quit suddenly?

The fact that she is flaking out is bad - the fact that you are so understaffed that having one person leaves puts you into a tailspin on your ERP system is such irresponsible management that they should fail their next audit. At the very least, they should (assuming they can’t get a human being ON the Marshall Islands) have a contract with someone to support the ERP remotely from the mainland. You can be the hands. (As cornflakes says, what the hell were they thinking putting support for an ERP system somewhere where they couldn’t get talent to run the darn thing?)

I’d get the hell out of that company as fast as I can. And I wouldn’t worry about your coworker. Companies this dysfuctional don’t listen anyway.

17

If you think this is a new thing you could try being supportive to her as well. A million miles from home, with a very small social circle can really suck. Someone in your position, just from your proximity could make her world a much better place. Find a couple little nice things to do for her, birthday cards, offer to get her coffee/lunch/whatever. If this is a recent development, just knowing someone gives a shit about her could save her life.

Allow me to second Tbonhams forget the company. If more than 3 people work there they will most likely trudge on without you for years even if the two of you both disappeared tomorrow and the customers would never know. You are more likely to see improvement by helping your coworker than helping the company from the sounds of it.
If anything, sounds to me like time to be asking for a raise since losing you would be problematic for them as well. If this software is as narrow of a niche market as you state, sounds like digging in and getting a few years of experience at it could easily turn you into a very highly paid consultant yourself in fairly short order.

18

I would let the manager know that she is showing sign’s of aprroaching meltdown and that they should look for themselves. I’ve been in a department where low hiring and high drop out over a 6 month period had the two employees that remained working 12 shifts being worked 6 days a week for two months. Extreme ego boosting measures by the owners and their actively seeking solutions that the employes knew about, were the only reason they still had an employee in that period. Overworker never was allowed to casade to that point again. The sooner they know the situation is getting worse the more can be done to stop a cascading effect. You know the place you work at best, and know if the manager will do something constructive with the information.

19

For what it’s worth, your situation made me think of the book Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide to Doing the Right Thing. The book might read to some as a sort of wafflers manifesto, but it does offer reassurance that the really big decisions are usually complex and require a well thought out decision, usually benefit from the counsel of others and often call for some some creativity.

I don’t anything about know your coworker’s personal life, but it sounds like she’s in a lot of pain, and while you may eventually be able to jump ship, you are there right now and the department will be in a lot of pain if she melts down completely before the end of the month rush. I’d begin by talking with your boss and suggest that the department get HR and the EAP involved and have a plan of action in place before discussing anything with your coworker.

It sounds like her behavior may be due to depression or homesickness. Counseling might help, but I’d bring it up as being a suggestion for help, even if your company decides that she needs to “see a shrink if she wants to stay on with them.” I’m not an expert, but she may need friends more than she needs to be pushed.

If she misses her daughter, then maybe she could go home to visit during a slow period, or maybe her daughter could come out to visit (hey, it’s a big trip for a sixteen year old!) That said, her being a mom and not having custody of her daughter raises a caution flag for me. It shouldn’t, but mothers tend to get custody more often than fathers do, and she has shown up at work drunk. That said, it might just be that she wants her daughter to finish high school in the states. I certainly don’t know her situation, and I’d suggest that your boss (or you and your boss) might need to know a little about it before looking at his/her/your options.

20

I can’t help but feel some sympathy for your co-worker - how can your management not know what they’re asking of her (and you, too, but you’re the junior)? How can they expect her to handle it indefinitely without cracking? Yeah, tell them what’s going on, but don’t expect them to care too much or change things. Your management sounds like stupidheads.