We just hired several new employees, to replace ones that were let go, and I have to say that I’m not feeling the love. I get along with most everyone in my department—the exception being two people that are relatively new. I have been in this situation before, and I don’t plan on making the same mistakes I did the first time.
The first time this happened to me, I ended up losing my cool and said things that made it awkward in the workplace from then on (this was at another company). I didn’t use foul language, or say anything that violated company policy—it was actually pretty tame, but I definitely lost my normal composure. The bosses did absolutely nothing to rectify the situation. Most bosses don’t want to interfere unless they have to; they don’t like dealing with conflict. This time around, I’m not going to say anything. I plan on just grinning and bearing it.
We have a pretty high turnover rate, and I’m fairly sure that one of us will be let go within the next couple of years. No matter who is replaced, we won’t have to deal with each other for that long. I knew these guys were trouble from the first day they started working.
The first guy showed up to work late for a meeting and then proceeded to actually close his eyes throughout the morning meeting—like he was sleeping. None of the big bosses were in the room, so I guess he thought he could get away with it. With me, it was a terrible first impression, and one from which he never recovered. I had a meeting scheduled with him later that day to go over my own role with the company. When I showed up for the meeting, he responded by saying that it wasn’t on his calendar (he referred to a sheet of paper) and asked if it was critical that we meet. He was sitting there doing nothing; he wouldn’t even get his computer until the next day. I sized up the situation and immediately made up my mind to avoid this guy at all costs. I said, “No, it’s not critical by any means, maybe we can schedule it for another time.” Since then, I haven’t done anything to help him out—much less meet with him. He’s still not sure about my role with the company, and I could definitely make his job easier, but I never volunteer my services. I leave it to him to work it out. I should also mention that we’re the same salary level, although we have very different work hours because he shows up an hour late everyday and leaves an hour early. Everyone else has also noticed his schedule, and the office is starting to talk.
The second individual made a good first impression, but as I got to know him I realized that this person was fairly incompetent. He constantly needs to be micromanaged, doesn’t understand how to use basic Office software, and is afraid to learn anything new. As a person, he’s fine. As a work colleague, he’s terrible. Normally I can complete the task faster if I just do it myself as opposed to taking the time to try and train this person. He never writes anything down and has used up more vacation in the last eight weeks than I have in the past two years. He seems to just be hanging around and waiting for retirement.
As I said before, I don’t plan on making a scene at work. I’ll just deal with it and avoid both of them as much as possible. We’ve all had these situations before, and I think that in this case, the best course of action is to simply not take any action at all. I’ll let you know how it works out.