What would you do? Poll

[Home'scool]

I work for a very small law firm. 2 lawyers and 3 support staff.

 

My desk is in the reception area, so I am kinda off by myself, and everyone else is down the hall and around the corner.

 

The two paralegals sit next to each other, with a small shelf between them. One woman has worked here for 10 years, the other for 20. The woman who has worked here for 20 years reads her Kindle during work almost every day, for hours at a time. She strategically places it so it is half buried under some paperwork, and holds a piece of paper to look like she is reading that.

 

This bugs the other co-worker to no end. There is plenty of work to do, and her and I are quite busy with things, but she literally reads all.day.long. When the attorney asks her to do something she huffs and puffs about how she won't be able to get to it this week and makes everything she does do look like it is just the most labor intensive thing ever.

 

The way her desk is situated it is impossible for anyone else to catch her at reading. The co-worker knows about the Kindle because she sits there all day. If anyone else comes along she just quickly covers it up.

 

The co-worker does not want to say anything to her directly because this woman can be weird and difficult and she is the one that has to sit over there with her by herself.

 

I told her to tell one of the attorneys and let them handle it, but again, she is worried what the result will be.

 

It is really frustrating the co-worker tho, because both her and I work very hard, along with the two attorneys, and bringing money into the law firm is a weekly hurdle. With only 5 people working here, everyone impacts the bottom line.

 

So, do you just let it go and mind your own business because she has worked here for 20 years, or do you let the two attorneys know?

[Jen+4dc]

It is your business because it effects everyone's bottom line $$ and your stress level at work.

I'd be careful how I approached the atty, though. You don't want to sound like you're complaining or being a snitch (even though you are;)). Maybe someone here more tactful than I can help with how to approach it. (I'm the one friends call when they need someone to yell at their cc company.:tongue_smilie:)

 

Good luck!

[bolt.]

I'd let someone know, saying something unemotional and business-like, maybe about my "observations" about my co-worker's choice that impact the productivity of our group and unduly burden other workers.

 

However I'd be cautious about strong statements like "all day long" (she might actually be reading the various other strategic papers in turn), and I'd also be cautious about the accusation of intentional camouflage -- say it like you aren't certian (maybe she's allowed to multi-task, but it's always out in view, but easily covered).

 

This softens it to 'providing information you might want to act on' rather than a 'request for you to solve my co-worker conflict' -- presentation matters. A lot.

[Night Elf]

It would depend on how close you are to the attorneys. If they are pure business contacts with you, it would come across as tattling. If you are a bit more personal with them, talk about things outside the office, I'd approach them and just say you feel bad for saying something but you and the other woman are picking up her slack and you just don't feel it's fair. But even if you're the one to tattle, the 20 yr. veteran will blame the 10 yr. veteran and their relationship can become strained.

[bettyandbob]

How much do you know about the 20 year employee? What is her relationship with the attorneys.

 

Small law firms are hurting. The attorneys should be looking at the bottom line. I know my brother's firms sheds staff--maybe not as quickly as they should, but they do get rid of people. Sometimes they've hung onto someone a year or so beyond when the person was not producing. This leads to the fired employee being a little surprised because they got away with not producing for a while. My brother does try to have "chats" with problem employees before he fires them. I think he delays his "chats" too long and the employees are often entrenched in delinquent behavior and can't seem to pull themselves together.

 

Maybe you want to ask that evaluations be based on comparison of production.

[Tess in the Burbs]

is this the kind of woman who if told you know she would change? Or after 20 years she's the kind of person who doesn't want to work and telling the attorney would be better?

 

I personally think if BOTH of you went and had a meeting with the attorneys about your concerns it would go over better. You could even present it as you aren't sure what she's reading on the kindle but if she wasn't supposed to you just wanted to let them know. But I think since both of you know, both should tell.

[Catwoman]

Before you rat the woman out, make sure she's not best friends with one of the attorneys' spouses, or a distant cousin or something.

 

If one of our employees was reading her Kindle all day, we would want to know about it, so I do think the woman needs to be reported, but I can't help but wonder why you're the one stuck doing it, when the other employee is the one who is so angry about it.

[Laurie4b]

Not an easy answer. Lots of wisdom required.

 

I agree with PPs:

 

It is your business, because the bottom line is being affected.

 

Know office politics (who is allied with whom and why) before making any move.

 

Absolutely agree that you do not state the teeniest thing beyond what you know. It discredits you. She could be someone who kind of needs a break to continue heavy mental work and it's hard to know for sure how often she is reading the Kindle vs. reading papers. Surely she gets something done or it would be obvious, right? There is something that doesn't add up there.

 

I don't know what exactly should be done, but I do think that these are the key things to consider.

[HappyLady]

Could you maybe put an anonymous note in your boss's mailbox? From my experiences, I'll never be the one to personally get involved in ratting someone out ever again. It only came back to bite me in the @ss.

[RoughCollie]

Are her hours being billed to clients? If so, I'd definitely tell the attorneys. If she isn't working and has sufficient billable hours to satisfy them, then it is possible clients are being billed for hours for which work was not done. If that is the case, the attorneys will want to know about it.

 

Otherwise, I don't know what I would do. I worked at a big company as a senior cost accountant once. When I left that job, they had to hire 2 full-time and 1 part-time person to replace me. Part of that was because I never wasted company time and worked 55 hours a week. Part of it was that there was one accountant who rarely did any work.

 

I didn't have to tell anyone about the lazy accountant -- everyone knew about it and the boss refused to fire him because they were afraid they would get sued.

Edited October 19, 2012 by RoughCollie

[dirty ethel rackham]

I voted tell the attorneys, but what I would really do is, next time she huffed and complained, I would say aloud to her and her boss that she would have plenty of time if she didn't read her Kindle at her desk for hours at a time and make more work for the rest of you. I'm in a snarky mood today:).

 

ETA: After I settled down a bit, I realize that it would be best to gauge office politics first. But, it really gets my ire up to see this kind of behavior rewarded year after year. That is why I have no desire to work in an office ever again (probably will sometime, though.)

Edited October 19, 2012 by dirty ethel rackham

[ChristyB in TN]

I would tease her mercilessly. "Whatcha reading?" " I see that kindle, can I bring mine, too?" In my office we just say it and let the chips fall where they may. I think it is honest. Don't let it fester, just call it as you see it. If she is someone's cousin, you won't be the person who tries to go around her and paint her in a bad light.