How do I deal with a coworker who makes mistakes?

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Forum -> Working Women

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Would you tell your boss if your co-worker makes a really bad mistake?

yes, of course I owe it to my boss

33%

[ 8 ]

no, you're not allowed

25%

[ 6 ]

Only if _______(be specific)

33%

[ 8 ]

tell her that next time I'll tell the boss

[ 2 ]

Total Votes : 24

amother

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 12:47 am

I have a coworker who is old enough to be my mother and from another planet! She has never really worked at all, only for her husband. She's slowly learning the computer but really has no clue on how to treat and relate to customers. She thinks evrything is "SHTIOT" and not important, like doing things perfectly for the customer and not making them feel rushed.
My problem is that she makes lots of mistakes and some of them serious. I tell her but she makes everything into "NO BIG DEAL, SO WHAT". I know if I were to tell my boss she may be fired, but I'm sick of dealing with this. I'm usualy the one to fix things quietly bec. otherwise she'll get into trouble, and I'm always redoing the work she did wrong. Other things the boss will never know unless I tell him. What should I do? Should I say something or not? I tried numerous times to speak to her but she laughs it off and says it's sooo silly, so what...

grin

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 1:02 am

I think it's your responsibility to tell the boss, since it's for the benefit of the company she and you are working for, as long as you're not telling him for your own personal gain (whether financial or otherwise).

red sea

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 4:34 am

This is probably a halachic question, I think you should aylor.

amother

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 8:42 am

OP here, my biggest concern is that I will be causing her to possibly be fired, and I know she needs the money. And if not, she'll hate me forever for telling. HELP!

Fabulous

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 11:52 am

First of all, she will not hate you forever if she doesn't know. I answered would only tell for specific reason. This is one of them. If the bad work is affecting your work and the company's bottom line on a consistent basis you are required to report it. Be nice about it but explain to the boss that you have been covering up for a while and trying to help her during this difficult transition period but she obviously needs more help than you can give her or is not willing to take advice from someone my age. If the boss himself trains her she cannot tell him things are no big deal. If she made a mistake a couple times and acknowledged it, it would be one thing. But it seems like she doesn't even care to learn, this is not going to get better unless she changes or is no longer with the company. Halachically she is "stealing" (don't know if it's the right word) from the boss by not doing the job he hired her for.

cindy324

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 12:52 pm

I am at a new job for only 2 months now. I've made some mistakes, minor ones, though, and when brought to my attention by my co-worker who was training me in, I listened and learned from it, and made sure to pay extra attention to my work so that it doesn't happen again.

I think it's completely callous of your co-worker to laugh off your concerns about her job performance. The next time she makes a mistake that can have a substantial impact on the business, andshe laughs it off again, you should have a real serious talk with her.

Tell her that while you like her and would love to have her stick around, you cannot be busy fixing her mistakes. You have your own workload, and she needs to start paying attention, because the next time she messes up you will not be there to cover for her and she will likely get fired. Maybe she's not aware of how much time you put into covering up for her mistakes. It's not fair of her to put you into that position.

red sea

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 1:03 pm

I just wanted to add- you are not required to fix her mistakes, are you?

greenfire

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 1:56 pm

what cindy said ...

just don't fix her mistakes - let the boss do it ... then you're still the good guy ...

chaylizi

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 4:09 pm

I'm a nurse. the mistakes we make at work can affect people's lives. I might very well have to report a coworker who put someone's life or health in danger because of his/her actions. otherwise I would be partially responsible if they made other mistakes and possibly harmed other people. I wouldn't report a coworker for using the internet if they weren't allowed to or something else less important but still against the rules.

rexie

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 4:14 pm

I would tell the boss. Besides for the fact that she is incompetent at her job, why do you have to fix all of her mistakes? You've got your own work to do! It's one thing if she messes up here and there, but since this is constant and she makes it out as if it's no big deal, you owe it to yourself, her and your boss to speak up.

ShakleeMom

Fri, Sep 26 2008, 5:23 pm

Last time I pointed out how the other gal was costing him his business, he complained to her. Then, she said something not true about me, and I got fired that very night. Don’t get into it. Just do yours. That’s what I would do, based on my past experience. Got a job? Getting a paycheck? Hold onto it for dear life.

Starhavah

Sat, Sep 27 2008, 10:11 pm

I would probably not tell my boss but I would not cover up for her and hope that her mistakes were noticed by the boss so that he or she would start handling it. Also customers complaining about a worker can cause her to lose her job, so do not help out there either (unless you are repuired to).

I have never been sucessful in discussing the problems of other workers with my bosses. When I was in college I was an EMT (ambulance attendant) and I went on a call with a another more senior EMT. When we got to the site of the accident there was an old lady sitting on the sidewalk. She had fallen and broken her wrist and her hip. They were both classic breaks. The other EMT should have caught them both, but the old lady was focused on her arm since the bones of her arm were visiably displaced. To make a long story short, the other EMT stood the woman up on her broken hip. She realized the mistake as soon as the woman stood up and she carefully sat her down on the gurney. Snce there were only the three of us EMTs and the old lady there no one was going to report this mistake. That night I told my parents and boyfriend about it. They were all horrified and insisted that I report this woman. What if she made a mistake when someone was having a heart a attack, etc. they insisted. I told them that I would take the brunt of the blame as the tattle-tale if I said anything. They insisted that people's lives could be at stake if this woman were allowed to practice without proper checks on her. Being young and impressionable, I went ahead and reported her. The boss went and told everyone else that I tattled. They made it so uncomfortable for me I quit.

Often I find that is the way the story ends. Catching a coworking in a mistake is like catching your best friend's husband cheating. No matter how much your friend wants to know deep down, she will stop talking to you over the incident.

Just my experience.

Star Havah

NativeMom

Sat, Sep 27 2008, 10:19 pm

When I was working in a Drs. office I had to train a new employee because I was having a baby. She kept making the same mistakes over and over and over again. I started complaining to another coworker because I was so frustrated. I don't know if I was hormonal or just plain annoyed but I felt I was waisting my time. After I left I found out they fired her. I never told my boss but I wonder if the other woman I worked with did...

mitsvaandmitsva

Tue, Jul 26 2016, 7:03 pm

Very hard situation. I was fixing or showing her the mistake with too much derech eretz. She is an older coworker as far as age. She says ocasion ally that she doesnt care if they fire her.After a while Slowly I let her trip on her own shoe laces. She never gets told off as much as another one would because mrs vip is related very closely to boss. If she touched a file I try to have her finish. I try not to touch it because its full of mistakes amd then the trace will show me as partner in the mistakes. And my company does tracing. Its hard. But Hashem has helped me and latelly Hashem gave me better brains (because she is not computer savy):when she asks if its ok I no longer go on the web to check for her. I tell her to call. Calling is a longer procedure but if she is not willing to learn computers better I dont have to be late at home or on time butblood pressure higher (for real) because of this stress. Its all because in the begining I was covering a lot her mistakes. And when I was covering it had to be very eidel because there are customers in front of us. To add to the stress. Most clarificstions tips warnings get emailed to me and another coworker and manager doesnt ever bother to cc on this vip. Its like she can do mistakes. She doesn't even check emails while the rest get so much to do thru emails. Whatever. Not quiting. Just I am more and more letting her trip on her shoelaces lately. So she gets complaints from management a tiny more than she used to. Why am I venting here? Because it used to make me very stressful.

oliveoil

Tue, Jul 26 2016, 11:04 pm

This thread is 8 years old...

mitsvaandmitsva

Wed, Jul 27 2016, 3:48 am

Haha. Didnt realize.

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