Situation: It's Friday afternoon, 4pm. I go over to ask a co-worker a question about a Canada sales tax issue. We discuss for a while, then he suggests we ask another co-worker for her suggestions. We go over and explain the situation. Her response - "Why are you bothering me with this at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon?" I make light of her comment, stating that no one wants to be at work at 4:00 on a Friday. She says, "Yeah, I'm surprised YOU'RE still here". I try to stick to the matter at hand and say, "I feel the change in the sales tax filing warrants an adjustment to the AP system since we will need more detailed expenses. The change will be in effect for 7 years and anything to simplify and automate the process will allow us to capture accurate information quickly." She dismisses my suggestion, stating that there will be NO adjustments to the AP system for a temporary change in filing requirements and mutters something about the suggestion being absurd. I say nothing, and walk away.
What is my next step? I know this isn't the first time she has been rude to a co-worker. Should I ignore it? Maybe she was just having a bad day. But my suggestion deserves consideration. 7 years, although temporary, is long enough to implement an adjustment to the system. Okay, so I can't ignore it. I discuss the situation with a long time friend and fellow employee and she said the employee handbook states I should confront this person and try to work it out between ourselves. I also let me boss know the situation, without naming names, in the event we cannot work it out between ourselves and HR needs to be involved. Then what?
The article How to Handle a Rude Co-Worker gives step-by-step instructions on how to handle such a situation. So far, I have completed Step 1 - Don't go on the defensive. I'm on to Step 2, and Step 3 will happen tomorrow. Hopefully, that will be the end of it. I have never had a problem with another co-worker, until now. I'll keep you posted.
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About Me
- Lisa
- I have been in the Accounting/Finance/Tax field for over 14 years and absolutely love it. Just recently I have discovered my true love - taxes. I'm currently employed at D&B as their Sales/Use Tax Manager. I'm married to my wonderful husband Joe and have 2 children - Richard is 19 and Gabrielle is 12.
I haven't figured this out yet. I tend to be very vocal and direct, so I would have had no problem issuing her a direct response back. However, I also found that my Italian hotheadness doesn't always come in handy--so I play the sweet kill them kindness routine. Amazing, how quick their reactions on their face change and how they begin to question how they acted. Then when you see her again, be really nice again and again and again. to the point, it really kind of annoys her but I bet you- she will start to be a tad nicer. good luck with that!!
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