If you’ve ever heard of the phrase ‘snitches get stitches,’ you probably believe it’s not okay to rat someone out. Even if someone isn’t working well, doing something bad, or being a bully, most folks would rather turn a blind eye than be called a snitch. But what if there’s no other option left?
This happened to a cleaning lady who decided to complain about her lazy coworker. Unfortunately, her boss did not take kindly to her ‘snitching’ and threw a curveball that she definitely did not expect.
More info: Mumsnet
Woman works up the courage, after 6 months, to complain about lazy cleaning lady’s actions, receives a rude message from boss calling her a ‘tattle tale’
The poster explained that she and her coworker cleaned a restaurant and that they had no supervisors, which is why the other woman slacked off at work and left things messy
The restaurant management kept complaining about the mess, they blamed and threatened to fire both workers, which was unfair because the poster had been doing her job well
After trying and failing multiple times to confront the lazy coworker, the woman complained to her boss, but he got mad at her and called her an “annoying snitch”
The woman was shocked by his response and wondered whether the boss was related to the other woman and if that was why he refused to do anything about her behavior
We spend nearly a third of our lives at work, which is why it helps if we actually enjoy what we’re doing. It’s so clear that the post’s author was unhappy at her job because of her good-for-nothing coworker. Despite raising her concerns with the woman and giving her the benefit of the doubt, the lazy cleaning lady did not make a single change.
Surveys have shown that 70% of employees believe having work friends is very important for their happiness on the job. Unfortunately for the OP, she seemed to have more of a work enemy. After 6 months of being blamed for her coworker’s messes, she finally decided to tell her boss about it. But her idea backfired when the man responded with the rudest message possible. He called her out for snitching and told her he didn’t want her to blame the other woman.
What can someone even do if their boss doesn’t take their concerns seriously and shouts at them for speaking up? To help figure this out, Bored Panda contacted Kristin Hiemstra, the founder and CEO of AlightSuccess, an empowerment coaching platform focused on career and personal development. Hiemstra is also an adjunct lecturer in management, innovation, and entrepreneurship at NCSU Poole College of Management, with expertise in creating organizational culture, employee engagement, and emotional intelligence.
Kristin shared her take on the woman’s message and her employer’s response. She said: “as with anything, the first step is to reflect, why does her boss have that opinion of her and is it warranted? Secondly, cleaning jobs as well as many service jobs are notoriously difficult to fill. Her boss likely does not have anyone to replace the coworker with so it is in his best interest to keep the lazy coworker, even when she is doing minimal work. In his mind, a bad worker is better than no worker.”
“Legally, she doesn’t have much of a case but this is a huge red flag about this individual’s management style. Clearly he is the type of person who blames and attacks others in order to deflect taking responsibility,” she added. It was obvious from the boss’s message that he had no plans to confront the other cleaning lady and expected the poster to pick up the slack.
Most folks don’t have the guts to do what the OP did. A study found that only 10% of employees speak up about underperforming coworkers; most choose to stay silent. This woman had the courage to hold the other cleaning lady accountable, and what’s more, she waited 6 months to do it. The poster had tried everything, right from bringing up the issue with her coworker directly to telling her boss. Nothing seemed to work.
That’s why we asked Coach Kristin if there was any other way the worker could have made her complaint known. She said, “the best way to handle a situation like this is to create an opportunity for the boss to discover the colleague’s shortcomings themselves so that you don’t have to say anything. If that is not an option, then set up an appointment to meet with the manager, explain what is happening and how you have tried to address the situation on your own, and then see what the boss does.”
She also shared that she “had a client who was tasked with working with the supervisor’s nephew. The nephew had a terrible work ethic and didn’t do any work, leaving the man to do two jobs. When my client complained, he was told there was nothing to be done since it was a family hire. My client went and found another job and the company manager was shocked he left and then very sorry once he realized the level of incompetence he had forced the man to deal with. My client couldn’t figure out how the manager didn’t know that was going to happen.”
I think we all can sympathize with the OP. It’s incredibly unfair to do your job well but be blamed for another person’s laziness. It would be amazing if the cleaning lady could find another job, but that’s easier said than done. The only option left would be to go above the boss’s head and reach out to his superiors (if he has any). What do you think the woman should do?
Let us know in the comments, and tell us if you’ve ever dealt with incompetent coworkers like this.
People were annoyed at the woman’s boss and told her she should find another job immediately
