Dealing with a nasty co-worker

rockvillemom
Sat, 19 Oct 2013 11:12:10 +0000

I honestly don’t consider myself her superior - we report to different people - but I have a semi- private office with a window on the perimeter of the office space and she is sitting in a center section of the office in an open floorplan with low cubicle walls, so I’ll let that speak for itself.

When I started, she was semi-friendly - but very clearly communicating her need to maintain control. My boss acknowledges that she is very moody and while finding her very competent at her job, not easy to deal with. My interaction with her has been so variable I could easily have whiplash! One day she is very friendly, the next day coldly business-only. She seems to have a very hard time handling any stress. Any perception by her that I am trying to prioritize her workflow or push her to complete a task today rather than tomorrow is when these emailed complaints to her boss and my boss go out.

She actually does a great job and I have no need or reason to push her, so when we have our weekly meeting on Monday - the 4 of us - I am going to make it a point to let everyone know I think she is doing a great job and see if that calms her down a bit. Business is slow right now and the company has laid off a few people - so maybe that is part of her stress, although I think I am more vulnerable than she is.

I have to add that she is mid-30s, not married, no bf I have ever heard her mention, no kids, and my perception is that she is very set in her ways and not at all flexible. I have no desire to escalate the situation, so I’ll be the conciliatory one, for now anyway.