My co-worker and I are legal secretaries to the same boss. She makes quite a bit more money than I and knows her job well, but when the boss is away -- which is most of the time -- all she does is play. She’s on the phone, comes in late and takes extra long lunches. When she talks to the boss about what has been done, she always says "I" instead of "we." I have been working extra hours and taking work home to meet a deadline while she has been playing around.

How do I tactfully let the boss know she is not truthful about who does the work and that she’s taking advantage of the situation without being a tattletale?

--Fed Up

Dear Fed Up:

Because you share a job, your beef is with your partner. So first talk to her about how you two work together. Start off discussing the nature of your jobs -- which is that of a team and entails working toward the same goal.

Outline the responsibilities of the job and establish your goals. Then set up the ground rules on how you’ll accomplish that. Decide who does what, when and how and what happens if one of you can’t meet a deadline.

After you agree on how you’ll work together, you can evaluate how it’s going.If she’s sloughing off, talk about it. Tell her specifically about the time she agreed to write the Joe Blow correspondence and didn’t or the papers that never got filed. You might have to adjust your arrangement. She might have some gripes herself. But quit taking on the load by yourself. Instead of the martyr, be a leader by working this out.

Let your boss know how you two are working together. Depending on how things go, he may see for himself how she works.

© by Andrea Kay