Re: FWD: Anecdote on secretaries, etc.

[Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM>]

An anonymous poster wrote about a problem with a co-worker who treated her
like a secretary, concluding:

"Unfortunately, guess who recently transferred back? And guess who is
trying to use me as his personal assistant again? This time, however,
I'm not putting up with it. Now the only question is how long it will
take for him to get the point. I've already handed stuff back to him
with very direct comments. ("This isn't my job. This is your
responsibility.") He's still trying. I sense that I will be taking an
even more direct approach with him soon."

Give this guy one more chance. Tell him directly, "I'm not your secretary. I
have earned the right to be treated as a professional. If you have a problem
with that we can go together to discuss this with our supervisor."  Then ask
point blank if he thinks you're his assistant. This is no time for subtlety.
If he says "no", then you can say "Good, then I won't be getting these
requests again, right?"

If he doesn't quit, ask your manager to sit down with the *both* of you, and
discuss this situation. Going to the manager by yourself may help, but this
way you know what your manager says to your co-worker, and if there is any
unclear area, it can be addressed without being filtered by someone else.
The goal here is to come to a meeting of the minds about what
responsibilities are whose, and to make sure the manager is aware of the
problem.

Good luck,
--Beth

Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
65 Allstate Parkway, Suite 100  Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R 9X1        Fax: (905) 513-1419
mailto:bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com    Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com

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