Hate my job, mainly my co-worker, what to do?

[Nickbrapp]

I’m a tech working on a site with one other person. He’s the site lead and been here 10 years, I’ve been here just under a year. I cannot stand the bloke, he’s so pedantic, likes things done “his way” questions almost everything I do and does so much unnecessary work.

We work closely every day and there’s no other option as we have to work in a team most of the time.

The problem is I love the company, the pay, holiday and benefits are unheard of anywhere else in my industry ( fire protection)

I’ve known from very soon after getting here that I don’t like the job, but I’ve tried to keep going, I don’t dread coming here in the morning but I clock watch until I go home.

Now the logical thing to do would be ask for a transfer, I’ve already looked on the internal job page and there’s nothing around,

Is it worth talking to my manager and basically coming clean with him? I don’t want to put my job in a situation where it’s under scrutiny. My manager seems like a decent bloke but you can never tell on the inside.

Am I just being stupid or should I just bite the bullet and speak to my manager?

[LemonParty]

It may be worth having a talk with your manager - you never know, your predecessors may have been leavng every few months for the same reasons.

However, it may also be that you manager thinks the sun shines out of your colleague's backside, so it's difficult one to judge really!!

[TheAngryDog]

Hammer frozen cans of redbull into their lawn..

On a serious note, I'd tread carefully. As said, he could be well in with the manager and that could become awkward for you. Good luck with your decision, but I think it stems down to either put up with it or vote with your feet..

[Antony Moxey]

If he's constantly questioning you just tell him to f*** off. Unless you're doing something wrong (rather than just his way) tell him to either report your wrongdoings to someone higher up or STFU.

[Gary C]

Talk to the other person, tell him you don't like the way things are working but you want to make it better.

If he gets shirty, then talk to the manager. Is this person effectively your boss or supervisor ?

Maybe there are very good reasons for the way he does things, maybe not, but until you two talk, it's not changing.

I'm 51 now and run a team of engineers running a nuclear power station main control room. Younger people can be a challenge, it's easy to feel threatened by dynamic, clever up comers and a natural reaction is to be overbearing and drop into parent/child mode.

It's hard when it's something you know inside out, but a youngster has a better or faster idea and you have to swallow your pride, some people can't do it very well and a younger person that then behaves as a 'child' makes it worse (I don't mean childish, look up parent/child mode)

[Nickbrapp]

Gary C said:

Talk to the other person, tell him you don't like the way things are working but you want to make it better.

If he gets shirty, then talk to the manager. Is this person effectively your boss or supervisor ?

Maybe there are very good reasons for the way he does things, maybe not, but until you two talk, it's not changing.

I'm 51 now and run a team of engineers running a nuclear power station main control room. Younger people can be a challenge, it's easy to feel threatened by dynamic, clever up comers and a natural reaction is to be overbearing and drop into parent/child mode.

It's hard when it's something you know inside out, but a youngster has a better or faster idea and you have to swallow your pride, some people can't do it very well and a younger person that then behaves as a 'child' makes it worse (I don't mean childish, look up parent/child mode)

Are you at Hinkly? I think the way he does things it’s because it’s the way he does it and that’s how it’s always been.
Previous to me it was his brother who was doing the job and has now left because he wanted to get away from him.

I’m doing the work correctly, and there’s only 1 real way that you can do it, but he complains if I don’t do it in the specific order he does his, even though the outcome is the same.

I’ve done the job as a mobile tech for 5 years before this so I know what I’m doing.

He’s the site supervisor, we have the same job title really, I’m the electrical he’s the mechanical

[Gary C]

Nickbrapp said:

Gary C said:

Talk to the other person, tell him you don't like the way things are working but you want to make it better.

If he gets shirty, then talk to the manager. Is this person effectively your boss or supervisor ?

Maybe there are very good reasons for the way he does things, maybe not, but until you two talk, it's not changing.

I'm 51 now and run a team of engineers running a nuclear power station main control room. Younger people can be a challenge, it's easy to feel threatened by dynamic, clever up comers and a natural reaction is to be overbearing and drop into parent/child mode.

It's hard when it's something you know inside out, but a youngster has a better or faster idea and you have to swallow your pride, some people can't do it very well and a younger person that then behaves as a 'child' makes it worse (I don't mean childish, look up parent/child mode)

Are you at Hinkly? I think the way he does things it’s because it’s the way he does it and that’s how it’s always been.
Previous to me it was his brother who was doing the job and has now left because he wanted to get away from him.

I’m doing the work correctly, and there’s only 1 real way that you can do it, but he complains if I don’t do it in the specific order he does his, even though the outcome is the same.

I’ve done the job as a mobile tech for 5 years before this so I know what I’m doing.

He’s the site supervisor, we have the same job title really, I’m the electrical he’s the mechanical

No not Hinckley, Heysham.

Difficult, I've always told the person if I'm not happy with the way we work.

[elanfan]

Why not write a list of the pedantic things he does that are a complete waste of time and therefore costing money. Write a mirror list of how you'd do the same task and where the savings lie. Tell him this is how you'd like to do things with the benefits. If he won't listen you can go to management with it. He will have had his warning.

Otherwise wind him up, play practical jokes on him until he gets fed up and leaves?

[Nickbrapp]

Just to update with this.

It’s still the same, I did have a chat with him about making things more efficient but he didn’t take it well.

He’s now being extra passive aggressive and doing totally pointless things.

For example, we had a part damaged on site, and instead of just going to the stores the day after, he spent a hour walking round the site trying to find a discarded valve to take the part off. And guess what? There weren’t any.

It’s time for me to approach my manager. I’ve made up my mind to ask for a transfer, being a massive company hopefully there’s something they can slot me into, there’s nothing on the careers page but I can ask.

I’m thinking of saying within 3 months. And if nothing comes of it then looking to move on to another Company

[Antony Moxey]

Or ask the manager to get HIM transferred.

[Moonhawk]

Leave - if he's a prick and it hasn't been sorted in 10 years, in my experience it never will be.

The last place I worked, we had a production manager who was a blatant bully, didn't even try to hide it. So many people had left the company citing him as the reason - yet HR either wouldn't or couldn't touch him.

Even though during my time within the company I had documented evidence that he blatantly lied to try and scupper the department I was managing, I had evidence that he communicated confidential information to my staff members in order to scare them into jumping ship - and he directly threatened me in front of another employee (this employee even lodged a complaint about the incident) - he's still there well over a year after I called it quits.

You'll be seen as the "trouble maker" if you raise it.