Ask Kari: What can I do about a dishonest colleague?
Dear Kari,
Dear Kari, I’ve been reading your column for a while now and decided to ask you for your professional advice. I work with a girl who pads her timesheet almost everyday. She never reports to work on time. Even if she were an hour late to work, she would write down the time she was […]--Frustrated Colleague
Dear Frustrated Colleague,
You are in a difficult situation as it appears that your co-worker has a stronger alliance with your boss that you do based on your descriptions of their interactions. The issue of padding one’s timesheet is both illegal and immoral. You could try a gentle conversation with your boss and mention that “there is a lot to do and not everyone comes in on time everyday”, and see where that goes without naming names. If that soft approach does not work, I suggest that you consider your ability to ignore the situation based on liking other parts of your job and remain with your current employer, or acknowledge that this situation is a deal breaker for you and begin to pursue other professional opportunities. It is not fair that you would need to leave your job vs. your cheating co-worker, but sometimes dynamics are not fair in life and we need to recognize that our choices sometimes only include what we power to change in our lives (i.e. you deciding if you can and want to remain in this situation).
–Kari
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About Kari: Dr. O’Neill is a Doctor of Social Work, and a board-certified licensed independent clinical social worker. Dr. O’Neill completed her undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Washington and her doctorate at Tulane University, and currently serves as an affiliated medical staff member at Swedish Hospital Issaquah.