19

My workplace has been dealing with an extremely rude coworker and I'm looking for the best way to describe or document that behavior so I can escalate the problem to management or HR. This colleague has gone way beyond just being difficult to work with and his day-to-day behaviour includes things like:

  • yelling
  • constant cursing
  • vicious remarks against homosexuals, minorities, or owners of pets, credit cards or import cars
  • blaming others or the documentation for his own mistakes
  • covering up mistakes by erasing logs, which only stopped after a written warning (telling him to stop had no effect)

My colleagues share my concerns but I think nothing has been done about him because no one ever tried to document his behaviour or alert management about the extent of the problem. Our (Canadian) company is fairly small and doesn't have any policies for escalating things like this.

How can I best document these problems and notify management that this is a real problem that we've been unable resolve internally?

Note 1: Please note that my main concern about my colleague are mostly temper, anger, hate speeches, blaming others and back talking! Hope it clarifies the differences with What can I do to make a coworkers lack of effort more visible?.

Community
  • 1
AleX_
  • 1,513
  • 1
  • 13
  • 21
  • What country are you in? Is there any kind of a HR department? – JasonJ Jul 22 '16 at 20:14
  • Canada, yes we have a HR department but Im not sure how to elevate issues to them because I think a case like this needs a lot of preparation beforehand! – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 20:16
  • Haven't similar experiences but, I strongly advise you to talk directly to your boss, this is not a acceptable behavior and it could be end very bad it he continues. This person seems unstable and it could be potentially dangerous. – Mauricio Arias Olave Jul 22 '16 at 20:17
  • @Mauricio, I have talked to him a few times, about his performance issues he told me that he is under a lot of stress and handles a lot of projects so its ok if he makes mistakes occaisionally. about his behaviour he told me that we have to deal with him (I was hoping to hear a for now, but it did not happen!). – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 20:20
  • 2
    Hence, my comment. after your edit, I would suggest talk directly to HR and leave that they handle this situation, otherwise, talk to your boss ASAP. Talk with your coworkers too and try to make a groupal claim. I hope that more experienced users can bring you more useful answers. if you're worried about consequences you don't, is not your problem. – Mauricio Arias Olave Jul 22 '16 at 20:29
  • Is there any chance that he actually does have a diagnosed mental condition? That would affect your actions and any likely outcome. Or is he just what he sounds like? – DJClayworth Jul 22 '16 at 20:46
  • @DJClayworth, If he has a condition, I am not aware of this and am pretty much sure that people around him dont know this as well. – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 20:52
  • @DJClayworth, how would that affect the case? – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 20:56
  • 6
    If he had a diagnosed mental condition the employer might be required to make certain accommodations for him. If he's just an a-hole that would not be the case. – DJClayworth Jul 22 '16 at 20:59
  • Oh, Canada. If this was in the US., I'd say wait 4 months and see if there's a gov't administration job for him available in January. badum-tiss. Seriously, though: This is exactly why companies have HR departments. The bigotry alone should get them to act. If someone even hinted that they were in one of the groups he targets, lawyers would start to cringe. – Wesley Long Jul 22 '16 at 21:06
  • @WesleyLong, after his weekly Friday rant about a few world leaders, refugee crisis, etc, I jokingly told a colleague of mine that he will hang a certain candidate poster from his wall! – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 21:09
  • 2
    @fetah - Well, it's good to know that "'Mericuh" doesn't have a monopoly on a-holes. We're just really obsessed with putting them on television for some reason I can't figure out. – Wesley Long Jul 22 '16 at 21:14
  • 1
    Your manager told you to think of him as your special younger brother. With emails you are not targeted. I get this is a problem but it is a management problem. If you go to HR then you are kind if crossing you manager. – paparazzo Jul 22 '16 at 21:33
  • @WesleyLong, thanks for your thorough review and editing my question. Its much more readable now. – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 21:34
  • @Paparazzi, I don't think management has been involved with him in this level. My guess is that they hear every now and then that he broke this part or he had to redo this all over again or he complains about his salary and such. and I think when he talks to management he uses his innocent low voice – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 21:40
  • 1
    @fetah Your story is not adding up if you have been told to treat him like your special younger brother. This is a management problem. – paparazzo Jul 22 '16 at 22:10
  • @paparazzi, thats why my goal is to make management involve more proactively. I need a plan to convince them that there is a huge nasty iceberg under this tiny tip that they only see! – AleX_ Jul 23 '16 at 04:30
  • I have removed some of my personal experiences form the original post and tried indicating what exactly Im looking for. So, please remove the Off Topic flag. although being a rare situation, having a strategy and knowing what to present to HR when dealing with this type of people will benefit many people. – AleX_ Jul 25 '16 at 18:02
  • 2
    Vote to keep closed. You're on 4 reopen votes but while the question has merit, your post still has too many problems for me. I'd suggest clearing up the excessive punctuation and dropping all personal opinions and random thoughts you've injected into the text. The bigger issue is that "mentally unstable" is way too loaded a term to throw around lightly when what you're actually after is ways to describe disruptive behaviour. – Lilienthal Jul 26 '16 at 08:08
  • @Lilienthal, maybe its my English, but what is the best word to use instead of mentally unstable? I was trying to avoid Crazy, Jerk, or as some suggested A.H. – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 13:35
  • 4
    @fetah Why the fascination with labels? Just describe the behaviour, there's no need to describe the person. – Lilienthal Jul 26 '16 at 13:44
  • @Lilienthal, you are right! I was extremely angry after hearing another load of interesting views on Friday and wrote the original post. Now that I feel much better I tried removing my personal views and tried avoiding labeling. Thanks for ur feedback. – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 14:01
  • @Lilienthal, the reason I was looking for a word to describe him was to make it easy for others to find this question! – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 14:02
  • @Lilienthal, I hope my changes have addressed your concerns. – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 17:26
  • 1
    @alex: They'll find it just fine by description. If you're complaining about gratuitous rude language, set an example by *not* using it yourself. – keshlam Jul 26 '16 at 17:27
  • @Keshlam, This type behaviour of kills everyone's performance and creates unnecessary drama and headache at work! For several reasons I have toned down my question, but believe me if you heard his ideas about what to do with people with different preferences, you would have freaked out just like so many of us do at work! – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 17:31
  • For what it's worth, a new of my coworkers has trouble moderating her language (I believe she grew up in an area where the F-word is almost punctuation). She has learned to apologise; the rest of us have learned that it isn't aimed at us and we ignore it. Similarly, many programmers will periodically shout at their computers to blow off steam; again, that's mostly harmless. Draw a clear line between these and actually abusing other people. – keshlam Jul 26 '16 at 17:34
  • Bigotry is a problem ... But is unfortunately sometimes protected by freedom of speech. Again, persuading them to hold their tongues on company time and property in the interest of collegial work conditions is management's problem; if you have raised the issue with them and HR you've gone as far as you can unless you want to quit and/or try bringing a legal case. – keshlam Jul 26 '16 at 17:39
  • @Keshlam, I totally see what you mean, this is a different case. where I work, shouting a big Fat F isfine. but consider this "He makes a mistakes, shouts Fs, then yells at A for not doing their job correctly, mumbles Fs for awhile, then B Asks whats going on, he yells and starts talking about A who is innocent and when B leaves the scene keeps mumbling Fs.". Then suppose A or B are pet owners or have a Visa card or Drive an import Car, he starts a conversation by "People who drive import cars/have pets/... are a bunch of @#$ #$@ $@ "s, then the discussion elevates to other sensitive issues... – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 17:43
  • @keshlam, I definitely don't wish to go that far, but at least I want to take a shot at it and want to do it right! this is how I work on any thing! – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 17:45
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 17:46
  • Right @Alex. I've basically rewritten the question at this point to boil it down to the essentials. I hope you don't think I've changed too much; please [edit] it again if I missed anything (but keep in mind that less is usually more for this site). I've gone ahead and reopened the question. One question though: if you're in Canada, wouldn't every car be an import? – Lilienthal Jul 26 '16 at 18:38
  • Thanks @Lilienthal! You set a great example for me on how to write questions! Also, some models of Ford, Toyota and Honda are assembled in Ontario. But my little special friend kinda looks at it as an America vs Asia war! He has very very very interesting ideas about Everything! – AleX_ Jul 26 '16 at 19:05
  • 1
    Possible duplicate of What can I do to make a coworkers lack of effort more visible? – IDrinkandIKnowThings Jul 27 '16 at 20:51
  • Thanks @Chad, Actually I read your question before submitting mine. The focus in your question is just on sloppy slacker coworker. My case does not focus on performance. Although my special friend has performance issues, my main concern about him are mostly temper, anger, hate speeches, blaming others and back talking! Hope it clarifies the differences. – AleX_ Jul 28 '16 at 19:59

5 Answers5

25

I've worked in Canada a long time, and your employer should be doing something about this. Here are my recommended steps. This is assuming you have already informally approached your boss and nothing has been done.

I'm only talking about his behaviour, The issue of his technical competence should be taken up with his manager, and separately.

  1. Start documenting incidents. Write down what happened, what was said, dates and places and who was there. If you can remember past incidents write them down too.
  2. Try to get your colleagues on board. I'm assuming they feel the same as you do, so they should be on board with you taking actions. If you can get them to agree to a joint approach it will carry much more weight than if one person complains.
  3. When you have enough documented incidents, make a complaint to HR. Give them copies of what you have written down. Give them names of your colleagues who are prepared to corroborate this.
  4. Keep documenting once you have done this, and repeat the complaint if there is no change over time. However don't expect the behaviour to stop immediately or completely.
  5. If this person abuses or threatens you or anyone because he thinks you have complained about him, report that to HR too. Retaliation like that will get him in more trouble and will not be tolerated.

When you are talking to HR, there are some key phrases that will make them sit up and take notice, and force them to take action if his behaviour really falls in those categories. Read up about them, and use them if his behaviour fits the description.

  1. Hostile work environment if you can show that he is making people uncomfortable to work there
  2. Unsafe work environment if anything he has said could be taken as a threat
  3. Workplace bullying if he has ever tried to intimidate someone into doing or not doing something.

All of those go double if he has made remarks about minorities, especially minorities who are present.

Don't mention the stealing of office equipment unless you have good evidence that it is happening. Making one false allegation damages your credibility, even if everything else you say is true.

DJClayworth
  • 84,823
  • 25
  • 192
  • 283
5

Whether they are "mentally unstable" is (a) not something you can decide unless you are a mental health practitioner and (b) absolutely irrelevant. Don't diagnose, just work with management and HR to address the specific behaviors that are problems.

keshlam
  • 66,609
  • 15
  • 121
  • 227
  • 1
    I was trying to find a suitable synonym for A-Hole. – AleX_ Jul 23 '16 at 04:23
  • 1
    There are no laws anywhere protecting assholes. There may very well be laws protecting someone who is mentally unstable. If he curses constantly and starts shouting when something goes wrong, then if that person is mentally unstable you may have to just accept it. – gnasher729 Jul 25 '16 at 10:10
3

If he is making you uncomfortable in the workplace you need to go to HR and let them know. At least in the US making hostile remarks about a protected group (homosexuals, minorities, etc) that is grounds for dismissal. He very well may be a worker who accomplishes a lot and have a condition, but that doesn't forgive his behavior.

It sounds like verbal warnings don't work with him. Escalating to HR should result in a written warning which as you describe he has responded to previously. You can't be concerned with how he feels about being written up when he is making everyone that uncomfortable. Good luck.

JasonJ
  • 6,670
  • 4
  • 19
  • 34
3

I have only lived in Canada for a year, which seems like a lifetime away now. In my workplace at that time, I have never seen anybody acting like this. But considering Canada being more liberal than US, I would assume them to protect these groups that he is cursing at. And if your company is small and nobody wants to get in trouble, hence turning a blind eye to this piece of work guy, that might explain how he could hold his position.

Unless someone starts a process to write him up for his nasty remarks, if not for his incompetency, causing probably tons of money to your place of employment, still, nothing will happen. If you really are fed up with him, file a formal complaint with HR. Maybe, just maybe, they take him away from the environment which he spews his toxicity and put him in an office where you don't have to be subject to his world views as much. And if the number of complaints reach a critical mass, may be it can be grounds for dismissal.

MelBurslan
  • 7,471
  • 2
  • 20
  • 26
  • I will talk with a few people here on Monday to see if they are willing to act more seriously about him or not. Personally I don't talk to him and avoid him if his question is not about work. – AleX_ Jul 22 '16 at 21:31
  • @TechnikEmpire, thanks for your warning, I will be cautious, – AleX_ Jul 25 '16 at 14:00
0

You have observed a fundamental problem at your workplace. Your coworker should not even have the ability to be able to modify logs in the first place. This practice violates the security principle of segregation of duties. The work structure should be robust enough to make this possibility highly improbable, save for deliberate collusion. This is a tangible problem you have and can proactively address with management. If they are rational people, and have the slightest understanding of risk management , they will (or SHOULD) care.

Anthony
  • 20,827
  • 19
  • 73
  • 144
  • Eeeh... even to the extent that that's true, it's not really addressing the question. When an employee does something bad that should have been impossible, there are TWO problems, and the thing they did being possible is only one of them. This question clearly wants to focus on the other. – Ben Millwood Sep 01 '16 at 15:45