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Anger Arguments Yelling Incompetence Fear Conflict Who's In Charge?

I have a co-worker who constantly finds fault in all of us. She brings up petty stuff to management, and she yells at other co-workers, is very confrontational, and becomes angry at the drop of a dime. This past weekend she purposely pulled a stunt that caused me to get written up. I’ve tried to resolve conflicts with her personally, and I’ve talked to management about her, but they almost seem afraid of her. What can I do now?



When management does nothing after being advised of an employee who yells, confronts, and has fits of anger, one has to wonder what management is actually managing. It sounds like you have taken the right steps by first trying to discuss the problem with your problematic co-worker, and then discussing the situation with management.

With a little digging beneath the surface, you might find that this employee has some unspoken power. For example, perhaps she has a “special” relationship with someone in management, or maybe she has family ties to the business or knows some damaging information.

Effective managers can easily take steps to deal with problematic employees. When managers appear to be afraid of employees, they are either incompetent or the employee has somehow trumped their power.

At this point, you should literally take steps to keep your contact with this employee to a minimum. In addition, if management’s inaction in this matter is typical managerial behavior in this company, you may want to consider taking some steps away from the company as well.



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