difficulties with a colleague

LegacyUser

This is a bit complicated but here goes..... (names used are fake)

I started a job last year, and after a few months began to have difficulties with a colleague, Pat, who adopted a cold and un-co-operative attitude towards me. To complicate matters 'Pat' had been co-operative with our line manager 'Jim' and had at one point even tried to turn me against Jim (in my early days Pat would tell me that Jim isn't a nice person, that they only pretend to be nice, etc).

I was told by senior management that raising the problem wouldn't affect my probationary period and there wasn't a problem with my work.

My probation review came and I was told I had passed, although there was no paperwork involved and I was told there wasn't a formal procedure.

Difficulties with Pat continued, around the same time I was asked to take on a certain task formally assigned to them, but got bare minimum co-operation. Having tried to resolve the issue myself to no avail, I got to the point where I felt I had no choice but to raise the matter higher up. Subsequent to doing this I was informed that I was not being taken off probation, citing 'my work hadn't been checked' (despite being (1) already told I was off and (2) never been informed checking work was part of the review).

Since then the difficulties have persisted, Pat continues to ignore work related emails I've sent, and barely answers spoken questions, on some occasions actually walking away from me before I can finish a sentence. Even when Jim the line manager raises the questions they come with some reason they can't answer the question just now, but at this stage some of the queries have been going on for nearly three months. Other colleagues have expressed concern about the situation but ultimately Pat is allowed to get away with this behaviour.

I was even told that regardless of who's right and wrong, the fact that Pat has worked there longer means that it's easier to get rid of me, and that they wouldn't go down a disiplinary road with Pat.

What do you in this situation, when your own line manager is afraid of your colleague, and this in turn impacts on your own situation?

LegacyUser

Sorry mods, typed verification code in to thread title,can you amend please?

Thanks

doolox

If it is a small tight knit organisation that, as you say are afraid of Pat the Incooperative then there is very little you can do except walk. A larger organisation might have an appeals procedure, a HR dept that works and a system of checks and balances in place to correct this situation.

Even if you get passed and approved on your probation who would want to work with a dysfunctional colleague in a dysfunctional organisation.

The unfortunate aspect of this is that in hard times rats tend to eat each other and many workplaces have become rat races today.

bbam

Some people are just ignorant and lazy.
It depends on how hard nosed you want to be..

What I've done in the past when people didnt act on a work email was to reply again but CC in the senior manager, asking directly how come nothing had happened in the X weeks since the last email.

If that doesnt work or your not comfortable with it, start looking around.

myshirt

What does this issue turn on?

I'm struggling to see what is at the heart of the matter here. How do you see this being closed out, what would resolve it for you?

Something about your post I can't pinpoint that really makes you sound like a right pain in the hole... stop complaining and feeling hard done for yourself. I say that with respect.
Organisational culture will eat you for breakfast with that mindset. You are not the only one in the business.

Sometimes it's not the workplace that's the problem, but the lens you are viewing it through.