Need Advice about Work Situation (kind of long)

15 years ago

I'm a hospice social worker. I have been part time for 3 1/2 years as our business has grown. I was the only social worker at our office all this time. Our case load grew and grew and we hired another social worker in December. Big mistake. She has melt-downs all the time, cries, etc. She has major passive aggressive behavior. Whatever I tell her regarding orientation, if she doesn't like it, she goes to someone else. She has just been a nightmare. She is not well liked by the patients, either. Last week we got a huge complaint about her. My supervisor and the administrator told me that we should divide up the case load in a different way so I had all the more difficult cases. They were both really ticked off. The next day, my supervisor tries to back out of the whole deal. I got mad and sent the supervisor and administrator a memo outlining the problems we have been having and stating that after 3 months I think I should be finished orienting this person as I only had about a week orientation when I started! Now the four of us are meeting tomorrow and on Thursday the HR person from corporate will meet with us as well.

So far this has been a great job. They have really not had any complaints with me. I was always able to do this job part time and I was my own person. Now, it feels like I'm thrown into a roller coaster with this new person and I don't get any say anymore about what I want or need. The new person is just a nightmare and my reputation is on the line. She misconstrues everything. Besides her being such a royal pain in the behind, it has been super, super disappointing. I was so happy to have another social worker starting and now it has just turned to doodoo!

I wonder if any of you have any advice about what I can expect or what ground I can stand on? Can they force me to work more hours? Can they force me to work with this person more closely? Always in the past I have just laid down what I'm willing to do and they have always agreed to it.

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Comments (6)

ont_gal
15 years ago
Cannot offer advice here,but wonder,is this *person* under 30?

If so,typical of not all,but a lot of the up and comings of that generation

And did you not have health issues this past year?

Cuz,if so,the stress of that crap wont be doing you any good at all.

Good luck Thursday
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workoutlady
15 years ago
Not sure what you can do without a little more info. If this is a union place, go to the union. If not, which I'm assuming it's not, then is this person still on probationary status? I would think so since she has only been there 2 or 3 months. At my job, the minimum probationary time is 6 months. It is much easier to get rid of someone when they are on probation. Also, if you are not the supervisor, should not the supervisor be doing more training so they can see what is happening? It seems to me the supervisor is not doing their job. Sorry I know that's not much help.

Just a note to Ont Gal - we hired 5 new people recently with 4 being under 30 and 1 being over 50. So far all are working out great. At least in this case, the under 30's are quite an asset and very easy to work with. I will say that I expect that if they are not happy, they'll move on - provided they can find a job. I really don't expect that they work at a job they are unhappy with - unlike me who has 20 years in and will be in for the long haul - again only if the job is there.
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jemdandy
15 years ago
If everything that you reported is true and not biased, then it is time to move this person out and search for a replacement. Have a chat with your supervisor. Tell the super that you are through with orienting the new employee, and state examples of problems beyond your control that are principally attribable to the new employee. Give reason why you think she is unsuitable for the job. Also request that she be removed from your work arena, or at least, assigned to someone else.

Be prepared to put your request in writing. Draft the request before you have your talk, but don't expose it to management until you have had your chat. After your chat, you may wish to edit your request, or bury it.

Also, prepare a letter of complaints and/or recommendations to your management, and again, wait until you have had a chance to talk before releasing it.

Write your drafts and then let lay overnight. Re-read the next day and edit. You may find statements that you'd like to modify. Often, the first draft is written in anger and bitterness, and that is OK. Its good to 'let go' in a manner that is not going to harm your career. In the cold light of the following day, you may feel differently about some of the statements, but if not, you've got a working draft.
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bigbaby
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the input you guys. I already wrote a memo about the situation and gave it to my supervisor and the administrator. Like you said, Jem, I wrote it one day and thought about it for a while and got some input from my hubby on it. I think that's why this meeting is coming up. I would feel more comfortable meeting with these people without the other employee but they want to "mediate" with us. They are acting like the problem is that we just can't get along.

I agree that it's a supervisory issue and she is just trying to pass the buck to me.
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mariend
15 years ago
Being involved in hospice work I would assume a person should have a strong personality, listen, and try to help the patients. Your co-worker does not appear to have these qualification, and I assume your supervisor, not you should talk to her and point out the problems. If she cannot handle it, or refuses to do so, her boss should step in. Your job is to train her, not baby sit her. You don't need these problems. I really do wish you the best.
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solstice98
15 years ago
As an HR person I can tell you that it will get down to an issue of documentation. Who has it and who doesn't. Do you keep a daily planner with notes? Does she? If you can accurately document problems then you have a strong case; if you can't, the any company will just see you as whiny. Sad, maybe, but true.

Remember, be as specific as possible when reporting her failings. Dates, times, who said what, who witnessed it, what they said, how people reacted, etc. Be specific. Give examples.
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Need Advice about Work Situation (kind of long)

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