My Question of the Day: Your supervisor has asked everyone to review a report submitted by one of your coworkers and note any needed revisions. Although you have never had any problems with this coworker, he/she has not been at all receptive to the suggestions made by others in the office and this coworker has expressed the idea that everyone is just nitpicking and “out to get me.” Not only do you find errors in the content of the report, but you also find several spelling/grammar/punctuation errors. Knowing the previous reactions and comments from this coworker, what do you do?

(this question was submitted by a tweeter who wishes to remain anonymous; thanks!)

My 2 Cents: My coworker will have to get over him/herself, because there’s no way I’m going to allow errors in a report to go uncorrected if the boss asks me, and everyone else, to proof it and make sure it’s up to par. Imagine how badly that would make me, and all the rest of my coworkers, look if the boss comes behind us and proofs the report him/herself and I, and the rest of my coworkers, haven’t done my/our jobs. We’ll look just as incompetent as the person who did the report. I refuse to look badly for anyone.

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The commentary doesn’t have to end!

Please feel free to continue to add your comments below.

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RULES FOR COMMENTS

1. DO NOT include links in your post. There is a place for you to include one link when you’re filling out the Name/Email/Website information. Comments that include links will be deleted.

2. If your post is obviously irrelevant to the question at hand, it will be deleted. This is a tactic spammers use to simply show up on blogs.

3. Please keep your comments respectful. We can agree to disagree without attacking each other.

My Question of the Day: One of your coworkers is ordering out for lunch. He/she goes around the entire office asking others if they’d like to get in on the order, but he/she noticeably skips one particular coworker whom no one, including you, likes. Do you ask the coworker taking orders to include the left-out coworker?

(this question was submitted by @tclarkusa; thanks!)

My 2 Cents: Back when I actually had television, I remember flipping through channels and coming across a T.D. Jakes broadcast. I didn’t watch him regularly, and I think that was probably my second or third time happening across one of his broadcasts, but he said something in that short time I was watching that’s stuck with me until this day. He was talking about workplaces, and he said, and I’m paraphrasing, “Don’t go to professional places looking for personal relationships.” That just rang in my spirit, because it summed up my attitude towards work and the people with whom I work. I’m friendly with all, but I can’t say I’m friends with anyone. I come to work  to work, not to develop friendships. If I develop a friendship, that’s great. If I don’t, I’m here to do my work and get my paycheck, and all is still right with the world.

I’m saying all that to say, in professional places be professional. If you’re going to ask everyone in the office if they want to go in on a lunch order, ask everyone, even the person you think you don’t like. I mean, we really don’t know most of the people with whom we work other than what we see of them at the job. You never know. The person you dislike as a coworker could possibly be a person who you’d, under different circumstances or in a different situation, become friends with because you all happen to have much in common.

There’s never any excuse to be rude and petty. If you can’t include everyone, then don’t include anyone. Just order your lunch and let everyone else fend for themselves.

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Take a few moments to check out the tweets from Twitter on this subject:

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PROTECTED TWEETER  I would say include everybody or don’t ask anyone!why go thru the trouble of leaving out one person?very silly!

treschic67  2 exclude some one is very rude. I’d take it upon myself to ask him/her what they’d like & I’d scold the order taker

Sparty1216  Take the order and give it to the co-worker making the run!

JoshDamage  I wud include the co-worker in the order.

PROTECTED TWEETER Yes u still include the “not liked” co-worker. No need to be rude ! Could Be You One Day

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The commentary doesn’t have to end!

Please feel free to continue to add your comments below.

———-

RULES FOR COMMENTS

1. DO NOT include links in your post. There is a place for you to include one link when you’re filling out the Name/Email/Website information. Comments that include links will be deleted.

2. If your post is obviously irrelevant to the question at hand, it will be deleted. This is a tactic spammers use to simply show up on blogs.

3. Please keep your comments respectful. We can agree to disagree without attacking each other.

FYI: You may edit your comment for up to 30 minutes after posting. After 30 minutes, your comment can no longer be revised.