Struggling with a Colleague Who Won't Delegate Tasks: How Can I Handle This Situation?

I need suggestions from you for this issue. I have recently been recruited by my company as a Receptionist. I am a fresher with little knowledge about the actual work related to reception. My boss has asked one of my colleagues (who was taking care of admin-related work along with her MIS work) to give me more responsibilities related to admin. I was very excited to get a new responsibility and learn new things, but I observed that after asking many times, my colleague is not providing me with the exact details, nor is she teaching me how to do it.

For the past month, she has been handling it on her own, stating that she will hand it over to me the following month. The next month has started, yet she is still not interested in assigning me the work. I don't understand what is stopping her from doing this. Moreover, I cannot even email my boss about it because she gets angry, questioning why I take everything to my boss. When she is angry, she behaves strangely by not talking or cooperating (she is the oldest employee in this company!). Please help me deal with this situation. What kind of action should I take?

Dear Anuja, First and foremost, you deserve appreciation for writing your workplace challenge clearly. The problem with some forum members is that they do not write clearly and provide only half-information. Upon reading such posts, we seniors often ask a few more questions. After a series of question and answer sessions, the real issue emerges. In contrast, you have presented your post in a coherent sequence. Yes, some improvements in grammar and spell-check are required, but considering that you are a junior-level employee, you deserve recognition. Keep it up!

When you write your next post, I recommend composing it in MS Word and then copying and pasting it onto this forum. This process will enhance the quality of your post. Secondly, consider dividing your post into multiple paragraphs.

Delegation Challenge

You have articulated your problem regarding delegation. You also mentioned that the long-serving employee is reluctant to transfer part of her duties to you. While we may not know her exact thoughts, it could be speculated that if she relinquishes that part of the work, her very position might be questioned. Another possibility is that she may be unwilling to take on new responsibilities that may arise if she gives up this task. A third consideration could be that she perceives your aptitude to be high and fears losing visibility. By the way, does she have a good command of English?

Handling the Situation

Your challenge lies in how to handle the task without alienating the long-serving employee. In this regard, I suggest speaking with the MD discreetly, without the knowledge of the senior lady. Explain your situation and express your continued interest in taking on additional work. Let's see if this approach yields results.

Another approach is to identify someone close to the MD but not associated closely with the senior lady. Can this individual convey your message to the MD? Exercise caution in this interaction to prevent any information leakage to the lady.

Meanwhile, despite the challenges posed by the senior lady, I encourage you to maintain your motivation levels. Utilize any surplus time you have to enhance your knowledge of MS Word, MS Outlook, etc. Learn keyboard shortcuts and work on improving your grammar and vocabulary. These skills are essential for the role of a receptionist.

All the best!

Regards, Dinesh Divekar

Understanding Workplace Dynamics

I think it is an act of a company power game. Your boss might be considering replacing your colleague with you. Your colleague might be aware of the boss's thoughts or have a fear that if she hands over the work to you, she will become replaceable. Considering seniority, none of the management team might be in a position to tell your boss that it is time to leave the job.

Approaching the Situation

The only workable solution is to talk to your boss without any fear and tell the truth without losing respect for your colleague. You have to face it, and please note that this kind of resistance to change is quite reasonable. You can do this.

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I will surely improve myself. This is a great forum where we can update our knowledge.

My Current Issue

Talking about my issue, I really don't have anyone trustworthy whom I can rely upon. She has great experience in her field, for which I respect her a lot. We are a small startup, so we don't have much work to do right now. I find our management working really slow, as I have spoken about this issue with my HR Manager, but no response from her. Maybe she is also afraid of the anger because she is also a new employee.

Possible Solution: Reverse Psychology

I think I should suggest to her to just tell my senior to use her powers and authority to make me work, and just lend all the extra work to me as I can be a loss to the company if I am unable to perform my activities. What do you think, will this reverse psychology work?

Concerns About My Senior

My senior has been unable to complete her graduation, which is why she couldn't improve her English and other skills (though it shouldn't be the reason not to have communication skills!). Maybe because of that, she might be feeling a little insecure, and I really don't want to make her feel inferior in any way.

Thanks again for your valuable suggestions, and if nothing works, I will surely take some strong action. Meanwhile, I am learning new things which will eventually help this company's productivity.

Anuja,

If you report to the HR Manager, then I recommend you write an email to her and state the facts. In the email, mention when the Managing Director instructed the transfer of duties and provide an update on the current status. Your timely communication will help alleviate the burden on your shoulders. Once you send the email, the responsibility for the non-implementation of the MD's orders will lie with your manager and not with you.

Lastly, I urge you to address seniors appropriately.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Thank you so much for your suggestion. We had a meeting regarding the same issue as many other employees were facing a similar problem. One of my colleagues who was closely working with her has also resigned due to her non-cooperative behavior.

The recent update is that my senior went on a long holiday, and she had to hand over work as it was necessary. Consequently, my problem got solved, and I also received some more responsibilities. After analyzing this issue, I believe Mr. Consultme Sir has guessed it correctly.

Thank you once again!

Regards, Anuja