Co-workers

[printerman]

Hi All!
I have recently had a promotion (apparently!) to what was basically my bosses job. (production manager). Now, its going okay (only been doing it 3 weeks) and most people are behind me, stangely enough the shopfloor people i'm in charge of! but the design engineer(we only have one, and i WAS (still am) process engineer), is being a total pain....he won't even talk to me..i give him a good morning for the last three weeks and i get nothing.!!!!!!!!!!
Now i have a project i want to start tomorrow, and i know he'll have no input. I don't mind this but i'm due a payrise after my three month period and i'm damned if he's going to be the reason i don't get it!
I've discussed this with my directors who basically said "weird" and that he was being childish, but they won't take it any further.
To be honest(sorry i'm starting to rant) he is a very awkward guy and the whole factory thinks so, but the bosses won't do anything.....


So ,any way what do i do? Please don't say see your bosses 'cos i know they won't do anything,...is there anything I can do!?

[Paul]

Take him to one side and talk to him?
Were you the only person to be offered the promotion or did he think he might get it?

[kronas]

try and have a chat with him.

the problem is you cant force a guy to talk to you, just behave as you normally do, he may seem jealous of your promotion (congratulations by the way) but you have to rise above it, if you have to get the guy's input then be polite, if he is not pulling his weight then tell the directors, whoever is above you.

[allieyoung666]

I agree with Paul, you need to have a ickle chat with him, and find out what the problem is, Paul666 Had this problem when he became a planner, you should PM him and he will give you tons of advice!!!

[Roy MM]

Has this started since your promo? sounds like sour grapes to me, he is dissapointed he did not get it maybe, try and talk to him, let him know he is part of your team for better things to come in the company, maybe he feels unapreciated that he was passed over for the promo, you must make him feel an important cog in the workings of the company.

[cookie_365]

Don't get too worried about it; I've been in the same situation and it's just one of those things. I doubt he'll do anything to put your own performance review into jeapardy.

You don't have to be friends with the people you supervise or work with. If you need to give him a role to do, just do it.

Don't go up to him and say 'we don't seem to be getting along at the moment, is there anything .... ' - he might be fine with it and perhaps just has some things at home that he's having trouble with - if you raise it as an issue it might become one.

And perhaps if you can get talking about work issues you'll be able to understand more about what the problem might be.

And if you've alerted the bosses to the problem and a month later you can show them you've dealt with it and have established a professional working relationship, then time to ask for a pay rise

[Raistlin]

The trick with these circumstances is to look at your own working behaviour first.

I don't mean to suggest that you are in the wrong, simply that you need to be absolutely sure that your behaviour remains professional and curteous. Make every effort to be the amiable, efficient, paragon of employee excellence.

By doing this you put yourself beyond reproach, there is no way that this can be your fault, and you give yourself a firmer platform to deal with any issues that may arise.

The second thing to do is to realise that there is a cycle of behaviour/attitude that can come into play in situations like this. His behaviour can modify your attitude to him, if your attitude is modified this will affect your behaviour, your change in behaviour (if negative) will give him an affirmation of any negative thoughts he may be having and thus will compund upon his negative attitude towards you - thus worsening his behaviour and completing the cycle.

Thirdly, you should continue in the way that you have described. Be curteous, polite, and professional. You obviously expect that he will be working with you on your new project, if his role demands that he has an input (and that he is professional in his dealings with you and the rest of the team) then you should attempt to engage him fully in the project.
Show him (by listening to his opinions, asking his advice, and using his experience) that you value his contribution.

If he still fails to contribute, or if he is being obstructive in any way, then try to engage him directly. Ask him if there is an issue with the project that you are unaware of that may be leading to his reluctance to participate fully, ask him if there is anything that he needs to facilitate his participation. Basically you are getting him to examine his reasons for his non-participation, eventually you will discover the root cause - if it is work related then you can take steps to correct this through the appropriate channels, if (as you seem to suspect) it is something personal then you can discuss this with him.

Inevitably you will not get along with everybdy you work with, ultimately though we all have the right to expect co-operation from our co-workers in the fulfillment of our day to day roles.
Once you have explored all of the above avenues with him, and still seen no improvement, then you have the right to expect that your line management will help you resolve the situation.

Don't go straight up the chain to start with though, this will further inflame any problems. Engage your co-worker with respect and curtesy and you will probably get better results.

[zoombini]

Ok so now your are a manager & he is not.
If he does not perform as he should then have a word with him.
If he still does not cooperate with you then speak to his senior.

Even if he is ****ed off etc he still has to work with you.

[Gareth]

Bah, fire him. Problem solved.

[SMHarman]

Good advice above, all I can add is to make sure that you deal with him courtiously and that anything you need him to do verbally is then backed up with an email and that sets out the requirements, deliverables and timescales. If he is uncoperative and has clear instructions then you have a work issue and clear evidence. Keep the directors suitably appraised of the situation, but don't ask them to micromanage the situation, you should be managing it your the manager, but at the same time you should be thinking about protecting their asses in case he decides to take action against the firm for being passed over for promotion etc IYSWIM (not particularly clear - time to go get coffee).

[printerman]

Thanks all. Very helpful....i have acted with him the way i always have. Yes he is awkward but ijust get on with it. I say good morning etc......we'll just have to see....i'm carrying on as normal but i do know hes ****ed 'cos he thought he was moving into that position no questions asked and then they ask me to do it.....

[Paul]

Originally Posted by printerman

Thanks all. Very helpful....i have acted with him the way i always have. Yes he is awkward but ijust get on with it. I say good morning etc......we'll just have to see....i'm carrying on as normal but i do know hes ****ed 'cos he thought he was moving into that position no questions asked and then they ask me to do it.....

Thought that might be it, time to make sure you cover your arse at all times just in case then Keep trying to communicate with him, stay courteous, make sure you do as suggested and give any instructions to him verbally and backed up by email, if he is involved in any projects and doesn't seem happy to volunteer information or opinions then make sure you ask him, being an important part of it might help him realise that he is still appreciated and that it wasn't your fault he wasn't given the job and importantly if you do ever have to talk to him in any way to do with discipline make sure that you do so with another member of senior staff present so that he can't accuse you of foul play.

[printerman]

Thanks Everyone, I have been polite, asked his opinion when needed etc and as of thursday he has actually been very nice to me. He hasn't been awkward and actaully helped me out when i was struggling with our capacity plan. Funny how the worm can turn.

I think its because we have a new sales person in our office who is a bit over the top. Hugging people when they've been ill for a day etc......womens only been here a week.! and she's trying to make a name for herself and basically arguing with EVERYONE! Strange. Anyway, i think he's realised better the devil you know and all that!

Thanks again guys and gals!

[Florence]

congratulations on your new job and now you have won him over you have proved you are the man for the job.

Always keep the communication between the team its vital for all in the team.