KEY POINTS:
She's late for work every morning, spends hours on the internet and sticks the knife into workmates when they aren't around to defend themselves.
So is it time to complain to the boss?
Tasneem Begum, at the Department of Labour's Employment Relations info line, says the important thing
is for employees to be clear what the problem is.
"It's a good idea to discuss the issue with family or friends or advisers, and then decide if it is worth complaining about," she says.
Next she suggests workers approach their boss to raise the matter and see what can be done.
"Some things can be resolved and some can't," says Begum.
With personality clashes, it depends how an employer handles the situation.
"If they [the complainant] feel that the employer has not dealt with the problem in a professional manner or has not dealt with the problem at all, then they can challenge that through mediation or they can take a personal grievance against the employer."
Mediation can be initiated by ringing the Labour Department. "Mediation is free," says Begum. "The only time it costs money is if they can't resolve the employment-related problem at mediation and they take it to Employment Relations Authority, which is like an informal court."
Andrea Needham, management consultant and author of Workplace Bullying says the problem with complaints is sorting the petty from the real.
"Some people, for whatever reason in their lives, can't stand it if somebody hiccups once a week," she says. "It can be petty and I think that's really difficult to deal with as a manager. Real issues are harassment, bullying and unfair treatment.
"Unfortunately, most managers are not used to dealing with complaints and they trivialise it.
"Someone will say, 'Oh John did this to me today', and the boss will say, 'Oh John always does that'. I would say 95 per cent of the time managers don't know how to deal with it and they trivialise it, hoping the complainant will get the message that it is not really that important and get on with their lives.
"It takes a lot of courage to make a complaint," says Needham. "People will say to me, 'I wouldn't hire him, he took a PG [personal grievance]'. I would say it shows he's got courage. I like people with courage working for me."
Workers need to know what the company will do with their complaint.
"I tell people to compile a list. List the support you have seen your management and HR [human resources] provide on tricky issues over the last 12 months," says Needham.
"If I put the complaint into my HR I have to know who is going to see it and what is going to happen to it. I have to know I will be safe.
"The complaint should never go on file until it has been substantiated. If it turns out to be a frivolous or vexatious complaint, then it shouldn't be on anyone's file.
"You have to look at the organisation. You have to become an analyst. I tell people to sit back and start taking notes - what have they done in the last 12 months?
"Document how long the subject of the complaint has been getting away with it. If it is a 20-year veteran, if people just say 'that's bad old Jim', I wouldn't be putting a complaint in.
Also, observe the subject of the complaint interacting with senior management.
"If they're into 'kissing up' senior management I personally wouldn't be putting a complaint in.
"If you put a complaint in and you are with an organisation that trivialises it, they will actually label you a troublemaker. Most people who put complaints in are good, competent employees with a solid track record behind them. They're good workmates and good team members. Once they are labelled as a troublemaker they will certainly be disadvantaged at work."
Sometimes a solution can be found to problems before they compound into serious issues. A worker can ask their boss to have an informal chat about what's bothering them. As a safety measure, it is a good idea to have another person present - a colleague you trust or maybe union delegate.
Also, with complaint investigations, both parties should be treated fairly and talked to separately because the complaint could be fictitious or vexatious.
"They should not be put across from a table sitting in front of each other."
She is hesitant about mediation.
"In New Zealand I tell people it's a waste of time because it's so expensive. If you go to mediation you really do need to have a lawyer because your employer will. And if you go to mediation it's quite a bullying kind of process it's a mediator's job to resolve it."
