What if your friend at work told on you?

quichebradford

Here’s the scenario:

You’re close with a person in your department. You’re good friends outside of work; know each other’s families, etc. At work, you work closely together, your work effects theirs and vice versa. One day you’re reviewing something your friend did, and it’s wrong. It’s not the first time you’ve come across this, you find errors all the time. You don’t say anything, you just correct it. The time comes for your friend to review something of yours, they find an error and they don’t do what you did, they actually tell the boss. You end up getting reprimanded which takes away from the amount of quarterly bonus you get. Would you be mad? Would you then go back and tell on them for the things you let slide? Would you confront them about it? What would you do?

My1985Freckles

LOL

I have a file of errors my cowroker has done in my office. I don't tell on her, but if I were put in this situation, I have some ammo to use.

getsveltEagain

I would start taking the errors to the boss as she has.... don't mention that you weren't unless there is "balcklash". But what is fair is fair.

MissMaryMac33

Depends.... did hte errors you corrected of hers affect her bonus or anyone elses?
Without all the details, its really not just a case of tell or don't tell.... it depends who else it affects and how much money.

ItsCasey

I wouldn't seek revenge by pointing out past errors. But I would start reporting all of that person's errors instead of correcting them myself. Turnabout is fair play.

juliecat1

well for starters, fixing the occasional error she makes is fine. But if its a repeated issue - talk to her about it and get it resolved. Maybe she really didnt know?
But telling on you is kind of lame. Youre adults. Nothing you cant bring up to eachother first since you work as a team. Now if it was something shes told you again and again and you just leave off for the sake of "shes my friend - she'll deal" then I can see the tattling being a little more necessary.
Sucks about the bonus though!

deja_blu

I would stop correcting her work. She probably has no idea you fix her errors. Rude awakening on the horizon! At this point in time, it has nothing to do with your friendship but with your money. And thou shall not mess with thy $$$$$$!

TopazCarey

I would start taking the errors to the boss as she has.... don't mention that you weren't unless there is "balcklash". But what is fair is fair.

Agreed.

bry_all01

A) what would YOU do or have you done? regardless of what she did to me, I would bring it to her attention to give her a chance try to sort out, rather than rat her out.

gecho

I wouldn't seek revenge by pointing out past errors. But I would start reporting all of that person's errors instead of correcting them myself. Turnabout is fair play.

Same here!

Wooogirlem

I wouldn't tell her or anyone else that you have been cleaning up her errors-just start making a regular note of it and notifying your supervisor just as she did from this point forward. She didn't hesitate to toss you under a rolling wheel.

But...don't harbor any ill will because that is the worst thing you could ever do. Forgive and move on, but change your process

TopazCarey

And thou shall not mess with thy $$$$$$!

This!

MrBrown72

I'd confront them (outside of work) and likely end the relationship as it is becoming burdensome at work. From then on I would behave in a professional manner following company protocol in regard to errors and reporting.

_Johanna_

Nope. Don't tell on her.

She is your friend and you have to continue working with her. Since you aren't severing these ties, you don't want to make the situation worse.

You need to explain to her how upset you are at what she did. Explain to her what you do in order to help her out when she makes mistakes. Ask her to have some common courtesy in return.

maybe it's just that you are so fabulous, that this is the first mistake of yours she has come across and she didn't know what to do about it and how talking to the boss would affect you personally and financially

SCOUSERWENCH

Confront. Next time your friend makes an error leave it. look after number 1.

GiseleLKennedy

I would talk to her about it, but you cant really expect people to behave as you do. You just know what category to put her in and maybe it is time to pull back. It is NEVER a good idea to be friends with coworkers. You cant address the past, however, moving forward? It would be a total shredding. Just make sure what you think are errors are true errors and that you really are on top of YOUR game.

beccyleigh

I would have been telling my co-worker at the time that there was this & that error & have them correct it & ask them to do the same for you. By covering for this person they now think they are better at their job than you are & seem to have no loyalty to you at all. I would be scaling back on the friendship in & out of work too.

Avalonis

LOL

I have a file of errors my cowroker has done in my office. I don't tell on her, but if I were put in this situation, I have some ammo to use.

And crap like THIS is why so many marriages don't work. Seriously, why can't most women forgive and forget? (I realize this was a coworker, but its the same type of thing)

To the OP: TALK to her. Getting snarky doesn't help anything. If she stabs you again then its time to rethink the friendship.

Larius

If you're friends outside the office, you should talk to her about it. Otherwise, you're the bad friend.

juleseybaby

I would have been letting the co-worker/friend know that I had made a correction for them so that it wouldn't happen again.

How can someone correct a mistake or bad behavior or anything if they genuinely don't know it's happening?

Juliebean_1027

Yes, I would be mad. As a professional courtesy (not to mention the friend code) he/she could have, and should have, come to you and said 'Hey I found this error.' What he or she did was inconsiderate. I don't think I would go to the boss and say 'Here are all the past mistakes that he or she made' because then that reflects poorly on you. You look like a whiner and that's not fair to you. I hate confrontation, but I think I would just say something to your friend. Say 'You know, I understand that we all make mistakes, but I would have appreciated it if you had come to me first. There have been plenty of times where I've found errors in your work and I've fixed the problem to avoid problems for you. I'm not asking you to do the same for me, because that would involve more work on your part, but the least you could have done is point it out to me and given me the chance to fix my own mistakes.' Then leave it at that. And for the record, I would also STOP fixing their mistakes. That's not your job and you're not getting paid to do two jobs, just your own.

jlowensby

I sure wouldn't be correcting her errors any longer....

From this point on, turn a bout is fair play. In the workforce, you sometimes have to put frienship on the side burner...when it comes down to it they are not going to put their job or bonuses on the line for you....

losethechalupa

It sounds a bit petty to bring up past mistakes and also to start running in and pointing out hers now. Being a manager, I notice these types of things and it will only make you look bad in the end and discredit you. I think you should have a conversation with this person and let them know how what they did made you feel hurt and betrayed. She may have her own agenda for advancement or should could have had a duh moment and didnt think about the backlash for you in the process. You now know that your relationship is more professional than personal and should be treated as such in the future.

Grimmerick

I would tell her you have been covering her mistakes for her and that you didn't realize that she would turn you in for yours. Since that is what she has set as protocol I would let her know from now on you will be turning in all of her mistakes. Ask her if she is ok with that or if maybe she would like to rethink her actions before turning you in next time. But I wouldn't take all her past errors and turn them in now, it will make you look bad for hiding them from your boss.

glockster972

LOL

I have a file of errors my cowroker has done in my office. I don't tell on her, but if I were put in this situation, I have some ammo to use.

And crap like THIS is why so many marriages don't work. Seriously, why can't most women forgive and forget? (I realize this was a coworker, but its the same type of thing)

Agreed, hence the reason that I do not seek friends while on the job!
To the OP: TALK to her. Getting snarky doesn't help anything. If she stabs you again then its time to rethink the friendship.

dieseljay74

Been there....sounds to me like someone is trying to shine at your expense.
I would tell them about all the mistakes you catch and if that's the game they want to play everybody will lose.

ItsCasey

At this point in time, it has nothing to do with your friendship but with your money.

Absolutely. You don't let people screw with your livelihood, even friends or family members. Again, I'm not saying to seek revenge. I'm just saying to take the gloves off from this point forward.

spicy618

I'd wait for her in the parking lot @ 5:00 and beat that *kitten*. :laugh: :laugh:



The friendship will no longer exist. Back to co-workers.

Krull_the_WarriorKing

I've had this happen and I took the high road and didn't tell on him. But when he left the office I rubbed my junk on his phone. I spent the next week calling him a ****face. since we're friends he thought i was just messing around.

amkelley

I would definitely have to ask her why she didnt come to you first. As a friend, that would piss me off the most. I would also probably mention all of the mistakes you had fixed for her. I dont think she is a friend anymore either.

quichebradford

A) what would YOU do or have you done? regardless of what she did to me, I would bring it to her attention to give her a chance try to sort out, rather than rat her out.

My first instinct would be to give her a piece of my mind, :laugh: but I wouldn't. Going forward I would not correct the errors anymore. As it stands, the errors being corrected give the impression that she's at 100% on her quality...she'd be in for a rude awakening!