Am I petty or do I have a right to say something?

Linda_Darlene

Anything you say in reference to the amount of work that you do versus him, time you put in, his leaving early, his absence etc. is going to come off petty. It's going to come across like a child screaming "it's NOT fair!!!"

However, I would point out my accomplishments, but never compare against someone else. It does come across petty.

I agree with this. Complaining is not the way to go. Documenting all your accomplishments and attendance, including the times you carried the office on your own, and then scheduling a meeting with your boss to make a case for a higher raise is the better path. If you can schedule this meeting before salary planning is conducted, even better. You can't wait until raises have already been budgeted/decided (which generally happens months ahead of your actual review and notification of your raise).

THIS

msaestein1

Anything you say in reference to the amount of work that you do versus him, time you put in, his leaving early, his absence etc. is going to come off petty. It's going to come across like a child screaming "it's NOT fair!!!"

However, I would point out my accomplishments, but never compare against someone else. It does come across petty.

I agree with this. Complaining is not the way to go. Documenting all your accomplishments and attendance, including the times you carried the office on your own, and then scheduling a meeting with your boss to make a case for a higher raise is the better path. If you can schedule this meeting before salary planning is conducted, even better. You can't wait until raises have already been budgeted/decided (which generally happens months ahead of your actual review and notification of your raise).

I used to work in accounting, so I guess this an accounting thing! I got the same treatment. When I was pregnant, I got grief for going to the doctor "so much" in my last trimester, yet I worked right up unitl delivery. When my coworker was pregnant, she called off the entire pregnancy or worked from home!!!!!!!!!!!. If I got sick, like 5 times in the 7 years I worked there, mind you, I was reprimanded. She called in for like a week because her dog was sick. When I said something I was labeled the animal hating *****. Just worry about what you do and if it isn't good enough for them or appreciated, work on moving on. I have moved on and I am sooooooooooooooooo happy.

perfectingpatti

You worry about yourself and not what your co-worker does/doesn't do. If you think you should be paid more, ask, but don't start selling him out to get more money. Not cool.

missmayeb

You may one day " joke" and say something like ----"Boy,dude"s name, I can't believe you STILL have some time left. Surely, you have used all your hours up .......... Make sure a boss is within hearing distance..

I would do this too. Just be light-hearted about it, maybe if you all go to lunch together one day bring up the holiday season and see what he says. If he does say that he will be taking time off be like "Wow, I thought you were already over your time?" I would not make a formal complaint about it. I would suggest bringing to your bosses attention that you have been at the company an allotted amount of time, put in above and beyond the amount of time and effort and ask for an adjustment in either raise or additional vacation time.

I did the same thing at my previous job and found out pretty quickly that even after being there longer than other employees my boss didn't hold me in high regard. He granted more allotments and higher raises to the men of the company but told me I was not a crucial to the office as them and I didn't deserve a raise, even after four years of working over 40 hours a week. That week I found another job and told him see ya later. Now I get the respect I deserve and LOVE my job.

I say talk to your boss about you, positively and not negatively about the other person. It may open your eyes to why they do what they do.

fitkat_2012

My advice is to keep doing the right thing - because it's the right thing. I've had similar experiences with co-workers & if they're not doing their job... well it will be noticed - without anyone saying anything. I've been fortunate in being compensated for the hard work I do while watching those that "skate by" eventually reap their "rewards". I hope you enjoy your job & are able to ignore the rest.

lindalee0315

Okay. I'm just going to put this out there, because I'm a labor/employment law attorney. This resopnse assumes you work in the United States and that you work for an hourly rate, if not disregard. Additionally, I'm only licensed to practice in Michigan, so I cannot give you legal advice unless you happen to live in Michigan. That said, the overtime/compensation that you described is usually unlawful. If you are hourly, you must be paid time and one half for any hour worked over 40. Private employers cannot (usually) have people save up "comp" time instead of paying overtime. There are certain limited exceptions, usually in the farming industry and there are exceptions for certain public employees. There are also time limits. (E.g., I can't bank that time for an entire year and use it all at once.) There are many reasons for this. The big one being that in the past, when this practice had limited acceptance, employers did not allow employees to bank time at 1.5x their rate. So, for purposes of illustration, you may make $10/hour. OT rate is $15.00, but employer only banked one hour, not 90 minutes. Employer, therefore, was making $5.00 more than it would have if it had to pay the OT. Employees accepted the "extra" vacation time thinking "that's great", but really they were getting less in real compensation than they would have had they been paid.

As to your original question, I wouldn't compare yourself with the other employee in terms of overall performance. I would discuss your positive contributions and note that you feel that this practice has left you feeling a bit shortchanged.

Finally, (again the lawyer in me) this practice sets them up for an EEOC charge. If they are treating him differently than you, you could argue that it's gender-related. In my experience, 99% of employers don't even think about this issue until they're slammed with a lawsuit. They can usually justify the disparate treatment on the basis of some performance issue that has been ongoing, but to the EEOC it looks like "Male employee with less experience/seniority got 3 weeks off. Female employee got 2. Not fair." Then the employer has to go through a tedious process of providing the requisite documentation. Usually the person complaining has had serious performance issues, but that's not what the employee tells the EEOC. It comes out in the wash, but not until they have invested hours of time justifying their actions to an outside agency.

SoViLicious

Whatever we all work hard in our own way. Why not just worry about your position and make sure you are doing things right. Until it affects your paycheck LEAVE IT ALONE.

vkruithof

My suggestion (having been in the same situation) would be to keep those morsels under your hat for future use. You never know when you need to come to a meeting armed and dangerous!

By the way, I don't necessarily think you're being petty at all. We all have had experiences of feeling inferior by treatment, and wonder why we don't try to get away with the same things these other people do... it's because we're better, and the owners know this and they appreciate it... they just don't emote or verbalize it... It'll bite him in the butt later and you'll get what you deserve. Don't worry, Karma has a way of working things out for us!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

gingerjen7

Well, the first amendment guarantees you the right to say something, but I think it unwise. To be frank, it's none of your business what your coworker is doing, unless his behavior takes money out of your pocket or negatively impacts your ability to do your job. You might not see it as fair, but you don't necessarily know everything about the situation. If you feel like you deserve more, compile your reasons based on YOUR performance and present it to them. Leave your coworker out of it.

FabMrFox

You both have different work ethic but don't blame the guy for not having a good one. Blame management for allowing it and I wouldn’t advise mentioning it to the coworker at all. I would advise you to only bring up your stellar attendance during a review or if you are asking for a raise.

frando

I would log all these things and present it to the owner so he know you're not being *****y xD

EatClean_WashUrNuts

Yawn. Everyone has the right to say something. The recourse? To be determined.

Why post it on a fitness forum?

SeaRunner26

Anything you say in reference to the amount of work that you do versus him, time you put in, his leaving early, his absence etc. is going to come off petty. It's going to come across like a child screaming "it's NOT fair!!!"

However, I would point out my accomplishments, but never compare against someone else. It does come across petty.

I agree with this. Complaining is not the way to go. Documenting all your accomplishments and attendance, including the times you carried the office on your own, and then scheduling a meeting with your boss to make a case for a higher raise is the better path. If you can schedule this meeting before salary planning is conducted, even better. You can't wait until raises have already been budgeted/decided (which generally happens months ahead of your actual review and notification of your raise).

I agree with both of these posts. Bosses usually don't like complaining. But they often respond well to proactive self-confident requests based on facts. So, no I don't think you are being petty and I do think you deserve something for your dedication. Good luck!

RedHeadDevotchka

It's not fair, and I would be pissed as well. Hell, no one likes it when other people get away with things they shouldn't. Unfortunately, you will come off as petty and nit picky if you bring it up IMO. Not worth it. It sucks, but what are you gonna do?

jessilee119

I just want to know if I am being petty. I work at a very small CPA firm. 2 Parters (bosses), 2 employees (me and this dude) and a part time receptionist. We are allowed 40 hours Vacation, 40 hours "Comp Time" (from the non-paid OT we work in tax season), and 40 hours sick. After 5 years you get a third week vacation. In the 6 years I have been here I have never gone over my allotted time off. The other dude working here has only been here 3 years. He went over by 40 hours last year and the company just kinda "wrote it off". In my opinion I had to work here 5 years to earn that additional week. Now this year is almost over and he is once again over more than 40 hours and its only October. He has no major medical problems. He does have a child but so do I (and in most cases it's the mother that has to deal with the sick babies). He comes in late and leaves early all the time because he is working on his Masters but the 2 years I spent getting my Masters I didn't go over my time. I just feel it is very unfair that he get all this extra PTO that I don't get and I have been here 3 years longer than him. Is there anything I could say to my bosses? Should I even say anything? Am I just being petty?

Also our raises are always the same % for both of us, so it's not like I'm being rewarded for my dedication to my job in a financial way.

I think all of us..whether working for a big or small company..has at least one of this type of employee. Here at my office we call her Martha the useless receptionist. In my vast experience of life lol....it's of no benefit to say anything. Deal with it or move on. That's life in the working world.

Yes! We have it here in my office...I only raise concerns to the boss if it's going to affect my work directly. My husband has to remind me, as long as I'm getting paid and I can do my job I shouldn't say anything. There are people out there without jobs who wouldn't mind being treated unfairly as long as they were getting paid.

jessilee119

I know it's not deducted from his pay. We discuss our pay with each other and anything else.

This is why most jobs say wages are confidential and shouldn't be discussed with anyone...it only creates problems...

Akimajuktuq

I just want to know if I am being petty. I work at a very small CPA firm. 2 Parters (bosses), 2 employees (me and this dude) and a part time receptionist. We are allowed 40 hours Vacation, 40 hours "Comp Time" (from the non-paid OT we work in tax season), and 40 hours sick. After 5 years you get a third week vacation. In the 6 years I have been here I have never gone over my allotted time off. The other dude working here has only been here 3 years. He went over by 40 hours last year and the company just kinda "wrote it off". In my opinion I had to work here 5 years to earn that additional week. Now this year is almost over and he is once again over more than 40 hours and its only October. He has no major medical problems. He does have a child but so do I (and in most cases it's the mother that has to deal with the sick babies). He comes in late and leaves early all the time because he is working on his Masters but the 2 years I spent getting my Masters I didn't go over my time. I just feel it is very unfair that he get all this extra PTO that I don't get and I have been here 3 years longer than him. Is there anything I could say to my bosses? Should I even say anything? Am I just being petty?

Also our raises are always the same % for both of us, so it's not like I'm being rewarded for my dedication to my job in a financial way.

I think all of us..whether working for a big or small company..has at least one of this type of employee. Here at my office we call her Martha the useless receptionist. In my vast experience of life lol....it's of no benefit to say anything. Deal with it or move on. That's life in the working world.

In my office we have a "Margaret the useless admin assistant". lol Even though she has the worst attendence of everyone, she is the leave administrator. She is AWOL alot, takes breaks that are a half hour to one hour long, is late and leaves early every single day (with no leave deductions) and she watches the rest of us like a hawk (when she is actually here, and then checks on our attendence by asking other staff, not us, when she isn't here). She even tries to mark us absent when we are here! We have to pay close attention... Also, when an employee submits forms that they have signed as true and correct, she will write all over them making unapproved and incorrect changes and then submit them directly to the Director... oh I could go on and on.....

We all have annoying co-workers (where I live and work many breaches of policy are ignored based on race-how unfair is that?); it's best just to do our own work and mind our own business, unless something they do directly affects your work and performance.

newcs

I'm a CPA and have been working in tax for about 5 years now (about 3.5 in public accounting, now 1.5 in private industry). My experience is: it's not fair but you probably can't win. Are you taking on more clients/returns/complexity than him? If so, I would push for a higher raise, more benefits, etc. But if he's just taking more time off but still pulling his weight, then I think it's petty. If he can get his work done (and he's doing a proportional amount of work) and take the extra days then good for him for being efficient. If by him taking the extra days, you have to pick up the slack, then definitely fight for better compensation (whether monetary, vacation, choice of clients, whatever).

CentralCaliCycling

It has nothing to do with being petty or not. You're not in charge. You don't make or enforce the rules. If your benefits are being infringed on, it's time to speak up. If not, you would be well advised to mind your own business. If your company is aware of what's going on and deals with it a certain way, unless they seek your consultation, they don't want to hear from you.

Right or wrong this is something you should seriously consider as an employee... Of course you could quit or complain and potentially get fired (or noted as not being a team player) and that usually doesn't put money in your bank account.

perfectingpatti

Yawn. Everyone has the right to say something. The recourse? To be determined.
Why post it on a fitness forum?

We're in the chit-chat section. We're chatting about it. If it's so boring, why comment? And if you just want fitness, steer clear of this section.