How to deal with how I am treated and feel regarding my coworker?

Question

Me and my coworker are together all day at work 8 hrs. We both work as medical specimen collectors. She started 3 weeks before me, but acts like she runs the show a lot of time. My boss has told me he's appointing me as head MA how ever lets no one know this so essential it means nothing (other words when something happens im supposed to be a rat and let him know everything). My fellow coworker was caught punching in and getting paid for time she was not there leaving me to do work for two people this went on for over a week till I blew the whistle. We are contract work so the office we work at we really don't and cant associate with the other ppl there. She makes 4 dollars more an hour then me yet I do the majority of the work considering I do the ordering part which require a lot of technical skills. My job doesn't bother me its actually easy, I could do her job and mine no problem and did for the time she was out over something every week. It does bother me however that I feel like I am treated like a peon to her. She has referred to me as her assistant in the past which is not true plus she claims to be Sr. MA.  All this is untrue my boss said when I started that the position is flexible we make up our own schedule and we perform as our own bosses just working together. I believe since I have started this job this woman has caused me to become depressed.

mrreliable3599 · Answer

You need to discuss this with your boss, not some anonymous message board.

Any time I was put in a position of reporting, I insisted everyone know. If everyone knew I was going to report infractions when I saw them, no big deal. I wasn't going to sneak around. You need to tell your boss this.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking "this woman has caused me to become depressed." How you react to someone is in your control. Nobody can "make you mad," or make you depressed. It's up to you. If you're depressed, I'd say it's because you're afraid to deal with these issues straight on and it's digging at you, not anything she's done.

Tell your boss you want to be clear about your authority and responsibilities as "head MA," whatever that means. It's disfunctional to have someone in a position of authority when nobody knows about it. If the boss is that haphazard, it's possible he did appoint the other person "Sr. MA," whatever that is.

You need to deal with these issues head on in a calm, professional, respectful manner. If you just give up and feel powerless, like going on an anonymous message board, yes, that probably will result in depression. Take some control over your own life instead of feeling like there's nothing you can do. I know it's hard to start the conversation, but you'll be surprised how invigorated you'll feel when you take control of things.

Beverly S · Answer

Sounds like your boss told her she was in charge.  Just like he told you that he is appointing you as head MA.

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How to deal with how I am treated and feel regarding my coworker?

2 Answers