Should You Tattle on a Co-Worker?

If you know a co-worker isn't acting in the best interest of the company or isn't working the hours she says she is, what should you do? Should you tattle on a co-worker or just ignore the behavior? According to career experts, the best thing to do may be to leave the matter alone unless not reporting your concerns is detrimental to the company.

You work hard at your job and have a good work ethic so it's pretty obvious when those around you don't model the same behavior. You might see a co-worker coming into work late, leaving for lunch early and spending time doing things that aren't work-related. You struggle with what you should do about this behavior, and you know others are also wondering about it too. Should you let your supervisor know what's going on or leave it alone? Is it your responsibility to tattle on a co-worker? How do you know the difference between tattling versus reporting your concerns at work?

Tattling on a Co-Worker vs. Reporting Your Concerns

When it comes to determining whether you are tattling on a co-worker or reporting your concerns, you want to ask yourself whether the co-worker's behavior is affecting the productivity of the company. If you're dealing with personality issues that bother you personally, it's probably best to forget it. It's most likely tattling. Try to ask yourself what would happen if you didn't report the behavior. If the answer is nothing or very little, you probably want to leave it alone. However, if you think the matter is important, you don't want to send the message that you condone the behavior.

You also want to look at your intentions. Why are you considering tattling on a co-worker? Are you trying to advance your position at the company, or are you trying to help the company out by reporting your concerns? If reporting the behavior is only about you, you might want to re-examine your motives. It's probably tattling. If it's about helping the company and avoiding possible legal or other issues, then go ahead.

Before talking to a supervisor, you might want to consider talking to the co-worker about what is bothering you. If the person finds out you tattled, she might be insulted or hurt. She might also go out of her way to retaliate by tattling on you. Talk to her in a private location and share your concerns. Don't threaten, accuse or scold, and keep your emotions out of it. Stick to the facts, use "I" statements as to how the behavior might be affecting you, and try to offer solutions.

Chances are, the boss knows what is happening and will discipline the person in his own way, or the company has different measurements for an employee's performance that you don't know. Your tattling might end up backfiring and turn a supervisor's eye on you in a way you don't want; consider your motives and the end result before you tattle on a co-worker.

Reporting your concerns about a co-worker's behavior might be the right thing to do if you are concerned about the employee or the good of the company. But if the behavior is minor, you may want to forget about it.

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