askST Jobs: I keep having to pick up a colleague’s work. How should I raise it with my boss?
Focus on how a colleague’s work affects your workload, and avoid making personal attacks.
The article offers guidance on how to address a situation where an employee is frequently taking on additional tasks from a colleague. Michelle Koh, a managing director at executive search firm The Edge Partnership, advises employees to raise the concern in a calm manner, rather than reacting in the heat of frustration. Koh emphasizes that the conversation should focus on the impact of the situation on work and the team, rather than making personal attacks.
She also cautions against using sweeping statements about always having to do the colleague's work, unless concrete examples can be provided.
Tan Weixi, managing partner at Workplace Asia, warns against framing the issue around whether the colleague is "pulling their weight", as this could put the boss in an uncomfortable position of having to referee between two employees. Instead, employees should focus on patterns of behavior that genuinely affect work delivery. They may also consider speaking first to the colleague to understand if there are any underlying circumstances they are unaware of.
Employees should go into the conversation seeking a solution, such as clarifying responsibilities, redistributing workloads or resetting priorities. It's important to approach the conversation looking for a resolution, rather than simply complaining about a colleague's performance.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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