Her Coworker Has Zero Management Authority. But He Keeps Overstepping and Changing Department Rules Anyway.
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Spending years at a job doesn’t automatically give someone the authority to make decisions for everyone else.
This employee recently found herself dealing with that exact problem after a longtime coworker announced yet another change that nobody had asked for.
Even though he had worked in the department for nearly a decade, he didn’t supervise anyone or have the authority to make decisions for the team.
Yet, that didn’t stop him from deciding to reorganize supplies that everyone used. The same supplies this employee stocked herself.
So instead of accepting the change, she decided she would put everything right back where it belonged.
Check out the full story below.
Coworker has no authority but acts as if he does
He’s been here for 9 years, so he definitely has some sway and influence in the department.
But he is not a supervisor. He is not a team lead or a group lead.
He doesn’t even have supervisor rights to make changes in the software we use for documenting test sessions. And yet he makes unilateral decisions that affect the entire department without talking to any of his peers, or any supervisor, or getting any input before doing so.
It’s an issue because it directly affects only her.
Today, he told me he plans to change the organization of supplies that we all use. He plans to change it to the way he wants it, instead of the way it has been and the way we are all used to.
The reason this is a problem for me is because I stock those supplies! Just me! No one else! If he changes my organization, I am going to change it right back. I am so sick of him steamrolling everyone in the department!
End rant.
Wow! Sounds like that’s a pretty stressful place to work.
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Let’s see what the people over at Reddit have to say about coworkers like this guy.
This is one way she can handle it.
Who knows? Maybe he wants this duty.
Here’s an official way to deal with it.
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That’s what it sounds like she plans to do.
Nobody likes coworkers like this.
If he honestly thinks he’s helping, then someone probably needs to explain where his authority begins and ends.
On the other hand, if he knows exactly what he’s doing and keeps making decisions for everyone else anyway, then it’s probably time to involve management.
Either way, this employee shouldn’t keep changing everything back in silence. A direct conversation could solve the problem, and if it doesn’t, a supervisor should step in before the situation creates even more frustration for the whole department.
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