Should I get HR involved? [closed]

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I work in a busy warehouse and have been here for 3 years. Approximately 2 months ago we hired a 2nd person, let's call him Bob, to help out. During the first month of his employment, our new employee Bob (who is 55+ years old) threw a tantrum and began yelling and throwing stuff. I approached my boss and let him know that I actually got scared when this happened.

This happened several times and when I went to my boss again I was told to treat Bob as a child. We were then called into a meeting to come to a resolution. This meeting has done nothing, and Bob continues to have tantrums. Last week was the final straw.

I approached my boss again and said I will not deal with Bob any longer and if I need to find another job then so be it. I was then told in a round about way that I should treat him with kid gloves, I responded that I don't coddle, my boss proceeded to ask me what type of people can I work with as I don't know how to deal with people.

The end result was that I am doing more work and get the later shift (not happy about that). Yesterday when I tried to explain something to Bob he had another hissy fit and refused to talk to me. I sent my boss an email asking if he could have a discussion with Bob - from that I got an email back from my boss, with Bob invited to the conversation where he turned it around again to be my issue. With him doing that, it totally made me feel like I was being undermined.

This whole thing is stressing me out and I really can't afford to to quit my job. What should I do?

manpreet 2 years ago

Your boss is protecting Bob, and Bob is likely in a "protected class." If Bob is, then your boss is legally prohibited from telling you, even if you are confused. If he has a physical or mental disability, all you are going to do is get yourself fired.

Try the kid gloves method, you've got nothing to lose, aside from a place in the unemployment line.

From what you post, I think you may need to examine your own actions.

• Are you the only one getting into conflicts with Bob? - Do you have a bad record in dealing with people?
• Are you known to be difficult?
• Do you have a reputation of being hard on people?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you need to change your own behavior or get out.

What makes me tend to think that the problem lies with you was your response "I don't coddle". That's a big red flag to me because it tells me, and probably told your boss that you are inflexible.

The fact that your boss told you to treat him like a child is more of an indication that he may have some sort of mental disability. You're not going to win this fight. Learn to deal with people who are different, or find someplace else to work.