I need some serious help!?

Question

I just got a great position at the company I have been with for 8 years and my boss just hired the anti-christ off the street to do the same position as I am. He is a real snake in the grass and because he is intimidated by my production I can see that he is looking for things to use against me. I cought him yesterday on my computer under my log in name looking at my internet files. Ive also been told by numerous co workers that he's been asking alot of questions about me and my past with the company. Im in the middle of a full force polital office war with this prick and I cant just go to my boss with it because I dont want to drag him into a bunch of petty BS unless I get something more solid. This guy is slick and he's one of the sneakiest manipulaters Ive ever seen. What should I do? If I dont fight back Im afraid he may get what he wants, which is me out the door, if I dont do something soon. HELP!!

Answer 1

First of all he has no right to be looking at your files, that is right, isn't it. Then report him for that, you caught him red-handed, report him. Whenever you have concrete evidence of his manipulation/sneakiness report him and put it in writing. If you don't want to do it officially, you could just say in passing to your boss: I just caught 'him' looking at my Internet files, wonder why he would do such a thing. Then shrug your shoulder and walk off. Do the same thing each time there is an incident so that your boss knows what is happening yet you are not being judgemental about it.

Answer 2

Logging into a company computer under any name but your own is usually a violation of that company's security code. That alone should be a red flag.
You use the term "petty" and that is a very good description of the direction this is going. If I understand your question, you and "just hired" are now colleagues, working in similar positions.
For 8 yrs, you have been a solid employee and hopefully have copies of each of your performance reports to back you up. (If not, ask for those copies immediately from your HR dept.)
If "just hired" can only harm you not help you, it is in your professional interest to keep things on a very professional level. While you may not want to include your boss, this is what he gets paid the "big bucks" for. If production is how your performance is measured, you need to bring your boss into the loop. If "just hired" can affect your production, it's likely he's affecting several other co-workers.
When you were hired, it's likely you were not told to carry on completely on your own. You work in a team environment, good or bad, and you need to use the company as a tool. "Just Hired" is coming from an insecure position as the newest employee and obviously feels threatened.

Answer 3

Read "The Art of War" by Sun Tsu.

You do not have an enemy unless you name him.
To defeat your enemy, you have to first make him your friend.

Office politics will be around whether you remain or not. You need to smarten up your act, and have a plan B (alternate course of action(s)).

The presence of office politics is obtaining power and influence in the work environment. One usual way is to discredit the opponent(s) so that the path is cleared for advancement.

Today's corporation takes no prisoners. Losers get fired.

If you think you are not as good as him - you are history.
You need to assess your competencies and make sure you follow at the company's rules. Even if there is an instance of violation will put you out on the street.

Remember, the best job is to have the best supervisor. This means you must win the TRUST of the supervisor. No opponent will be able to unseat you if you have won exclusive trust.

Trust means that you have the confidence of the supervisor, and is able to exercise good judgement on behalf of the company. If any incident has happened in the past that undermines this trust - such as lying, cheating, bad mouthing the company, etc - then you have failed to gain the trust of people around you, and worst of all, failed to gain the trust of your supervisor. In this case your boss.

Once you know where you stand on competency and trust, you can easily know the result.

I think this is a situation that you have lost the trust - and as such, your time is up.

Complete your resume today and start looking for a new job.

Answer 4

Well, first change your password to your work computer, that should stop him from using your screen name at work. Then keep a diary of sorts of the things that he is doing, when, where, who was there as well, and if someone told you, who it was. Are you his superior, his boss? If so then have a talk with him. But if you are not his boss then you really need to let someone higher up know what is going on. You need to go to HR and log a complaint against him after you have some logs in your diary. I'm sure the company will take your word, the word of someone they just promoted after 8 years at the company before someone off the street.

Answer 5

If possible, set up a situation where you know your boss, or your bosses boss is within earshot. Then tell him this, and it doesn't matter if anyone else is around or not. Preferably, it would be you, him, and the boss within earshot:

"I understand you've been going to our co-workers and asking questions about me that they think are the type of questions one asks when the answers can be used to get someome fired. They think you are jealous of my production and are getting ready to sabotage me.
If you have any questions you want to ask, if there is anything about me you want to know, all you have to do is ask me. My life is an open book; I have nothing to hide. It is a testament to my integrity that these people came to me about this. You know, if you are having difficulties getting the hang of this job, if you want to learn how to increase your production, I would be willing to go in on my free time and share my knowledge with you. We work as a team here, and everyone needs to be on board if this company is going to succeed. Think about it. but in the meantime, kindly refrain from accessing my computer again."

Then walk away looking like a hero, yet at the same time, he's busted for being a snoopy, sneaky snake.

Answer 6

That IS a difficult position to be in. But you have been a long-established and accomplished co-worker, and it doesn't sound as though you have much to worry about, if you simply keep performing as you have been. The only reason that YOU would have to feel paranoid about your situation is if you have, in fact violated any company policy or protocol, and you have not. Have faith in your work ethic, and in the job that you have performed so well for the past 8 years. This vile manipulator WILL end up burying himself, unless you find yourself so threatened by him that you end up doing something stupid. You know A LOT MORE about the day-to-day operations than he does. LET HIM bury himself!! Stay cool, there is NO REASON to feel guilty or threatened by him! If you do, he has already won! The only thing worse than feeling threatened by someone at work, is ALLOWING YOURSELF to feel threatened by that person! Let your work speak for itself, and don't let one big pinhead ruin that for you!!

Answer 7

For starters password protect your computer at work so he can't get into it again. Make sure you don't do anything wrong...nothing at all! Then he won't have anything to give the boss about you. Just do your work to the best of your ability, that's all you can do. If he's that bad your boss will notice it. Good luck and be good!

Answer 8

The first thing I would do is talk to him. If that doesn't work then you will have to go to your boss or maybe someone next in line of authority that you can trust.

Answer 9

If he was using your computer under your log in, your work is done. Chances are if your company uses log ins to access the internet, they have rules about using someone elses log in.

Answer 10

I would confront him straight up and ask him what his problem is, then tell him to stay out of your stuff. Then I would let HR or your boss know that you told him that. If it continues, at least you took the proper steps to prptet yourself.