Colleague given more responsibility, unfair?

Question

A colleague at my work who has the exact same position as me and actually started the same day as me has been given more responsibilities. I feel she is actually very poor at her job and often cuts corners and says she "doesn't care".

The only reasons that I can think of how we differ is that she is about 3 years older then me and is also of african descent, and I seem to get on with our supervisor just aswell as she does, if not more as she takes more time off.

I feel quite upset by this and I am unsure what to do or how to take it. Thanks

Answer 1

Do your job to the very best you can and don't complain or hinder her in anyway. If she fails at her new task you don't want anyone saying it was your fault and she might succeed,
Unless you have seen her resume you don't know what the history is, she may have experience you don't have.
Bosses don't tell people why the make the choices they make you never really know. Maybe she wasn't doing a good job and they thought she is smart and was just bored so gave her more to do.

Answer 2

in all honesty, I understand that you are upset about this situation, but instead of getting angry and wondering why SHE got the responsiblity and you didn't..maybe you should step back and ask yourself "what can I do to make myself a better employee so that I get advancement opportunities". and then follow through to improve yourself. One major mistake employees make is to compare themselves to their fellow workers. Every person is different and what some may deem poor work, others may deem to be efficient and vice versa. Until you have been in the bosses' shoes (at this job), it is not wise to pass judgement on other's work performance as this may make you seem mean, greedy and a gossip.

By no means am I saying that you did not deserve the added responsibilities or that you are not capable..it just wasn't your time yet in the eyes of your employer. They may change their minds soon enough and a positive attitude, regardless of the situation will go far.

If she is truly a poor employee, she will fall flat on her face and you will be ready to go in and take care of what she leaves behind.

I seriously doubt that age or race has anything to do with it. It's a different kind of world now, and it is dangerous to discriminate (or reverse discriminate) against a person because of their sex, age, race, sexual orientation, etc.

I wish you lots of luck in the future and keep your chin up!! Your time will come soon enough for that extra responsibility and when it does, you will be ready!!

Answer 3

Good advice above. Bitching will only get you marked down as a malcontent.

I don't tell my employees why I make the assignments I do. I make them because I think it makes the most sense for the business as a whole, a view that you won't have. I might be wrong, but I am the boss.