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How do I handle a co-worker doing business for another company?
I work for a relatively small company and one of my co-workers is doing work for another company on the side. The only reason why I know this is because he sits next to me. I don't want to be a rat, but it's taking away from our team goals and production. What's the best way to handle the situation without starting a mess?
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3 Answers
Like so many HR issues the answer to that one is "it depends" as there isn't sufficient information to give a response that will be the best, not knowing the full situation.
The manager or supervisor in the department (or company if it's quite small) needs to be the one to address the situation or the owner, if there is not a line of management.
Is there a written company policy that the employee signed? Is the employee on lunch or break time? At the desk before or after work hours and using company property - PC, company phone, etc? Does a policy exist that the employee signed stating he understood he could not use company equipment on personal time? Do others use the phone and PC for personal use if he is doing so also?
Is the employee working with a competitor or does a conflict of interest exist?
As difficult as jobs are to come by at this time, I'd give serious thought to reporting him unless I had proof as you do not want it to backfire on you or have you look like you are a complainer.
I believe the company has a right to know if he is doing something clearly against company policy but I also believe you are wise to think of your future before you do anything because you don't want to put your job on the line.
You want to do the right thing but sometimes doing so will backfire and create problems you should not have to deal with. If you can report it without having to reveal who you are, that would be the best way to go.
I would see there are a few ways to handle this situation, given the amount of information here
Firstly a lot will depend on whether you have policies written to handle a situation like this - if so, best route is to follow. however from your post i expect you may not have anything in writing in your company.
Therefore possible options I see are:
- do nothing - this is likely to annoy you further and therefore you need to think of the impact it may have on your productivity and relationship with this person
- speak directly to him and express your concerns - there may be something you don't know about an arrangement he has with the company, or another story that you are not aware of. Or he may just be taking advantage of your current company. Either way if he knows you have some concerns, he has a choice to explain the situation to you, or to carry on regardless. You can also suggest that if the situation continues you may have to raise it with someone in the company
- speak to someone in the company (if you have hr you should be able to ask their advice on how to handle it) who will be able to deal with it directly - this depends entirely on the management structure in your company.
Hope you manage to sort the situation
I disagree with the advice to speak directly to him, it's not your job to investigate how your peers spend their work time. Passing the ethics test means doing the right thing even if it makes you feel uncomfortable. If you are certain the employee is working for another company on your company's time or using company resources, tell someone...usually HR or Legal. If your company has an Ethics Hotline, that works too.
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