Advice and comments

I had a busy schedule today. I took the cat to the vet’s and am happy to report, so far, all is well. She’s come home and is eating well. She has breast fed her sole kitten and generally seems more demonstrative than usual. Perhaps I was not wrong in taking her to the vet ?

At work today, one of my colleagues took me “out for a walk”. This is an expression used in our office, when we step out in pairs or threesomes to discuss events of the day. Events or things, which we might not be able to discuss within the confines of the office, because walls are thin, you see.

So we stepped out. As I am new at this work, this was my first experience of going ” out for a walk”. The reason my colleague wanted to walk with me was she had some advice for me.

She had, apparently noticed that another colleague of mine, who has the same work designation as I, was “observed” as being overly bossy with me. Others had noticed that this woman, was giving me orders because of her seniority in the office or because she is just one of those people,who thrive on delegating work to others and enjoying the fruits of their labor.

So, S, my colleague warned me, that if I was not careful, I would be dealt with badly here and would have to take orders from someone who was not my supervisor. Incidentally, my own supervisor, intact, everyone’s supervisor, is off on a business trip to her country. In her absence, this particular woman had decided that the department was not running well, and she needed to take things into her own hands’. And one of the ways she had decided she was going to do this is by sending emails to the others in the office, asking them to do work for her.

My questions are :

1. How come some people automatically decide to take over the reins, in the absence of the leader ?Is it a human tendency to be a shepherd and look after “weaker” sheep or is it a human fallacy to just reap the benefits off someone else’s work ?

2. If  I need to bring this to the notice of my supervisor, ( Should I ?), should i do it during a departmental meeting or in private ?

3. Do I need to bring this to the notice of my supervisor ? Is it worth it ?

4. Is this a subtle form or workplace bullying ?

Answers are welcome, from those who have worldly wisdom.