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Marie is a workplace psychologist with more than 25 years of experience in coaching, human resources, and management. She is the author of “Secrets to Winning at Office Politics”, and her career advice has appeared in Fortune, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Canadian Business, and many other publications. Though her international coaching practice, Marie has worked with clients from more than 20 different countries.

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    Featured Question

    “How can I report my coworker’s inappropriate activities?“

    One of my colleagues seems to be running a personal business on company time.  “Linn” spends hours monitoring her website, processing orders, sending invoices, and arranging for shipments.  She devotes more time to this than to her actual job duties.

    Unfortunately, our boss seems completely clueless about the situation.  He even asks us to help Linn out “because she’s always so busy”.  This is totally unfair, and I don’t think Linn should be allowed to get away with it.  What should I do?

    Marie’s Answer:

    Bluntly put, your coworker is a thief.  By accepting a paycheck, then using work time for personal gain, Linn is basically stealing from the business.  Informing management about this transgression is no different than reporting someone who pockets money from a cash register.

    If you work in a large company, you might ask the human resources manager or corporate attorney to investigate while keeping your name confidential.  But in a small business, going directly to management may be your only option.  Either way, have a concerned colleague accompany you in order to verify your story.

    When describing Linn’s activities, remain calm, focus on the facts, and politely request some follow-up.  For example: “We thought you should know that Linn has been running a personal business on company time.  She spends several hours a day selling products through her website instead of doing her job.  Because the rest of us have to pick up the slack, we would really appreciate your investigating this.”

    If management follows through, then with any luck Linn will soon be running this business from home.

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