A Doer Shouldn't Take Blame for a Do-Nothing

Edited questions from Career Tracks, Mary Ellen Slayter's online discussion about workplace issues. Her guests were Caitlin Friedman and Kim Yorio, authors of "The Girl's Guide to Kicking Your Career Into Gear" (Broadway Books).

Tampa: There are three people in my department: my boss, a co-worker and me. Many of the tasks that are assigned to me are dependent on my co-worker's ability to do his job. However, he has proven to be unreliable and sloppy in his work. My boss is aware of this but has said she doesn't care about the who did/didn't do what and when. It's my responsibility to do whatever I need to do to see that the tasks are completed in a timely and complete manner. I understand this. However, I have no consequences to enforce when he fails to complete his work. My reminders fall on deaf ears while my boss wants me to figure it out on my own. I've never supervised anyone in any official capacity. I don't understand how I'm supposed to get someone to do his job when I have no authority over him. So either I do his work for him or I take the blame.

Caitlin Friedman, left: Your co-worker is taking advantage of you and your hard work. What a frustrating and terrible situation to be in. We would recommend a few things. Start keeping track of your accomplishments and contributions as separate from your co-worker's. Start selling your success to your boss in a way that is comfortable for you. Kim's style is to set up a meeting with our clients to walk them through her accomplishments live and in person. My style is to send weekly e-mails, full of bullet points listing what I've done. It is important in this situation to start separating yourself from your co-worker and his bad work.