How to deal with a negative co-worker

[EMTJosh9]

So I have this one co-worker , and EVERYTHING I do is wrong, ( even if its not ) complains when I ask to many questions for an assessment ( they r relevant ) and complains when i dont ask at all .. Complains when I drive to calls to quick , but complains also when I go to slow for safety reasons. Complains when I hit bumps in the road when he's in the back ( but the road is completely f'd up I could go on all day. And I can't really call him out because i'm an EMT , and he's a medic, and he's been there a really long time and i've been here about 5 months. .. he's just stuck up. He ruins my whole work week and i'm only with him one day.

 

[NomadicMedic]

You have a couple of choices.

1) say something to him.
2) don't say something to him.

Things will get NO BETTER if you don't say anything, but may improve if you do.

Unless you say something, quit or call in sick every time you work with him, you're going to be miserable.

 

[Ryan815]

Maybe you should speak with your supervisor and just explain to then what's going on. It's one thing to be a tattle tail but also another to have an uncomfortable work environment and have to always be on your toes because this guy has his preferences. I think you wouldn't be in the wrong in talking to you boss about it.

 

[LACoGurneyjockey]

Maybe he's a **** and everyone has a hard time working with him.
Or maybe you're not as good as you think you are and a more experienced medic is trying to tell you the right way to do it, but still being a **** about it.
I've been there. And as the new EMT working with a longtime medic, you're a lot better off biting your tongue and trying to make this situation work in the best way it can than you are trying to get management involved. Unless this guy has a pattern of interpersonal problems, I can't see your supervisors siding with you over their far more experienced employee. It sucks, but dealing with people we might not necessarily want to deal with is certainly a part of ems, even if you didn't expect that to include coworkers.

 

[SeeNoMore]

That's a difficult situation. A power balance exists in this situation both because of the difference in your cert levels and time with the service. I always advocate starting with having a discussion with your coworker before going to a supervisor unless the situation is pretty serious. It might help, it might not. It's hard to say without knowing him. If you do have a conversation make sure to listen to his issues. Maybe there are some things you could change on your end. If he is hostile to attempts to forge a better working relationship you could consider speaking to someone but that could very easily backfire on you. You could be labeled as a problem, a complainer etc. Is there any way you can alter your shifts so you don't work together as often? If not you may have to either learn to ignore it or find another job. Good luck.

 

[EMTJosh9]

Maybe he's a **** and everyone has a hard time working with him.
Or maybe you're not as good as you think you are and a more experienced medic is trying to tell you the right way to do it, but still being a **** about it.
I've been there. And as the new EMT working with a longtime medic, you're a lot better off biting your tongue and trying to make this situation work in the best way it can than you are trying to get management involved. Unless this guy has a pattern of interpersonal problems, I can't see your supervisors siding with you over their far more experienced employee. It sucks, but dealing with people we might not necessarily want to deal with is certainly a part of ems, even if you didn't expect that to include coworkers.

This answer was the most realistic one i've read so far, I know im not amazing as im new .. noones amazing when they start, but im certainly not the worst. But even when i know 100% i did the right thing he still gives me a hard time.

 

[SeeNoMore]

Sadly that's just EMS. It's not likely to change. There are plenty of miserable people. Plenty of perfectly decent people. Again, while I am not personally acquainted with your situation I would bet against a new EMT being able to convince management to alter the behavior of a Medic with time in the organization unless many people found him to be a serious problem.

 

[LACoGurneyjockey]

This answer was the most realistic one i've read so far

Yea... I get that a lot.

I know im not amazing as im new .. noones amazing when they start, but im certainly not the worst. But even when i know 100% i did the right thing he still gives me a hard time.

Maybe your 100% right isn't his right on his truck. When it comes down to it, you're an EMT and he's a Paramedic. Everything you do on his truck is his responsibility. If you're running BLS you go ahead and run the call how you want to. But otherwise if he wants things done a certain way you're obligated to go along with it.

 

[cruiseforever]

Sadly that's just EMS. It's not likely to change. There are plenty of miserable people. Plenty of perfectly decent people. Again, while I am not personally acquainted with your situation I would bet against a new EMT being able to convince management to alter the behavior of a Medic with time in the organization unless many people found him to be a serious problem.

It's not just EMS. It's the real world. Every job, family, church, school, and etc have people that are just mean or love being a jerk.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Always always always talk to the person before going to management. No one will respect you if you don't.

And if your on a crappy road, give him a heads up "lots of bumps!"

If he's giving you a hard time about the way YOU do things, ask him to show you how HE would like it done. A little passive aggressive but its an easy way to solve the problem without fighting about inconsequential BS. Sometimes these old crusty guys have a reason for the way they do things, and sometimes they are right.

 

[WuLabsWuTecH]

I don't know how new you are but if you are new to the profession--welcome! And suck it up. We all have to start somewhere and he's probably just training you. This doesn't rule out that he might just be a jerk and a terrible person, but you should still learn what you can.

If you aren't new, then deal with it would deal with it at any other job you have held. This is not a unique problem to our field. Sometime that's not in the heat of the moment, talk to him about it. Keep an open mind and be non-accusatory--you want a discussion. You just might be surprised what his reasons are.

If you continue to have a problem, then you can elevate it to your supervisor. But I am of the opinion of working things out man-to-man before kicking it upstairs and I've found that with very few exceptions (i.e. safety issues) I haven't had to kick it up.

 

[JeffT]

Give a fool enough rope and they will hang themselves. Remember that Corporate Compliance Rules are everywhere... keep your eyes open for ways to utilize that fact if he's doing something you don't think is a legit way of doing it... If he is doing stuff legit, suck it up princess. Try talking to him more often... perhaps there's some mental stuff going on behind the scenes that you may not know much about quite yet.

 

[LACoGurneyjockey]

Give a fool enough rope and they will hang themselves. Remember that Corporate Compliance Rules are everywhere... keep your eyes open for ways to utilize that fact if he's doing something you don't think is a legit way of doing it... If he is doing stuff legit, suck it up princess. Try talking to him more often... perhaps there's some mental stuff going on behind the scenes that you may not know much about quite yet.

Are you saying as a new EMT and new employee he should try to find ways to narc on his difficult partner? Have you had success with that? Seems like a great way to alienate the rest of your coworkers and burn any bridges you might have with management.

 

[RedAirplane]

Oxygen therapy works wonders. A bottle of oxygen applied at high velocity to the cranium...

I'm kidding. Please don't do that.

 

[JeffT]

Are you saying as a new EMT and new employee he should try to find ways to narc on his difficult partner? Have you had success with that? Seems like a great way to alienate the rest of your coworkers and burn any bridges you might have with management.

I'm saying some people think they are above the law, not just in EMS, but everywhere. Usually if folks are jackasses and cutting corners in professionalism and courtesy to others, it's likely they are cutting corners in other aspects of their job as well. If that's the case, and they are doing something that is reportable, by all means, see to it that the reporting gets done.

 

[Tigger]

It is above all, your problem to deal with. No one is going to take any action for you. Even if your coworkers or management notices this behavior, it's going to have to get to egregious levels before they are going to preemptively take action. Both your coworkers and management are not out looking to solve such problems unless the must, too much drama (and paperwork).

So talk to him. No time like the present, because you're waiting for something that isn't going to happen now. If, after a concerted effort on your part you are not making progress, consider approaching senior coworkers or a supervisor and ask them how they like to work with that person. See what sort of answers you get then and go from there.

 

[dalmain]

I come in to get my hours and go home, so I've learned to put up with a lot. I'm very patient. Once I was paired with someone that didn't want to work with me and we almost got into fisticuffs. They had to separate us.

 

[LACoGurneyjockey]

I come in to get my hours and go home, so I've learned to put up with a lot. I'm very patient. Once I was paired with someone that didn't want to work with me and we almost got into fisticuffs. They had to separate us.

Cool story bro!

 

[emsdave]

When I was in training my F TO was the hardest person to work under. No one wanted to deal with him let alone work side by side. But you what? I learned more from him and his knowledge base than any other preceptor. Learn as much as possible and better yourself. Even though you are his emt partner there is much you can learn from a person stuck in there ways!

 

[johnrsemt]

I had a partner like that for about 3 months; before I blew up one shift and told him off; turns out that he likes to push peoples buttons, but once they tell him off he leaves them alone and is a good partner (not great, but good). Worked with him for 3 more months and we got along fine. He told me that is the longest he ever had anyone last. and was impressed with me, for the crap I put up with.