My Coworker Is Trying to Sabotage Me — And I Need Help

Being a temp at a company can be hard. Constantly worrying whether or not you will be offered a full-time position at the end of your contract is stressful, especially when you feel like your coworkers are sabotaging your chances at a full-time job.

One Fairygodboss user reached out to our Community to ask for advice on this scenario.

“I've been at my new temp-to-hire position for about two months now, and after 90 days, if all goes well, it will turn into a permanent position. At first, things were great. For the past two to three weeks though, I have been feeling this tension growing with one of the women I work very closely with, and I cannot figure out what went wrong," she wrote. 

"It started off with a little bit of attitude here and there and now it's at full-blown sabotage," she continued.

" She will make me jump through hoops (unnecessarily) to do way more work than needed for her own amusement and to make me look like I don't know what I'm doing, withhold information, give me wrong information, take all of the work to make it seem like I'm not doing enough, telling other co-workers how I've messed up x, y and z even though 9 times out of 10 I haven't and just loud enough so my boss can overhear it too. And I could go on and on,” she wrote.

“I am a hard worker. I offer to help others with anything when I've gotten my work done. I come in early sometimes and stay a little late if needed. Just all in all eager to learn and do a good job.  I do all of this, because I am a temp-to-hire and this job will turn into a permanent position of all goes well … I'm worried that this could potentially cause me to not be hired on permanently at the end of the 90 days, because she has been there over a year and I don't know if she could have any sway with me getting the offer or not. Does anyone have any advice? I asked her in the beginning if I had done anything to upset her, and she said no and that she liked me, but it's gotten so much worse since then,” she continued.

Several FGB’ers responded to offer their best advice.

One FGB'er recommended reaching out to the temp agency.

“Is your temp role through an agency? If so, I recommend reaching out to your recruiter to voice your concerns. They may have some history/insight with the team you work on. Don't let someone else's behavior prevent you from doing your best in this role!” she said.

Another suggested documenting the incidents.

“Please document, and document thoroughly, with verifiable examples of her attempts at sabotage. First, you'll feel better having written everything down. Second, if it ever comes to a ‘he said/she said’ situation between you and this co-worker, your supervisor will certainly be impressed by your thoroughness and foresight.”

We agree. Documenting workplace incidents, regardless of whether or not you do anything with said documents, can be the proof you may need if the situation turns dire. If you truly feel as though your manager or other co-workers feel your work is lackluster due to this sabotage, you can present your notes to your HR department. Reach out to HR before you reach out to your boss and present the material you’ve gathered.

Another FGB'er left the troubled temp with a wonderful quote.

"’You can be the juiciest, ripest, peach in the world, and there's still going to be people who hate peaches,’  - Dita Von Teese," she wrote. "If you're still befuddled daily about what is vexing this woman, stop trying to wrack your brain about what you've done wrong. Remain authentic, improve on whatever you can, and strive to provide solid value every day. Check with your work manager regularly for his/her feedback.  Take on more responsibility with a smile and shine on. You will become her manager some day.”

Never let others’ jealousy dull your shine, especially in the workplace. Continue to put forth your best effort, and your managers and team will see you for the hard-working employee you are. 

To all the other hard-working Fairygodboss women out there, reach out to our Community for any work-related questions you may have!