Rude Admins at Federal Agencies

[Anonymous]

Older fed admins are very tricky. They probably started in their 20s. The good admins got moved into other positions outside of admin work. The bad ones had to stay in admin work because they typically don't have degrees and didn't get a boss to like them enough to promote them out. So the older fed admins tend to have a chip on their shoulder.

[Anonymous]

Mine doesn't really do much. That said, I don't get the sense there's much for her to do. As our admins retire I think we are slowly consolidating their work or lack thereof into fewer admins. Maybe in ten or fifteen years the admin position will have enough work to be a full time job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some are good, some are bad. Like employees everywhere.

If every single admin is rude to you, you need to ask yourself what YOU are doing.

OP here. It's just one admin - I've never had an issue with any others. It's refusing to respond to emails, being rude whenever you ask her for anything, spending most of her day chatting, etc. I'm a supervisor and haven't had ink for the printer in my office for close to a year because she is "too busy" to order supplies. It means I have had to print performance appraisals and other confidential documents on a shared printer and then run down the hall to get them before someone sees them. We have another admin who is very helpful, but she's a contractor, and has to get approval from most things from the federal admin. It's just frustrating to see how much negativity an employee who contributes so little can bring to an environment.

Is it too difficult to get rid of her? She sounds awful

You haven't been able to figure out in a year how to get ink for your printer without going through the terrible admin?

I laughed at this.....the OP probably could have ordered it and got reimbursed for it, or bit the bullet if the ink was cheap enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some are good, some are bad. Like employees everywhere.

If every single admin is rude to you, you need to ask yourself what YOU are doing.

OP here. It's just one admin - I've never had an issue with any others. It's refusing to respond to emails, being rude whenever you ask her for anything, spending most of her day chatting, etc. I'm a supervisor and haven't had ink for the printer in my office for close to a year because she is "too busy" to order supplies. It means I have had to print performance appraisals and other confidential documents on a shared printer and then run down the hall to get them before someone sees them. We have another admin who is very helpful, but she's a contractor, and has to get approval from most things from the federal admin. It's just frustrating to see how much negativity an employee who contributes so little can bring to an environment.

Is it too difficult to get rid of her? She sounds awful

too difficult? try nearly "impossible" in Govt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some are good, some are bad. Like employees everywhere.

If every single admin is rude to you, you need to ask yourself what YOU are doing.

OP here. It's just one admin - I've never had an issue with any others. It's refusing to respond to emails, being rude whenever you ask her for anything, spending most of her day chatting, etc. I'm a supervisor and haven't had ink for the printer in my office for close to a year because she is "too busy" to order supplies. It means I have had to print performance appraisals and other confidential documents on a shared printer and then run down the hall to get them before someone sees them. We have another admin who is very helpful, but she's a contractor, and has to get approval from most things from the federal admin. It's just frustrating to see how much negativity an employee who contributes so little can bring to an environment.

Is it too difficult to get rid of her? She sounds awful

You haven't been able to figure out in a year how to get ink for your printer without going through the terrible admin?

I laughed at this.....the OP probably could have ordered it and got reimbursed for it, or bit the bullet if the ink was cheap enough.

NP but we aren't allowed to order our own products and get reimbursed for it. We have to go through small minority owned businesses that upcharge. The cost of ink is often 2-3x what Amazon is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some are good, some are bad. Like employees everywhere.

If every single admin is rude to you, you need to ask yourself what YOU are doing.

OP here. It's just one admin - I've never had an issue with any others. It's refusing to respond to emails, being rude whenever you ask her for anything, spending most of her day chatting, etc. I'm a supervisor and haven't had ink for the printer in my office for close to a year because she is "too busy" to order supplies. It means I have had to print performance appraisals and other confidential documents on a shared printer and then run down the hall to get them before someone sees them. We have another admin who is very helpful, but she's a contractor, and has to get approval from most things from the federal admin. It's just frustrating to see how much negativity an employee who contributes so little can bring to an environment.

Is it too difficult to get rid of her? She sounds awful

You haven't been able to figure out in a year how to get ink for your printer without going through the terrible admin?

I laughed at this.....the OP probably could have ordered it and got reimbursed for it, or bit the bullet if the ink was cheap enough.

NP but we aren't allowed to order our own products and get reimbursed for it. We have to go through small minority owned businesses that upcharge. The cost of ink is often 2-3x what Amazon is.

Sure...but I don't have an admin and somehow manage to open the catalog and buy ink myself.

[Anonymous]

Our admin literally watches TV at her station. She doesn't pick up the phone, respond the email or in-person requests. To get her to do anything on rare occasions, we have to show her a copy of her job duties and point it out that she's required to comply. She also changed her signature line from the accurate "Receptionist III" to "Manager," which she obviously isn't. She's the worst, and we can't fire her (union).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why mention federal agencies at all if it's just one person?

NP - my guess is because Fed employees are especially difficult to fire.

Not really. By OP's own admission, she hasn't tried. She's writing performance evaluations without conducting letters of reprimands and PIPS on this employee. Something doesn't add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some are good, some are bad. Like employees everywhere.

If every single admin is rude to you, you need to ask yourself what YOU are doing.

OP here. It's just one admin - I've never had an issue with any others. It's refusing to respond to emails, being rude whenever you ask her for anything, spending most of her day chatting, etc. I'm a supervisor and haven't had ink for the printer in my office for close to a year because she is "too busy" to order supplies. It means I have had to print performance appraisals and other confidential documents on a shared printer and then run down the hall to get them before someone sees them. We have another admin who is very helpful, but she's a contractor, and has to get approval from most things from the federal admin. It's just frustrating to see how much negativity an employee who contributes so little can bring to an environment.

Is it too difficult to get rid of her? She sounds awful

too difficult? try nearly "impossible" in Govt.

And yet, as a CPL attorney, I see it done all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our admin literally watches TV at her station. She doesn't pick up the phone, respond the email or in-person requests. To get her to do anything on rare occasions, we have to show her a copy of her job duties and point it out that she's required to comply. She also changed her signature line from the accurate "Receptionist III" to "Manager," which she obviously isn't. She's the worst, and we can't fire her (union).

That's bull. Have you done the necessary work required to fire. I've found that most managers do not or will not do what is required, and prefer to do nothing or pass the employee around.

[Anonymous]

In nearly 30 years in Govt, I've seen 2 people getting let go. And it took years - a lot of stuff to pull together... Most managers don't want to bother with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our admin literally watches TV at her station. She doesn't pick up the phone, respond the email or in-person requests. To get her to do anything on rare occasions, we have to show her a copy of her job duties and point it out that she's required to comply. She also changed her signature line from the accurate "Receptionist III" to "Manager," which she obviously isn't. She's the worst, and we can't fire her (union).

That's bull. Have you done the necessary work required to fire. I've found that most managers do not or will not do what is required, and prefer to do nothing or pass the employee around.

I'm not her manager, so no, I haven't done anything required to fire her. She's known as a volatile, violent person and frankly I think her supervisor is scared of retribution. Maybe he figures it's better to let it slide and have a bad admin than a massacre.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Older fed admins are very tricky. They probably started in their 20s. The good admins got moved into other positions outside of admin work. The bad ones had to stay in admin work because they typically don't have degrees and didn't get a boss to like them enough to promote them out. So the older fed admins tend to have a chip on their shoulder.

This x 1000. I work with a few of these types. I started out as a federal admin myself for a few years until I was promoted. It's not a glamorous position, but I never understood the attitudes of some of my coworkers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some are good, some are bad. Like employees everywhere.

If every single admin is rude to you, you need to ask yourself what YOU are doing.

OP here. It's just one admin - I've never had an issue with any others. It's refusing to respond to emails, being rude whenever you ask her for anything, spending most of her day chatting, etc. I'm a supervisor and haven't had ink for the printer in my office for close to a year because she is "too busy" to order supplies. It means I have had to print performance appraisals and other confidential documents on a shared printer and then run down the hall to get them before someone sees them. We have another admin who is very helpful, but she's a contractor, and has to get approval from most things from the federal admin. It's just frustrating to see how much negativity an employee who contributes so little can bring to an environment.

Is it too difficult to get rid of her? She sounds awful

You haven't been able to figure out in a year how to get ink for your printer without going through the terrible admin?

I laughed at this.....the OP probably could have ordered it and got reimbursed for it, or bit the bullet if the ink was cheap enough.

NP but we aren't allowed to order our own products and get reimbursed for it. We have to go through small minority owned businesses that upcharge. The cost of ink is often 2-3x what Amazon is.

Sure...but I don't have an admin and somehow manage to open the catalog and buy ink myself.

OP here - she controls the only purchase card. I've opened the catalog and provided here all info and the serial number to order. Without the credit card number it can't be done. There is no way around it.

[Anonymous]

OP, why don't you send her an email asking her to order or explain why not. The answer may be that there is a freeze on ordering supplies right now. If she refuses to do it or answer, go to your supervisor.