Small Issue with Another at Work. (What Do You Think Was Her Intent?)

I think you should come up with a way to nicely counter this.
She's making you look bad - not in a big way - YET - but it could add up over time.
I would have separated the papers into 2 piles - numbers entered vs no number to enter.
It would be easy to flip through 46 pages or so to show you had nothing to go on - but THEN ask where you can obtain the info for these.
That way you'll know where to look and it's one little piece of knowledge you won't have to rely on her for.

For many years (well over 10) I worked in a law office where the secretary was queen. Literally, the powers that be just did not believe that she ever made a mistake and if she did, it was all good.

Anyway, she would leave something sitting on her desk untouched for eons. Then when it became urgent (because of sitting so long) she would give it to me. When the attorney asked her about it, she would say "Oh, I gave it to C." and not bother to say that she just gave it to me that day or the day before. So they always thought that I was the one who had ignored it until the last minute.

I didn't bother saying anything because I was not going to go around constantly defending myself. I just sucked it up and moved forward. It's hard, but I felt like I was taking the high road by not trying to throw her under the bus even though she took every opportunity to throw me under it.

I didn't worry because they knew I possessed skills/knowledge/experience that they needed. But if I were new I might have worried that by her doing that, I would get fired.

Forget about intent. You are not her therapist. Respond to her actions and interactions if they affect you. Don't assume anything. If you have a question about why she did something, ask her in a curious, non-judgmental manner.

I don't understand why you waited for her to bring up the subject of the missing data. Why didn't you tell her first thing in the morning that you were unable to enter all the forms because some were missing numbers. She couldn't have gone and added the info if you handed her the pages yourself. Even if it wasn't your responsibility to do that task, if you agreed to do it, then you need to tell her if you were unable to complete it.

I'm curious about why she would be giving you any work to do. If it's her work as assigned by the boss then she should be doing everything. If it's work that has been assigned to the office then the 2 of you would be working together on it and she should have just owned up to the fact that she didn't give you all the info needed to do what was needed.

I think you need to stop thinking of yourself as the new kid on the block and think of yourself as a co worker. Knowing her reasons for doing things can come in handy if your office is very political however you just need to have your ducks in a row. In the above case I would have shot off a quick email at the end of the day cc'ing in the boss letting them know what issues you ran into that kept you from completeing things. After being burned by coworkers I learned to cover my bases when dealing with others.

"She's a mess"
"She's my equal"
"I'm amazing"??????
"I'm bad at stupidity" (Your's or someone else's)?

Should you worry? No, I suggest you take a long look at your own behavior and opinions of the people around you. From your post, I don't find you amazing, in fact it seems like you enjoy "stiring the pot". If you are having difficulty with ANY of your co-workers, talk to your manager or supervisor. It appears that there should be a group meeting to have a clear understanding of each employee's responsibility and job description.

I'm with Heather. Forget the superiority games and just worry about your job. When you find a part of the paperwork that is missing information, highlight it completely and enter the rest. Then put the documents with missing information to the side so you can track down the information later.

If she's the person you get the missing info from, simply take ONLY that stack to her and ask for it.

If this becomes a constant occurrance, perhaps you might consider creating a journal on your computer in which you annotate how many documents have missing information in each stack. Be completely up-front with her every time you deal with her. If her job is providing this information, keep returning the documents to her until it's all there. It might not be that she's stupid, or even a liar...she's just never had anyone call her on the fact that she's not doing her job completely.

Best of luck,

C.

I think you are over-thinking this matter.. People are who they are... she is just someone whom in my opinion may possibly fear losing her job and perhaps feels threatened by a newcomer... I don't think it's anything personal.. just make sure you cover your tracks... I keep finding that in this world.. it's usually less about me.... and more about the other person...
in other words, don't make her problem(s) yours... Also, you mention that you know people in high places, that said.. I honestly believe that if this co-worker wrongly accuses you of doing bad work, then you could say otherwise and would probably be believed... I don't think you have much too worry about... these things have a way of working out..

You said you're the new girl, so I take that you're still in training. Then why in the world didn't you go to this woman or your supervisor or whomever is responsible for training you and tell them that you needed access to the number list so that you could input the numbers into the forms yourself and then do the data entry?

I'm also curious as to why you're not more direct with your co-worker. You have all of these complaints about your co-workers but the common denominator in these "situations" and issues is, well, you.

You're WAY overanayzing. Worry about learning the job and do what you're asked to do. Ask for help when necessary. Which leads to my main thought - I guess I'm different than you, because the second that I saw that I was unable to do the job properly due to missing information, I would've asked for guidance. I wouldn't have just ignored it.

Maybe she's afraid of losing her job, maybe she's a control freak. Who knows, and who cares? You're taking a simple data entry job and making it to dramatic and difficult. Missing information = ask for help or find the info yourself, the end. No alterior motives necessary.

Obviously the purpose is to make her look like she is doing her work correctly and keep her job. Sorry, you might usually be a terrific judge of character and she might be nice as in 'charming', but I do not find this nice I find this person shadey and willing to cost you your job if push came to shove. I suggest you either go to her superiors (although they might not listen because she is so nice) or anticipate the possibility that you might need a new job sooner than expected. Been there, done that. Sorry.

Everyone has an assumption about their coworkers do or do not do. Most of the time, the assumption is incorrect.
It's human nature
The best advice is worry about you and your performance and not theirs.
Stop trying to anticipate the angles. Run your own race and you'll be fine.
If you get called on an "error" explain what happened without laying blame. It's her managers job to correct behavior not yours.
At the end of the day, what your coworker admits to is irrelevant. Don't let it worry you.
Do the best you can, if you have an issue follow the protocol and go home!