I have minions, and I want to kill them all!

[batgirl]

Ok so here's the deal with a little background:

With my new position at work, I have been elevated to the status of "boss with no actual authority." I am a dispatcher, which means I book calls and give them out to the ambulances over the radio and monitor their progress (time stamping them, getting them directions etc). While this technically means I'm their boss, I have no authority to actually do anything, since every action outside of my dispatch duties I need to check with a supervisor first. I work the night shift from 5pm to 6am on the weekends so after a certain hour there are no more supervisors in the office and it's just me and my radio. I normally have 4 trucks (2 EMT only and 2 paramedic) on Friday nights and 3 trucks (2 paramedic and 1 EMT only) on Saturday nights.

Here is my issue:

On Saturday nights I have to position my trucks so we can cover the entirety of Long Island for calls. My most qualified paramedic (who can do all sorts of critical care jobs - neonatals and balloon pumps and such) has to be positioned in a specific spot and can only do non-critical jobs if I absolutely have to use him because he needs to be standing by if in fact a critical call comes in.

Because we have a high call volume for emergencies, my other 2 trucks do tend to be busy, but hey, that's their job and they're being paid so why complain...but one does. The other paramedic, we'll call him Kevin, complains bitterly and has made nothing but problems for me since he got on my shift. He is a new paramedic and what we like to call a "medic lite" because he isn't certified to do anything other than IV and cardiac monitor jobs. No ventilators, no balloon pumps, no nothing. He has a huge superiority complex where he thinks that because he is now a paramedic, he is above doing any sort of regular EMT job like hospital discharges or silly emergencies like a stubbed toe or some abnormal lab work. He complains not only behind my back, but openly in the office about getting these jobs because he believes he should get paramedic only jobs (cardiacs etc). Both myself and my supervisor have explained to him that 90% of our calls on Sat nights are silly EMT calls and that as 1 of only 3 trucks, he needs to pull his weight.

He also does shit behind my back and is rude to me on the radio. He moved from his station at least 10 miles to go and get food (even though there was food right around the corner from his position) and when I called him on it, he gave me this line: "I've been doing this for 10 years and I don't need to tell you anything, I just go and do it." He also backed the truck into a pole at 15mph and dented the whole back of the ambulance and NEVER TOLD ME. He did it on a Saturday and I found out on Monday about it from my boss. He was running around doing jobs for me all Sat night with a crushed truck and never bothered to tell me, making this big safety issue. His partner actually got fired over it, but not him since he wasn't driving.

I don't know what to do with him short of murder. He's been talked to numerous times about his attitude and work ethic and while he hasn't outright destroyed anything and been overtly rude to me, I can still hear him getting exasperated with me over the radio. I hear him sighing in the background when I give out calls, or swearing (to his partner) or bitching in the garage (it's videotaped and recorded since all the trucks and materials are there). I can't yell at him since then he'll really not do any work, but I can't bring it up to my supervisor since he technically hasn't done anything wrong since the last incident. However, I am filled with rage every time I hear his voice laced with sarcasm over the radio. If the job has a specific pick up time that must be met, he gives me a "well I'll do my bessssttt."

So, other than sticking him in the eye with a syringe full of sewer water, I'd like to know what you think I could do to improve this workplace environment. I have spoken to him numerous times about our work relationship and it'll be better for an hour or so but will then go back to his venom laced words. I just found out that my Friday medic is leaving to go to a different shift and Kevin is now going to move to Fridays as well, so I'll have 26 hours total of him over a weekend. I might snap.

Ideas?

[Nikose Tyris]

Kindly inform him that you can make sure he NEVER gets critical calls, and that as dispatch, you can give him the most asinine tasks possible.

If it's in your ability, request extra paperwork. If you have friends at different positions, have them give him extra chores.

If there's anything you can do to exasperate him more, do it.

[batgirl]

Originally Posted by Nikose Tyris

Kindly inform him that you can make sure he NEVER gets critical calls, and that as dispatch, you can give him the most asinine tasks possible.

If it's in your ability, request extra paperwork. If you have friends at different positions, have them give him extra chores.

If there's anything you can do to exasperate him more, do it.

I already give him mostly non-critical calls since we only have 3 trucks on.

As for paperwork, since I have to correlate, organize and scan it all, I'd like to keep it to as little as possible.

Extra chores are few and far between, but I think I will have him be my coffee bitch for a while.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Not really anything helpful. I mean, from what you've said, I think this guy might be enjoying just plain pissing you off. If that's the case, the best thing I can suggest is that you keep your conversations with this guy very concise & as devoid of emotion as possible.

Easier said than done, but if you make your conversation with him uninteresting, he might get bored with the confrontation part of it.

Admittedly, this might backfire & he could just ignore you more. But since talking with him hasn't done much, it might be worth trying.

Another option. Don't bother talking with him, start taking things up with whoever is signed up to be his partner for the night. Or at least do your best to avoid talking with him as much as possible.

Again, not necessarily great ideas, but maybe they might be of help to you.

SWB

[Premmy]

Originally Posted by Sky Warrior Bob

Another option. Don't bother talking with him, start taking things up with whoever is signed up to be his partner for the night. Or at least do your best to avoid talking with him as much as possible.

This is my mature, adult way to do this.

Now here's how I'D handle it

Since he's being an ass without actually breaking any rules, technically, do the same thing, this all hinges on how much you enjoy being snide, and sneaky, but finding ways to insult or belittle him without doing it directly is always fun. You shouldn't listen to me, though do the SWB thing, don't deal with him.

[Wigmund]

Don't know what it's like up there in NYC/Long Island, but I imagine responding to calls from the tunnels are a complete pain in the ass.

Also, hauling lard-asses from the uppermost reaches of any building should be fun.

[krogothwolf]

Bomb is ambulance?

I would say give him the worst possible calls ever. With the pissiest patients that you get. I'm sure he'd love it.

[Bells]

I would say to do a quick 1-2... that means, do what SWB said, because that's the best. But don't shy away to give him the worst work you possibly can.

If he tries to get to you, the BEST thing you can possibly do is respond with one word or small sentences that don't break the rules, but also make this kind of people reeeeally annoyed.

I mean things "Uhum" or "yep" or "nop" are terrible to people like this, because they are essentially bullies. If they aren't making people angry they don't feel like bad boys. And if he starts to to talk back at you on the radio a simple "Don't really care..." or "your problem, not mine" can make his blood boil.

The point is... you have to relay information to him, but you don't HAVE to deal with him as a person. Not even a co-worker. You just have to do your job... but he likes to feel top dog, right? So, basically, you emasculate him... and at some point, HE will snap. when he does, he is out of the job.

[Seil]

Bill Lumburgh.

Yeaaaaaaah. If you could, ummmmm, get down there as quick as possible, that'd be great, mmmkay?

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Originally Posted by Bells

So, basically, you emasculate him... and at some point, HE will snap. when he does, he is out of the job.

Just make sure he isn't the type to come back and firebomb the clinic after getting fired.