There’s a colleague in the office who keeps saying they have a health issue and is pushing their work onto me. At first, I felt sorry and tried to help, but my workload is increasingly getting heavier. The strange thing is, they look perfectly energetic outside, but when it comes to work, they use their illness as an excuse. If I confront them openly, would I come off as a bad person, or would it be an exaggeration to bring this to management? What would you do?
7 Answers
7I had a period like that too. A colleague at work would always use migraines as an excuse but would socialize outside in the evening. I reported it to management once, and they made a vague warning. You can also inform management about the situation and ask them to intervene before facing it directly.
I think you should talk to him directly. But without being accusatory, say something like, “I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately, what do you think about balancing the workload a bit more?” If the situation continues, then you can escalate it to management.
But things also go around with a bit of helping each other, right? He says he’s unwell, maybe you think this way because you feel like he might be exaggerating. Perhaps he’s actually going through a tough time?
In such situations, if the workload sharing becomes unfair, it would be wise to talk to the employer and look for a solution. Because if this situation is also affecting the performance of other employees, the employer needs to intervene. However, it may be helpful to express your thoughts through a small conversation to clarify the situation first.
Now, here’s the thing: This person says they are unwell, but they are always very active outside during special occasions. It’s not a temporary situation. It’s been like this for 4-5 months. That’s why I’ve become really uncomfortable 
It’s really a tough situation. We even have stuff like this happening in friend groups, and it’s even worse when there’s work responsibility involved. If you say it to their face, maybe they’ll take it seriously, but if you don’t want to be blunt, passing it on to management might be easier.
But if people at work don’t support each other, no one can work in peace. Maybe there’s a serious health issue, but are you mixing in with the job instead of addressing it? If things like this grow, no one will be able to stay in their place, so be careful.