How to deal with nightmare co-worker?

I work alone with her and she's really starting to p*ss me off. She's nearly 60 but you'd think she's a teenager the way she carries on. She's got so many personal problems that you wouldn't believe me if I told you. It's always something, everyday there's something that's gone wrong. I'm really sick to death of her rabbiting on and on about her personal life that I honestly have no interest in. She moans about things but doesn't do anything about it.

I can't avoid her because we work together and she's really starting to wear me down. She doesn't pause for breath when she talks and even when I don't say anything back or act uninterested she still doesn't get the hint. A lot of other staff are fed up with her as well. She'll tell anyone who'll listen about her personal life. I mean, really personal things. It's like she has no shame.

I get that she has problems, so do I but I don't go broadcasting it in the workplace. She said she'd be coming in today as she was swapping her day off to help me out because there's a lot of work to do from the weekend. Our shift starts at 8am and she hadn't arrived so I text her about an hour ago and she just replied "I'm really sorry but I can't face it today. I'm turning my phone off". So now I'm doing 2 people's work and an 8 hour shift by myself. I want to tell her that I appreciate that she has problems but I'd really rather not hear about them at work but I don't know how.

Are you able to talk to your boss about it and he/she could have a word to her? It's not fair that not only do you have the stress of being at work doing your job but you have to constantly listen to her problems too. She should be working instead of going on and on about her problems anyway.

Hope2013 said:

Are you able to talk to your boss about it and he/she could have a word to her? It's not fair that not only do you have the stress of being at work doing your job but you have to constantly listen to her problems too. She should be working instead of going on and on about her problems anyway.

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They know what she's like. I really wouldn't know what to say and I'd feel like I'm a back stabber. I don't want her to get in trouble but I'm not sure what else I can do.

SmileMore said:

They know what she's like. I really wouldn't know what to say and I'd feel like I'm a back stabber. I don't want her to get in trouble but I'm not sure what else I can do.

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You could go to your boss and request that you either be given a new co-worker to work with or request that someone switch places with you. Explain to them the entire situation and they should be able to help. Sometimes, you have get someone in trouble before they learn.

First, I would try telling her in a nice way that some of the things she feels compelled to share are just too personal and that you'd rather not hear them. If that don't shut the old bat up then I suggest like the other people said and talk to the boss.

I used to sit opposite a guy at work who rabbited on all day, and I couldn't shut him up. Then one day the room was changed around, and my desk was no longer facing him. That fixed it! It was that simple. So if I wanted to talk to him I would turn around, but if not, I just carried on doing my work with my back towards him and he rarely called over to me.

Are you able to arrange for something like that in the seating layout where you work?

Zackarydoo said:

I used to sit opposite a guy at work who rabbited on all day, and I couldn't shut him up. Then one day the room was changed around, and my desk was no longer facing him. That fixed it! It was that simple. So if I wanted to talk to him I would turn around, but if not, I just carried on doing my work with my back towards him and he rarely called over to me.

Are you able to arrange for something like that in the seating layout where you work?

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We don't work at a desk. I work in a care home in the laundry which requires two people to work together.

SmileMore said:

We don't work at a desk. I work in a care home in the laundry which requires two people to work together.

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Ok I get it, so a totally different sort of working environment to how mine was.

All I can suggest is the same as others, that you tell her up front and/or speak to management. It's a hard thing to do, but you have to weigh up the lesser of 2 evils I suppose.