Co-workers who 'cc' bosses into emails with simple requests

I loathe this sort of passive-aggressive foolishness.

A co-worker has just done this, asking for my assistance with something fairly routine. Its a simple request, I’m happy to help, and would ordinarily reply within 15 minutes or so, but he has CC’d both my boss and his, neither of whom would be remotely interested in the detail of his request.

Now, instead of replying and helping him out, I find myself annoyed at this needless passive-aggressive behaviour and moaning about it here.

So what does STW think I should do? I’d like to point out my displeasure at this, in as non-confrontational a way as possible (the colleague is located in a different city – if he was in the same building that’d just be weird). He’s neither senior nor junior to me in terms of the organisation as far as I can make out.

I’m loath to go along with it and reply in kind, perpetuating the needless CCing.

Marzocchi and urine/footwear suggestions welcome!

Do what you would have done if he hadn’t cced anyone.

Sign his email address up to a nice range of “mail order brides” websites.

At least it’s a cc. I once discovered a colleague bcc-ing the boss.

I usually just reply, removing the cc’d folk that don’t matter.

It is entirely possible that the cc was at his boss’s request.

For me, that’s an escalation event. I sometimes use that tactic if the person I am mailign is being obstructive or unresponsive to an assigned task, but otherwise, I deal with things myself.

That

Is it something your boss would see as a priority, if not park under the ‘non-priority’ requests…

Our American owners cc every fecker in the organisation no matter how trivial the subject. Their sense of self-importance is staggering.

If you want somebody to do something or seek their opinion just ask them no need to tell everyone else about it 🙄

Also entirely possible that the bosses have a filter that puts anything that they’re CC’d on into a separate folder as they CBA wasting time wading through this sort of dross to find the things that are important.

Depends, I guess.

Some people are serial CC:ers. I get CC:ed into random guff all the time. Starts off with “can anyone help with xx?” and you end up with twenty emails where two people are having a protracted conversation.

In the situation you cite, it could be that one boss has asked him to ask you something, so the CC: is his way of saying “I’ve done that” and your boss is CC:ed to account for your time; could just be that they’re being as arse too, ofc.

Depends how your company works, if someone else in another team wanted help from someone in my team I’d expect to know about it (email cc would be fine) if it would take an hour or more as we have timesheets and hours need to be accounted for (fortunately there’s a couple of management bucket codes so my own STW time goes in those :p ).

Reply to his boss and just CC him in on it and continue to do so on all of your email exchanges relating to this matter.

It’s probably because you have a reputation for not doing stuff 😆

In the situation you cite, it could be that one boss has asked him to ask you something, so the CC: is his way of saying “I’ve done that” and your boss is CC:ed to account for your time; could just be that they’re being as arse too, ofc.

This is the most likely explanation, I just think its a very poor way to communicate – regardless of whose idea it was, all it has served to do is remove any goodwill I had in assisting this person with a simple, quick-to-resolve request. Its simply unfriendly.

It’s probably because you have a reputation for not doing stuff

Sorry, what?

😀

Go and speak to him. Lean close and whisper in his ear that if he ever does that again, you’ll cut his balls off.

It’s the only proportionate response.

This has worked for me in the past especially as we all sat in the same room

As ever I am happy to help [insert name, although I am very surprised even shocked that you have had to email me and my boss to ask for my assistance with a routine task especially when I am in the office sat at my desk.

Some times it’s good to chat.

Best regards

I then asked my manager for a meeting to understand what was meant by the email?

The knob didn’t do it again

A number of possible, and perfectly reasonable, explanations have been put forward. It’s only “unfriendly” because that’s how you want to see it.

cc’ing your boss in mundane trivial e-mails?

either your boss has asked for it to monitor what you’re doing, or your colleague is insecure and trying to prove to your boss that they’re actually doing something constructive. Or, your colleague’s just a bit of a twit.

This is the type of scenario a ‘punch in the face’ was designed to resolve.

You missed the lol smiley at the end of that one.

The bloke who lives in the flat below has been complaining that the noise of me walking around in the mornings before work is ‘ruining his life’ and insisting that I have thicker carpets fitted.

He likes to cc everyone else in the building so that ‘they are aware of the situation’. He gets quite aggressive and rude, he’s a prize tool and others in the building have issue with him.

I just reply very politely to all the cc’d people and apologise for this bloke involving them unnecessarily, it winds him right up.

It’s psychological warfare and he’s winning.

I’d reply to all but address his question the ask Boss1/Boss2, do you need to be kept in the loop on this request?

Shows that you’re on the ball while getting all passive aggressive on his ass

@ 2tyred – do you work with Kryton57? 😉

It’s all part of the ritual game playing. What they’re really doing by coying the boss in is saying “hey look how busy I am” and “look at me I’ve reached the dizzy heights of delegation”, or even just “hey Mr boss you know I exist right?”

Ourmaninthenorth has the best advice.

never having worked in an office i have no idea what cc on an email means, if its derogatory, or a petty minded act of spite against somebody.

Advice required.

joao3v16 – Member

either your boss has asked for it to monitor what you’re doing, or your colleague is insecure and trying to prove to your boss that they’re actually doing something constructive. Or, your colleague’s just a bit of a twit

Or he’s overly full of his own importance.

Of course, the sensible response is to ‘keep calm and carry on’.

We have a person at work who does exactly the same, copies in the boss for the most mundane of things. The other annoying thing he does (and probably inspired by the same state of mind) is to make a point of taking his lunch box up to the fridge in the rest room to coincide with when the boss is in his office each morning. Everyone else does it first thing before settling down at their workstation. He will hang around until the boss is in place then make a point of having a little banter/chat in passing. Without fail. The boss once said to me whilst this guy was on holiday ‘thank god I don’t have to put up with —-‘s little chats every morning when he’s on holiday’. Am I thinking about this too much… 😕 🙂

Ourmaninthenorth has the best advice.

I aim to please.

Hold on. Sorry, that’s the poison dart advice for people who ask for things to be “sent to myself”.

ourman’s advice is sound – but wasn’t it him that previously suggested telling them that you’ve got their name biro’d on your willy. Perhaps lean in close and say that instead/aswell ?

it’s nearly lunchtime.
send an email to yourself asking yourself what you want for lunch.
cc him in.

What I would do instead of doing the task is come on a bike forum in work time complaining about colleagues. Always a winner.

I work on the premise that nobody needs to be cc’d. If they can’t bring something to the party they don’t even need to know about it. If someone is being difficult I would pick up the phone.

Failing that the boss would be in the “to” not cc’d.

As Onion says, the boss may want to know things are happening to time scales but not want to get involved.

Hence, i will request i am cc’d to things so i can make sure goals are reached.

I usually just reply, removing the cc’d folk that don’t matter.

That.
Boss will likely get annoyed with being cc’d all the time and/or just trash email without reading.

Sensible answer: Ask you boss in a sarcastic way if it’s OK for you to do that mundane/routine task (face to face) that way you and your boss can share the knoweledge that the cc’r is a twatt.

Benign alternatives

1 – CC him in on every conversation/email you send just to make your point..
2 – just aks him why it was neccessary

Knobend answer:- wait till he goes to lunch and stick tacks on his chair

ourman’s advice is sound – but wasn’t it him that previously suggested telling them that you’ve got their name biro’d on your willy.

Much as I’d like to take the credit for that, I don’t think I can.

I always use permanent marker.

Depends how your company works, if someone else in another team wanted help from someone in my team I’d expect to know about it (email cc would be fine) if it would take an hour or more as we have timesheets and hours need to be accounted for

This is the situation at our place. Are you sure you’re not being a bit oversensitive?