‘Am I missing something?’: Coworker refuses to communicate with employee unless it's in person or over the phone, even though it's integral to their jobs to keep a paper trail of records

Do any of you have that one coworker who simply never seems to understand anything you're asking them to do? You can spell and sound it out for them, and they'll still blatantly write off your requests and ideas. For what reason? Is this a skill issue? Do they lack certain kinds of intellect? Usually not; They prefer to do things their own way, even if it's at the expense of their colleagues. That colleague would be you!

Though it's easy to think of ourselves as the perfect teammate, most of us possess a certain amount of self-awareness that allows us to exist without causing trouble in an office setting. Say, someone is asking me to complete a task I am fully capable of doing and is in my job description. Perfect, I'll get right on that, no problem. Why is it so hard for other coworkers to do the same?

The employee in this next story can't wrap their head around the fact that their colleague refuses to leave written records of their communications, and insists they speak on the phone and in person instead. Even after the employee asks them to start answering their emails, they continue to evade their messages. What do you think is going on here? Scroll below to read the commenters' takes.

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Author image for Lana DeGaetano Lana DeGaetano
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