USPS · Situational Judgment

You notice that a coworker has been arriving late frequently and other coworkers are picking up their work. What is the BEST action?

  1. A Confront the coworker aggressively
  2. B Focus on doing your own work well; if the situation impacts operations significantly, raise it with your supervisor through proper channels
  3. C Tell other coworkers to stop helping
  4. D Be late yourself to be fair

Why this is the answer

Co-worker conflict scenarios are common on the 474. The exam is screening for: (1) you focus on your own performance rather than policing others' — that's the supervisor's role; (2) you don't engage in retaliation, gossip, or vigilante enforcement; (3) you DO raise legitimate operational concerns through proper channels when they impact the team or customers. Aggressive confrontation, manipulating others, and 'being late to be fair' are all disqualifying patterns. The right mindset: you control your own performance; you raise concerns appropriately through your supervisor; you don't take peer-management into your own hands. This is a 'mind your own work + use proper channels' answer pattern.
Source: USPS VEA-MC, Coworker Issues