التعامل مع أقسام أخرى وتفادي كونك شكاية 😪

Hello. I work in a small-to-medium company, and I struggle particularly with dealing with other departments—especially on joint projects or when my department is the one facing the client.

By nature, I’ve always prioritized getting the work done, even at my own expense. Meaning that even if someone insults me, belittles me, or acts inappropriately, I tend to let it pass as long as the work isn’t affected and things keep moving. I see it as: that I’m confident in myself, so I don’t need to react to every little thing from the other department as long as the work isn’t impacted.

But I’ve found myself in a situation where I’m always the one covering for others and smoothing things over, and it has started to cause me mental pressure. The managers of the other departments literally handle things however they want: if it’s a project that belongs to them, it moves in the best possible way. But if it’s a joint project and I’m the one representing it, I have to constantly follow up and remind them multiple times—especially since the main deliverable comes from their side.

At the same time, both department managers have a family relationship with the general manager, who is also my manager. I’m not sure whether they feel comfortable behaving this way because of that relationship or because of how I usually act.

A recent example: there was a project where the client requested a review of a service site and some information needed for execution permits. That information wasn’t with me—it had to come from their side. I sent them the request twice on the same day, and then again the next morning because the client said they needed it before 1 PM. No one replied. I sent another message saying that if I didn’t receive it before 12 PM, I wouldn’t be able to send it. Still, no one gave me a timeline or delivered anything.

When I confronted them about it, the excuses were unbelievably weak—things like “we have other work” and “we’re busy,” as if what I was asking for was casual talk rather than actual work, and as if I had nothing else to do. The rest of the excuses were honestly laughable—if we were in a normal company, no one would accept them. It felt like clear gaslighting to avoid responsibility. They even went on to blame the client for sending the request on short notice.

What frustrates me is that this kind of talk actually works with management, to the point that I’ve started thinking: should I just start working like them and making these kinds of excuses too? Otherwise, I end up under pressure because of the way they behave.

The point is, I honestly don’t know how to deal with them. I don’t want to adopt the same behavior or compromise my work principles because of them. At the same time, I get upset with myself because whenever they need something from me for their projects, I never hold back and always cooperate—I see that as something that reflects well on me.

I want to have clear boundaries and not carry responsibility for delays. I want to just do what’s required from me and that’s it. But I’m afraid they’ll turn around and say that I’m “not a team player” or that I’m not taking responsibility—when honestly that also feels like gaslighting.

Our CEO is very approachable person and usually involved, am thinking to speak to her but I don’t want to bypass the GM, especially the GM tried to fix it but I can’t trust her to have a clear judgment due to her fam ties with them. should I do this? or just work in a way that make it clear that its their fault, but dunno how to do that either as if the client project got affected it will be reflected on me. what do you suggest? if I were to talk to CEO what should I say or suggest to prevent their behavior.