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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

My colleague is a nerdy know-all who rewrites my work. What should I do?

Young businesswoman looking stressed out while working in an office
I find the rewriting offensive and patronising ... Photograph: Peopleimages/Getty Images

I am in a line of work where it is standard practice for one’s work to be read over by a colleague in order to spot any mistakes before being submitted to the client. Even though I still have my problems with this after years of it, I can see the point. However, I have one particular colleague who basically rewrites my work. He doesn’t stop at correcting actual errors, he makes stylistic changes too – so many that I’m lucky if a single sentence remains unchanged. I find this deeply offensive and patronising. But I hate conflict so I don’t know how to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, many of those in my profession are like this guy (nerdy know-it-alls) but I feel his approach is particularly over the top. What should I do?

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