Me and two other developers (A and B) work remotely for an IT company. Here's the situation:
- Coworker A has a hostile attitude towards others, sometimes mentions that they don't work well enough when talking in person, refuses to help others to find bug causes (even if he knows them) and so on. This occasional behavior clearly annoys most of us, including management, but he is a stellar performer who always works overtime, so he gets away with it.
- Coworker B is a nice guy, and, in my opinion, more competent, even though he does not always perform as well as A.
- A and B recently got into argument the details of which I don't know. After that, A started harassing B at each opportunity.
- A couple months ago A told me that he "will be responsible for our part of development and mentoring new employees in our area, as discussed with management".
- B and I recently started working on another project of the same company (though we still continue to work on our main product) by request of the management. This annoys A, because "not enough work is done for the main product".
- A now asks me to compare my performance and B's performance working on that other project.
I am hesitant to provide this info, because I cannot imagine any good use for it (he probably could've just asked us both about hours spent on that project, but I suppose he avoids talking to B or doesn't trust him). I could just ask management if I should provide this info, but everyone always shares information openly in our company, and I don't want to create an impression like I don't trust my coworkers in general (I only don't trust this one).
I am also afraid this info can be used for malicious purposes and cause harm to either B or me, but I'm not sure how.
Is there a way I could phrase my concern to the management while avoiding sounding suspicious? Also, if management will then ask A why he needs this info, he won't trust me anymore and probably use an opportunity to get me fired if he gets a managerial position.
What should I do in this situation?
Thanks!