In lieu of an HR representative(which most small businesses wouldn't have), the boss is the one to go to when you have a problem with another employee. I'm not going to waste my time and effort going to another employee and telling him he sucks; that's not my job, and I don't want any of my co-workers doing the same to me.
If one of my co-workers had an issue with me, I would much rather have him talk to me personally first, instead of having him badmouth me to my boss behind my back and possibly get me in trouble without even giving me a chance to fix the issue myself.
Now, if someone is refusing to pull their weight around the office to a big enough extent that it's hurting office productivity, and you talk to him about it and he refuses to change, I think going to the boss is fair.
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You put your RESOLVE HAT back on, which conveniently is the same hat as your NORMAL HAT.
{Drakeryn}