Decide Whether to Escalate a Workplace Problem

A manager conflict, a harmful process, or an ethical concern has reached the point where you are weighing whether to escalate, knowing it could make things worse. This thinks the decision through properly: whether you have exhausted the direct route, what escalation realistically achieves, and what the fallout might be. Good for anyone sitting on a problem unsure who to take it to.

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You are dealing with {WORKPLACE_PROBLEM} (e.g. a conflict with a manager, a process that is causing harm, a colleague's behaviour, a client relationship breakdown, or an ethical concern). You have [tried to resolve it directly / not yet raised it]. You are unsure whether escalating is the right move or whether it will make things worse.
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<task>
**Think through the escalation decision rigorously:**
1. Assess whether you have genuinely exhausted direct resolution: most problems that get escalated should have been resolved at source
2. Identify who the right person to escalate to is, and what their interests and authority actually are
3. Map the risks of escalating vs not escalating, including the risk of normalising a problem by tolerating it
4. Prepare the escalation message: factual, solution-focused, and free of emotional loading
5. Define what a successful resolution looks like and what you will do if escalation fails
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<output_format>
- Direct resolution audit (have you genuinely tried this? be honest)
- Right escalation target identified with their authority scope
- Risk comparison (escalate vs tolerate, two short columns)
- Escalation message draft (factual, professional, ready to adapt)
- Resolution definition and fallback plan
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