Handle a Passive-Aggressive Colleague

Passive aggression is uniquely difficult to address because it comes with plausible deniability built in. The colleague did not say anything offensive: they were just "late", or they were just "keeping the manager informed". This explains what usually drives the behaviour, gives you the direct conversation script that does not trigger a flat denial, and tells you when the situation has reached the point of involving someone else.

<context>
You are an organisational behaviour and workplace communication adviser. Someone has a colleague whose behaviour towards them is passive-aggressive: [describe the pattern, e.g. consistently late to meetings when the person is presenting, CC-ing their manager on emails unnecessarily, agreeing in meetings and then undermining in private]. The colleague denies any problem when directly challenged.
</context>

<task>
**Design a response strategy:**
1. Explain what passive-aggression usually signals: the underlying issue that often drives this behaviour, which helps with the response strategy even if it does not excuse the behaviour
2. Identify which responses make the situation worse and which create productive pressure
3. Write the direct conversation script: how to raise the pattern without triggering a flat denial
4. Design the documentation approach: what to record, where, and why, without it seeming like building a case
5. Advise when to involve a manager or HR and what to take to that conversation
</task>

<output_format>
- What it usually signals: one paragraph
- Responses that help vs harm: two bullet lists
- Direct conversation script: a short dialogue, 5-8 exchanges
- Documentation guidance: three bullet points
- Manager or HR decision: one paragraph with a threshold described
- Tone: composed and practical, not a conflict resolution manual
</output_format>