If at all possible, when you have an issue with someone, whether they're a neighbor, classmate, co-worker, if you feel safe doing so it's always more considerate to try taking up any issues with someone directly before reporting them to any authority figure.
For example, if your neighbor has their TV or music turned up way too loud way too late at night, it's more considerate to go knock on their door and politely ask them to turn it down rather than immediately reporting them to housing authority or calling the cops on them for a noise violation.
Or say your co-worker forgot to fill out a form for something they're supposed to fill out a form for. It's more considerate to talk to them directly and politely remind them, rather than immediately going to your manager and reporting them the first time you notice they didn't fill out the form.
We're all human and we all make mistakes, and we all deserve some grace for our mistakes rather than immediately getting in trouble with authority and/or management. Some people lose track of time and don't realize how loud their T.V. and/or stereo is, and feel bad if a neighbor brings it to their attention how loud it is, and they will feel grateful if you just talk to them instead of immediately trying to get them in trouble.
Maybe someone had to show up to work on only 2 hours of sleep, or is going through a rough patch in their personal life, or is struggling with a disorder like ADHD, and as a result made a careless mistake at work like forgetting to fill out that form. They will appreciate it if you just politely talk to them rather than getting them in trouble with management.
You've probably made careless mistakes yourself, like not realizing how loud you were being, or making a careless error at work. Would you rather someone shows you some grace by just talking to you, or immediately tries to get you in trouble for it?
Of course this is about mistakes that can be solved by just talking to someone. This doesn't necessarily apply to situations where someone is really out of line, or makes you feel unsafe. Say a co-worker keeps harassing you and calling you derogatory slurs, and it's really obvious that they know how hurtful and out of line what they're saying is. In that case by all means, just go straight to management and/or HR.
But otherwise, if they're likely just making an honest mistake with no malicious intentions (like forgetting to fill out a form or accidentally being too loud) why get them in trouble and do something that might risk something like their job, or something else important, when you can just talk to them like a person?
