Anyone have a coworker like this? (vent)

[robbie3982]

I have a coworker who is always trying to screw me over. I can''t stand her!

A few minutes ago she sent me an email, which she copied my boss and my boss''s boss on, saying how concerned she is with the wording of something that I put in the paper advertising a fundraising promotion we''re doing.

She gave me the exact wording!!!

My boss and his boss both can''t stand her either and they know I didn''t do anything wrong, but it still drives me crazy!

She acts like she''s the sweetest person, but it''s all an act and unless you work with her on a regular basis you''d never know.

I could understand if this was someone close in age to myself, but I''d expect someone who''s in their 60''s like this woman to be a bit more mature!

 

[diamondfan]

That sucks. There is likely not much you can do, but as long as the people who are your superiors know her routine, that is your best protection. If she has no authority over you I would just ignore it, and make sure your boss knows what is up, document everything and try to just avoid interacting with her as much as you can. Sometimes the path of least resistance is best, you can always step it up a notch if she continues to mess with you!

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Chances are that she''s done the same thing to everyone else at work and everyone has her number. If you have proof that she gave you the wording that she''s now trying to blame you for, you could e-mail that to your boss & his boss.

 

[robbie3982]

I do have proof and I showed it to my boss and his boss. My boss sent her an email telling her he knew i got it from her and why didnt'' she make corrections before she gave it to me? She''s now ignoring both of us.

 

[sumbride]

I''ve worked with several people like this and quickly learned 1) age has nothing to do with maturity and 2) get EVERYTHING in writing. Usually when there''s somebody like this in the office, you aren''t the only one having a problem with them... other people have been burned by her as well, I''m sure. Talk to your boss, but don''t whine... definitely show your boss the emails you have, and definitely keep everything she sends you. Detailed record keeping makes for good rear-end coverage (aka: CYA).


And people that CC other people, particularly on a "shaming" email really irritate me! I just keep up the CC''ing when replying though.

 

[kcoursolle]

Yes, I used to have a coworker like this...icky icky person.

She would copy my boss on emails that were meant to be personal or when I made a mistake, very frustrating. Also, she acted like you could tell her anything and loved to chat...and then she woudl tell the boss everything. Lucikly, information that was leaked was never that juicy, but it still bothered me a great deal.

This is how I handled it, when she copies a higher up on an email and says something about a mistake, I would kill the transaction with kindness by saying something like, "Thanks for pointing that out, I will get to it immediately."

As far as chatting with her, I really don''t do it anymore since she can''t be trusted. In consequence, she never does this stuff anymore because it doesn''t work. She can''t make me look bad and she doesn''t get gossip out of me, so she hardly ever interacts with me anymore.


Good luck with your annoying coworker. I''m sure your bosses understand that you are not the problem here, and probably think this person is really irritating as well. Another thing you could do is ask her in person to let you know when she is planning on CCing a boss. This would be a nice way to say to get the point across and hold her accountable.

 

[eks6426]

Don''t you just love coworkers? I have several who do that to me. But what''s worse is they are in chummy with the boss so if they do it I am the one who gets blasted for it. The chummy routine really gets on my nerves too. I started keeping everything from those people and I do nothing with them except email. No in person discussions because I want the paper trail. It most helps but they still figure out ways to zing me. I''m just too darn nice because I never even think about ways to get people like this. Probably the reason I''m not in upper management.

 

[codex57]

Date: 12/6/2006 12:25:03 PM
Author: robbie3982
I do have proof and I showed it to my boss and his boss. My boss sent her an email telling her he knew i got it from her and why didnt'' she make corrections before she gave it to me? She''s now ignoring both of us.

Just keep doing that. Get everything in writing. When you catch her trying something like this again, just let the higher ups know. I''d also file a complaint with HR (or talk to your bosses about it at least). With written proof, it''s hard for her to argue much even if they fire her.

If you''re evil and she does it again, send the written proof by e-mail to the two bosses and complain how she''s doing this AGAIN but "accidentally" cc the rest of the company along with it. You can follow up with an "Oops, ignore that last e-mail" message. Might as well clue everyone else in.

 

[monarch64]

When I was in retail, I once worked as part of a team of two assistant mgrs., one of whom sounds exactly like the co-worker of yours, Robbie3982. She would be reallllllyy sweet to me, then turn around and go to our boss and tell him things that were totally off base about my work, personality, whatever. All the higher-ups had her number, though, and eventually she got transferred to another store, even though THEY didn''t want her after hearing and seeing how she got along with others. My best advice is to be yourself, document everything, and if worse comes to worst, you''ll at least have some ammo on paper to cover your butt with. People like her are exist in every company. BTW, not to be ageist, but I was 24 when I started that position, and she was 54. I don''t know if it''s an age thing, but I''ve never had any problems with women I''ve worked with who were closer in age than that. It''s happened to me more than a few times...and it sucks. Best of luck to you, and try not to let her get you down. That''s what she''s trying to do, so don''t give her the satisfaction.

 

[robbie3982]

Thanks for the advice guys! My boss and his boss definitely know how she is. In fact, she did it again today to another coworker. She cc''ed a whole bunch of higher ups and the highest up (my boss''s boss) got really mad. They pulled her into my boss''s boss''s (ha that''s confusing) office and he screamed at her. My office is right next to his, but usually when the door is closed I can''t hear anything. This guy never yells either. He''s seriously the nicest guy.

Apparently when she cc''ed everyone the highest up responded and she sent a nasty response back which is what really upset him I think. I caught something along the lines of "you show no respect!"

So, this might make me kind of evil, but it felt good to hear her get yelled at

.

I have to work on a project/event with her later tonight, but our boss will be there and he''ll definitely not take any of her crap.