[Coworker #1] and I don’t particularly get along. It is her choice. She made the decision to treat everyone in her life horribly, and as a result, I have a very low opinion of her professionalism, ethics, and overall character. I cannot say she is a good person, or even a decent one for that matter, but I won’t go as far to say I hate her. I just think she is rather… evil.
It is also worth noting that I have called [Coworker #1] out several times for overstepping boundaries and contacting me during vacation, sick time, while I am driving in early mornings, after work, at lunch, and late at night for non-critical information (e.g. passwords she already has, asking where an unimportant file is, expecting me to search HER email for her, etc.) and for rescheduling my client and personnel meetings to conflict with my paid time off without asking (the only time she ever does it at all). Sometimes, she contacts me when I’m off just to whine about our boss, complain about a coworker having the nerve to go on vacation, and/or get free talk therapy. She has a habit of doing it to everyone.
One time, she called another coworker, [Coworker #3], in the middle of a store on a Saturday to pester her for her social security number and refused to call back at a more convenient time as “it will only take a minute.” And if my coworker hadn’t picked up? She would have filed a complaint. She always takes awful power trips like that.
However, I am the only one who has repeatedly asked her to stop, which she dislikes even more than being unable to extort free labor out of terrified employees.
The last time [Coworker #1] did this to me, I contacted our boss to lodge a complaint after she went around telling everyone in the office that I was going to be out before conveniently “forgetting” (like every time before). I tried to be diplomatic at first and suggested a way that she could easily “remember,” as it was an ongoing issue.
She had the nerve to insist there was no problem. Even with proof of her wishing me a good vacation the night before, I pointed out that she personally received reminder texts and emails within forty-eight hours that she acknowledged, she had access to the Google Calendar and Timesheet which had all this info, and I had several coworkers approach me about her complaining about me going on vacation. Ultimately, our boss sided with me after the dust settled, and she was told that unless it was a Code Red, she should not be contacting me when I am off the clock.
It is December 1st.
Coworker #1: “Have you thought about the holiday party?”
Coworker #2: “Well, I haven’t given it much thought, but I think we agreed that it would be in mid-January.”
Coworker #1: *Offended* “Why would we do that?”
Me: “Well, it is the holidays, so people are going to be out.”
Coworker #1: “Well, why don’t we put when everyone will be out on the Google Calendar?”
I want to bang my head against the desk as the incident above happened a mere three weeks ago. Additionally, everyone has shared their own calendars at this point, either on Google Calendar or in an email.
Me: “I can put my vacation days on the calendar.”
I already have my days on there, so no biggy. Plus, I already emailed her and our boss when I would be out several times and he acknowledged it.
Coworker #1: “Well, [Coworker #3] will be out on the seventh through the tenth… I think?”
[Coworker #3] isn’t in the meeting, and from experience, she expects me to put it all in right now for her.
Me: “Okay. She can put those dates on there herself when she knows.”
Coworker #1: “And I am not sure when I will be out yet… And when will you—”
She pauses, realizing what she was about to say to me — the person who just filed a harassment complaint against her because she refuses to respect my boundaries and got caught spitefully rescheduling my meetings to when she knew I would be out.
Coworker #1: *Distastefully* “I guess I will be surprised.”
Now, I love [Coworker #2] as a coworker and a person, but he has to question EVERYTHING. If a process has been in place for ages, he at least wants a discussion as to WHY we are doing it this way and will suggest some small tweak to “leave his mark”. It doesn’t matter how impractical it is. And when you put him in with someone like [Coworker #1], who wants to argue about if you REALLY saw a line of ants to the trash can? Well, it is a long and drawn-out discussion about if number-two pencils are truly the best pencils that starts and ends in us buying more pens.
Coworker #2: “Do we want to do Google Calendar or [Task-Tracking Program]?”
Coworker #1: “Does [Task-Tracking Program] even have a calendar on it? That seems like a bad idea.”
Me: “Yes. It is under ‘Out-of-Office’. My days are already put in there, as well.”
Coworker #1: “But does it have a calendar or is it just a list?”
Me: “It is a calendar.”
Cue a “riveting” debate on the nuances of both, for the sake of picking a fight, I guess. I just sat back and let them decide. I had already done what I needed to do, and she was going to ignore it anyway, so what did I care?
As predicted, we ended up using both, and [Coworker #1] had a lovely night sitting alone in the dark with a bottle of wine, griping and whining about how positively lazy “kids these days” are for having the audacity to use paid time off.
I am not imagining this. Remember when I said she would call me late at night to complain about a coworker taking PTO? Yeah.