Coworker nearly brought me to tears tonight.

[metrogirl]

Some people are just difficult to work with. One thing I have learned is we don't know what is going on in their life. Perhaps they are bitter and angry because of personal issues they have to deal with outside of the job.

 

I worked with one such person, he was such a jerk. At first I didn't care for him and tried to avoid him as much as I could, afterall I didn't want to be on the receiving end of his hositlity. So one day he stepped into the office to make some copies and I said hi. He responded back with a slightly bitter sounding 'hello'. So as I would see him, I would greet him with a smile and a friendly hello. Then one day he needed help with making a double sided copy of some papers, he tried to figure it out and I offered to help. Yes! finally he said something else besides his customary curt 'hellos'.

 

Over time I found out that he had a very sick wife and other big family issues going on. He truly had a lot of on his plate.

He said he hadn't always been this way, that once upon a time he was a happy man until he felt he was let down by God and everyone else.

 

Needless to say we became good work buddies. I now looked forward to him coming in and chatting with me and he told me once that my friendliness towards him really made a difference.

 

Not saying you have to go out of your way to be friendly, just be mindful that she probably wasn't always this way.

[Fudgie]

Bah,

 

I stand by my original thought. Yes, it sucks that you're being bullied. There are bullies everywhere though. Like lavender said, they do it to get a response. Stop giving this woman a response that shows that she's bothering you.

 

You can go ahead and report this but I can promise you, there are bullies on all levels. You will meet one again. You may be punished for reporting it if it doesn't involve outright, verifiable abuse. I know a woman who worked in a hostile work environment. She was very vocal about it and reported her coworkers for being passive aggressive and just generally not nice people. Guess who lost her job? Unfortunately it wasn't them. It was her word against theirs and no boss wants to deal with that.

 

Never report something unless it's super serious and/or you can verify it so it's not just your word.

[Fudgie]

Btw, you can suck up while still respecting yourself. I respect myself just fine. I go home and don't let work bother me unlike the drama starters who seem pretty pathetic and boring to begin with. You want self respect? Learn to ignore the comments and smile, and have fun on your days off.

[oitnb]

If you're having such a hard time with her, speak to your supervisor. If hse's swearing at you, even more so. That's unacceptable.

 

 

But learning how to handle people like this, without going to their level and without taking it to heart, is a valuable tool and you'll need it as you go through life. You don't want to get tarred with the same brush.

 

Well, I'm def learning now how to deal with people like her. It's my first time ever dealing with such a rude person!

[oitnb]

Yeah, I wouldn't report anything right now cause it'd be Way to soon and it is her, the woman whose worked there for five years, word against mine, the new youngest girl there. I'm just going to stand up to her more, I suppose. Even though its not in my nature to bicker with people (hence the "really dude" lol I didn't have any other words to say)

[journeynow]

finally found your other thread about this

 

I would not call this "bullying". You certainly have a cranky co-worker who is unsympathetic, but you can't expect sympathy in every job from every co-worker. What others do affects her, and that's her point of view and where her complaints stem. She does have an annoying attitude, but I don't see where bullying is happening, at least in the examples you gave. Don't take her grumpiness personally, and don't expect her to be sweet. Stand up for yourself, be polite, and don't be belligerent. She might settle down.