Annoying things your work colleagues do all the time? #3

[Ensay]

I started a new role at the end of 2021 which involves management of a team that is in such a dire state because the management before me were so inconsistent and awful. I am trying my best to improve the culture and working practices but it is a massively hard slog. This week, on Thursday and Friday, I worked extremely long days trying to action lots of tasks including picking up work for someone who suddenly went off sick on Thursday. I ended up having about 5 emails from 4 different individuals (all from the same department) about the exact same issue. By the time I replied to the third one, I wrote: “this is the third time I’ve responded to this query. Please see my original response below…I suggest you agree a single point of contact from your department in future”. Subsequently, I had a reply from them where they copied in my manager saying my tone was frustrated, rude and unnecessary.
i hate when people do that! It feels like they’re “telling“ on you to your manager and it’s so unnecessary!

On a side note, as I am still fairly new and due to the volume of work I was trying to action on Thursday/Friday, I now have pretty bad work anxiety for Monday as I am worried I may have inadvertently done something wrong as I was juggling so many tasks at once!!

Your reply wasn't rude and hopefully them sending your email to their manager will backfire on them because any good manager would agree that four of their staff separately sending an email about the same issue is inefficient and a waste of their time.

They don't even have to agree an owner, the first one could ensure they copy in the relevant people when they email you so everyone else knows it's been raised and will see your reply when you get back to them.

 

[Rxt156]

The most annoying thing my team leader does is exist because I’m head over heels in love with her and it’s literally taking over my life 🥲

This is not what I expected. Do you think you have a chance???

 

[Black.bird]

Yeah completely agree with you, I also hate doing the whole women are bitches thing but it’s so true in this case. She’s never managed before and is very immature and jealous in my opinion. I hate to sound rude but we are visibly very different, I don’t know if she is threatened or what but I have always put the most into my work and do everything I can to help her, I am a nice person I never get a thank you or even an acknowledgment. The gym comment honestly made me so angry I had to leave the office to cool down because I was gonna lose it I go 4/5x a week which I’m sure is probably extreme to some people but i started for my own personal reasons and to help me get over shit, and it’s absolutely done that for me. It’s something I’m passionate about and keeps me sane so for her to take the piss on a regular basis and say I have no life ect really upset me. I feel like I can’t say anything because everyone seems to love her, they go off to the canteen ect and I’m usually eating at my desk because I don’t want to socialise with people like that. I’ve tried it and got ignored and stared at the whole hour

I don’t know what it is about me which she hates so much, I feel like because I’m blonde wear makeup ect maybe I look typically ‘dumb’ she’s probably had this opinion formed of me before she even got chance to get to know me, I’m not an idiot and am very capable of doing my job. The Christmas stuff is getting on my nerves now aswell as they are all talking about how much fun it will be and how last years was so wild… bore off how crazy Chloe got on the dance floor I really don’t give a flying fuck

the old man is disgusting. He recently added me on Facebook and I have ignored it, it has now been followed by messages asking if I’ve watched certain tv shows ect? So I have shut my settings down on Facebook, I did also see that his daughter was brunette and not blonde which was weird. He asked me to go for breakfast with him this morning as he needs a ‘partner’, I declined and pretended I was on a call 🫣 this isn’t the only occasion things like this has happened, on business conferences my name has been brought up and I have received Facebook messages telling me these male colleagues were on about me (men in their 30’s) it is just bizarre. There is no way this is a normal working environment and has simply drained all the energy out of me tbh, i am so desperate to leave.

Please seek legal advice. Nobody should have to put up with any of that!

I feel like where people wfh for a while and now back in the office more there’s certain people who totally thrive on the power trips back stabbing bitching just all the horrible stuff that their sad little lives have been missing when wfh . My entire team is ruined by one vile middle aged woman who’s got to have a target to be nasty to every week , she uses teams to manipulate and bitch on she’s just so vile and yet no one will ever call her out for it . Most of her targets are newer team members who are all lovely looking and I’ve told them there’s definitely an element of jealousy with her and also because they’re new and more positive about the job than her she can’t stand that .

I agree, 100%! I love all of the people I work with, with the exception of one, who is exactly as you've described. She's just a miserable person who doesn't even try to fit in (we've tried so hard in that regard). We're all heading back to the office again next week, after working remotely for this past week (our MD was worried about a new wave of Covid coming and wanted to keep everyone safe), and I'm dreading what surprises she has in store.

 

[HoGi]

You have close-knit coworkers if you remember who owes what favour

I think most of us just don't mind spending a quid on each other lol

 

[Timz]

Not really. There is absolutely no obligation to disclose if you're doing a course you're paying for on your own and I actually specifically remember having a conversation with a previous manager at a previous company about this. It's nowhere stipulated in any work contract I've ever had personally. Again, what you do in your personal time is no one's business. Voluntary disclosure is appreciated, but it's not an obligation if it's not going to impact your work in any way shape or form. Your work has to be done regardless. This is why part-time courses are generally after business hours and on Saturday morning.

The bit about "worrying" about your preparation while on a Zoom call etc... again, that is your own personal business. Other people might have other things they are worried about too that may affect their performance or attention span during Zoom calls. Does this need to be disclosed too? I don't think worrying about your preparation on a Zoom call is a relevant justification in my eyes. We all have personal lives and things we worry about. It's life.

There is a difference between disclosure and asking for special treatment. Every Thursday afternoon for two years is special treatment. I've never seen this before in any company.

We won't agree on this but my personal stance is unless it is sponsored by the company, what you do in your personal time is yours only.

I’m glad I don’t work with the likes of you, and also stop picking on my personal context which I have provided here re Zoom which you have over-analysed

We have flexible working hours so we can leave at 3pm. Our company want us to have a work-life balance how about that. Answers on a postcard.

Every company has different managers and contracts Try working elsewhere

 

[Timz]

When Management “Carry on Recruiting”

 

[Ensay]

I block out my lunchtimes as busy to avoid this. Doesn’t always work but it does help!

I do the same, but it's with multiple people and she has probably gone for the slot that seemed 'best' for the majority.

I’d reply with “hi X, I’m unavailable at that time, could you do x time?” It’s none of her business why you can’t make the meeting at the time she suggested so I would keep it short and sweet.

I declined saying I was unavailable. It's a meeting with several people, so I'll leave it up to her to reschedule if she wants to.

I suspect she'll get other declines and will probably move it anyway.

 

[Ensay]

People (colleagues and external) prefixing their emails with “URGENT!!” in the subject line and several more proclamations of urgency in the body of the text. Usually because it’s something they should have dealt with weeks prior, but now it is apparently URGENTLY!! my problem.

Unfortunately I am a petty bitch, so your query will now make its way to the very, very bottom of my To Do list and will be dealt with in 3-5 business days and not a moment sooner.

Warm regards,
BDR xx

Haha love it. I hate that as well.

Same when they start meeting invitations like that - usually because they know almost all attendees have already got meetings then, but they're so selfish they think everyone needs to decline pre-arranged meetings to attend their VERY URGENT call. Nah, sod off thanks.

We had an "admin" code that we charged excess hours to (within reason). Ee had to be paid or given time off in lieu and it was to keep track for that. We then sometimes got called in if our utilisation rate when too low as we were charging too much to admin and we would have to justify it.

I often wondered what code we should yse for prepping timesheets as they could easily take 30 mins a week when working on multiple clients

Haha so true regarding a code for filling out the sodding thing. And PMs sending queries about timesheets.

 

[TheGlossy]

RIGHT?! It’s always the ones that never seem busy so busy themselves with scheduling meetings and following up with a teams pop up

That is so true. This particular individual was sitting behind me last week and all they did was run from one meeting to another and whenever they were at their desk, the screen was stuck on their calendar while they were looking at their phone the whole time.

 

[ChastityDingle]

Fucking nosey cow that I'm paired with. If someone comes in to tell me something, as soon as they've left she's straight over to find out what they've said or sometimes she'll even just interrupt our conversation with 'what's this about? Or 'what's this you're talking about'. Sometimes someone might be just asking if I've got enough stock or whatever and she'll say 'what did she want you for? And I'll say 'oh it was just about the stock'. And she'll say 'why what about it'? and then I'll have to explain. Grrr it grinds my gears. If someone comes in to talk to her I leave them to it but then i'm not paranoid..... xx

I cant stand nosey people, in general. I would be pausing and looking at her for a moment before giving a vague answer. Or burying my head in something and giving uh-huh responses until she was sick of me

 

[Eenymeenyminymo]

I have a new colleague who arrives just before 8.30am (our start time to be logged on and ready to go), she switches her computer on, puts her bag away then goes to make her cup of coffee so isn’t sat down until 8.34. It’s daft but it’s annoying

 

[rosemarina]

Definitely do that.

 

[Mrs Moon]

Some people are absolutely insane.

Point 1: Someone sent an email yesterday after business hours (around 5.30pm) and I did not respond because I had already shut down my Outlook. I log in this morning and they sent an email at 8am saying: "You did not respond to my email yesterday, please respond to my email, this is the first time in my life I am performing this action" and they cc'ed all managers including mine.

This is absolutely ridiculous. If you're going to send an email past 5pm and expect a response by 8am the following morning, then you're unreasonable (we're all on the same time-zone) and cc'ing the managers as a way to "tell" on you for not responding outside of business hours is even more unacceptable.

Point 2: People who make it a point to schedule 1 hour calls during lunch break when this calls are only meant for you to walk them through something you're already shown them on numerous occasions. It's a hard decline and reschedule for me because lunch time is the only time when I can get some personal things done and getting a useless meeting to benefit someone else scheduled in is not right.
[/QUOTE This country is is ruined by jobsworthys and petty stupid people. Nobody has any pride in their work anymore, there is too much paperwork, too many unnecessary rules and and everything is going to sh*t

Some people are absolutely insane.

Point 1: Someone sent an email yesterday after business hours (around 5.30pm) and I did not respond because I had already shut down my Outlook. I log in this morning and they sent an email at 8am saying: "You did not respond to my email yesterday, please respond to my email, this is the first time in my life I am performing this action" and they cc'ed all managers including mine.

This is absolutely ridiculous. If you're going to send an email past 5pm and expect a response by 8am the following morning, then you're unreasonable (we're all on the same time-zone) and cc'ing the managers as a way to "tell" on you for not responding outside of business hours is even more unacceptable.

Point 2: People who make it a point to schedule 1 hour calls during lunch break when this calls are only meant for you to walk them through something you're already shown them on numerous occasions. It's a hard decline and reschedule for me because lunch time is the only time when I can get some personal things done and getting a useless meeting to benefit someone else scheduled in is not right.

This county is ruined by petty stupid rules and regulations, nobody has any pride in their work anymore and most are not trained properly. We are broken now, just look at the NHS. It is not fit for purpose anymore and money is being wasted on the upper layer of so called management. I can understand your frustration

 

[If you say so...]

Gross.
I wouldn't be at all discreet about wiping the phone. I would hope that they would see me doing it.

We've put signs up in the bathroom telling them to keep the area clean and tidy and also several signs to remind them to wash their hands but they just ignore them. They occasionally use hand sanitizer after they exit the bathroom as if it's somehow better? I mean it's good for my diet because i refuse to eat any shared treats in the office after they've had their hands in.

 

[GlennCoco]

I can't stand disorganized senior people who need to be given the same information multiple times. If you don't have support staff you need to make time to read your emails, absorb your calendar and check you have all info you need. It's infuriating when someone keeps causing chaos requesting meetings are pushed out last minute because they can't keep on top of their inbox or calendar.

My manager is exactly like this. Their office is an absolute state with files and documents everywhere. We aren't given correct information because they haven't read their emails and passed it on

 

[amhungry]

One of the guys in my office with spends all day singing along to whatever is on the radio, he can't sing and he also gets half the words wrong. Thank the lord I only need to come to the office 2 days a week.

 

[Scarlet4U]

I've very rarely seen that from women but I do think there's a cultural narrative that pits younger women against older women. Most of my workplace problems are entirely the fault of men (mostly white men).

Oh I definitely have. I had a colleague the same level as me except she had two direct reports and I didn't manage people. The young man she adored couldn't do enough for his development and then she blitzed through about 4 female PAs in 18 months. She could never give a tangible reason why they hadn't worked out and I could only deduce that she felt threatened by them. She was generally very controlling about work and holds grudges over petty mistakes. That woman fits every point the other posts outlined. I would personally prefer to report directly into a man too. Of course there will always be exceptions.

 

[JustmeKC]

Exactly! Besides, we're not at people's beck and call.

At least it’s Friday

 

[Rxt156]

Just exist everyone in my job is so nasty and vile, everyone acts as if they are above you and couldn’t ever possibly talk to you with a bit of respect. I am in a small team with literally just my bitch of a boss, she’s left me out of any Christmas celebrations not to mention she’s horrid to me on a daily basis 🥲

said I had no life and there’s no possible way I have any sort of responsibility because I go to the gym, called me a giraffe and said I stand out like i sore thumb next to her last week looks me up and down when I get in every morning and never speaks a word

there is also an old man at work who constantly harasses me and tells me if he was 20 years younger I’d be in trouble. Every day he comes up behind me and says something weird, always comparing me to his 12 year old daughter as she is also blonde with blue eyes and apparently has ‘gorgeous long legs like me’. Makes me ill

I think that woman is jealous of you.

 

[TheGlossy]

As far as I know in Ireland employers can’t ask why you’re sick, people generally volunteer the information though. I would in my hole be sending a group message about being sick and then having to put up with the fake ‘omg if you need anything let me know’ messages. Go get stuffed.
Until and unless the requirement to report absence into a WhatsApp group is part of official policies and procedures they can shag off.
Thankfully we have legislation coming in about the right to disconnect which is going to prove very interesting for companies operating like this.

I'm in Ireland too.

This manager is out of their mind and clearly does not have a notion about HR protocol.

I told them I'm uncomfortable with WhatsApp, it's documented as it was a written conversation. They take it or leave it but I dare them to escalate to HR because I'll be having a good laugh then.