lillamy

Death, has come to mind. As in mine or theirs, one or the other
As has DIVORCE (myself from my job).

This life is nothing but AFGO -- Another F-ing Growth Opportunity -- isn't it?

So the Raving Alcoholic in my office quit in a huff recently. He was upset that he didn't get paid 100% after having been "home sick" every Monday in recorded history and then some, and run up all his sick days. So he dramatically threw his scarf over his shoulder like a British Lord and stomped off.

Left we are with Angry Man and Flyoffthehandle Fanny. (Don't worry, there are normal people too, just a few bad eggs.) Angry Man has the habit of flying into screaming fits of rage and get in people's faces. Stomping out of the office (see a trend here?). And then calling in to the boss and apologizing and saying it's because he is suffering from PTSD from his tours of duty overseas. Flyoffthehandle Fanny is a narcissist and paranoid and will act like Angry Man only at a higher pitch and without apologizing.

I have sympathy for people with disease and illness. But as our sage wisdom provider LaTeeDa says -- unacceptable behavior is unacceptable. Unfortunately, my boss appears to be collecting problem employees; hiring people who for various reasons have a hard time functioning in a professional environment. I bet in another situation, he would be a crazy cat man. And my sympathy pretty much runs out right about at the point where their crazy comes up and threatens my ability to do my job.

I cracked a bit today -- e-mailed my boss and told him I'm working from home the rest of the week because the environment in the office is not conducive for me to be able to finish the project I have deadline for on Friday. He responded that it was totally fine for me for now but that I have to learn how to work with my colleagues because we're a team.

I'm at a bit of a loss here. Any other job I've had, these people would have been given a security escort and 15 minutes to clean out their desk at the first offense. Maybe I'm getting old and grumpy, but it occurred to me that maybe I'm just done trying to make things work? I think I'll spend the evening polishing my resume.

Ofelie

HAHAHA! I am so sorry, I have nothing helpful to add whatsoever. Your descriptions of these people gave me a good laugh, which I desperately needed today, so thank you.

AnvilheadII

ugh, office conflicts of any kind give me the heebeejeebees! especially when those who act like total DIVAS for some reason seem to get a pass.

so do i gather that Angry Man and FOTH Fanny do not emote directly AT you but more in the general sense of pout and flounce, stomp and yell??? that's where it gets a little trickier....but no more so than if Angry Man had a Penthouse centerfold pinned up in his office....while it's not directed AT anyone, it's still UNACCEPTABLE in the working environment.

do you think a chat with HR would do any good? do you suspect others have the same reaction and feelings of unease that you do?

either way, there sure is nothing wrong with seeing what else is out there!!! if you are still viable and marketable! me personally i'm happy where i am, but i'm also STUCK. at 54, with no degree, just eons of experience (i've been here over 22 years), they aren't exactly sending the head hunters my way!!! i wouldn't do so well on the free agent market! and the benefits here work in my favor.

Praying

I was just laughing at myself today because apparently it's much easier to apply my Codie-free wisdom at work than at home.

In a meeting talking about how some offices have too many people in them who are doing the bare minimum, while others (my office) have many more team players and those who go above and beyond.

Here goes Praying:
"As managers we all need to look inside and ask- is it okay to work here and be that way? Because right now, if it's happening, it's because we have accepted it's good enough. Are we afraid we can't find better people to fill the spots? If we value what we have to offer, we will not accept mediocre, and we will attract people who strengthen our teams. But we can't complain about what we've got. We are either accepting it or not."

LOL.

lillamy

Anvil, we're pretty close in age and my degree sounded a whole lot better when I was pursuing it than it looks on a resume. I'll keep my eyes open but the truth is, small company, good pay, that's why people stay here. And I'm afraid my best-before date is pretty well passed...

The angry folks leave me alone -- I've worked on my Don't F*** With Me face -- but the yelling and people crying and the general unease is not a healthy environment. We don't have an HR department so it's each man (or woman) for themselves here... Dog eat dog world...

Praying

Better idea- patent that "Don't F*** with me" face and sell it to all of us. Never work again.

lillamy

Now there's a business idea!!!

I found I had perfected it by sheer coincidence during my divorce. You know those people that approach you in grocery store parking lots to tell you how they ran out of gas and just need $10 so they can get back to St. Petersburg/Paris/Omaha/whatever? All of a sudden, I saw them make BIG circles to avoid me. My daughter said "it's probably because you walk around looking like you're homicidal all the time!" and I said "Hm....."

(Thank you for the laugh! I feel better now!)

ladyscribbler

Angry Man needs to get his @$$ to the VA and get some therapy. You and your fellow officemates could facilitate this by sneaking up behind him and popping balloons or tossing firecrackers under his car when he pulls into the parking lot. Bonus points if you dress in burkhas and ululate while doing so.
I hate when people play the PTSD card. It makes all of us look bad.

Pipefish

Thanks Lillamy, that was very entertaining to read, if not to experience! Love your attitude to it, and your humour.

Good luck with the resume polishing

HealingWillCome

Adding disrespect, dipsh*ts, and divas to the list of d words.

I wish you were employed at my workplace. I love no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it is people who aren't afraid to use the 'don't eff with me' face when needed. I'm fed up with divas who suck up to the same people they back stab and find fault with as soon as they're out of earshot. It might be easier to understand if they were in their 20s but we're talking 'mature' professionals in their 40s and 50s here.

I've been thinking about polishing up my resume myself and finding a job where I don't have to manage people all day long. It's exhausting. I'm starting to lose my passion for my nearly 30-year career because I have less patience for rudeness and disrespect. And people are more rude and disrespectful than they were 30 years ago or even 15 years ago, IMO.

You made me laugh, lillamy. Hard. Out loud. I'm more of a smile-really-big, maybe chuckle-a-little kind of reader, but your post got me.

CodeJob

Thank you for the laughs.

MissFixit

diabolical
deception
deceitful
debt