Dealing with co-workers is something that one must do in any job. In some cases, co-workers can be amazing and not problematic at all. But in other cases, you might encounter some despicable people. For example, the ones that like to bully people for no apparent reason. Just like in today's story, where a person had a co-worker who was not only a poor employee but a very unpleasant and even manipulative person.
More info: Reddit
Some people just like to get on your nerves, no matter how nice you are to them
Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)
The post's author had a co-worker who kept teasing them, even though they were always nice to him
One day, the teasing situation crossed a line when said co-worker's joke with a staple broke the author's skin
Image credits: Antoni Shkraba (not the actual photo)
Image credits: jose aljovin (not the actual photo)
Image credits: kraytdragons
The author lost their cool and shouted at the co-worker to stop with the jokes, which made him cry as a tactic of saving face
Bored Panda reached out to the story’s original poster, who agreed to share some additional context about the whole situation, and Daphne Magna from “Tough Convos”, who provided some insight about workplace bullying.
The story we’re talking about today happened a couple of years ago, and the person got the idea to share it now because they read a similar story in the subreddit.
The OP was working at the counter of a store. And they had an obnoxious co-worker who was not only an inferior employee but constantly making teasing jokes, and he seemed never to know when to stop. As the OP said — it was a grown man with an 8-year-old’s mind.
Apparently, the post’s author was the only employee teased by this co-worker, as in their words, "nobody else got the same teasing because he knew he couldn’t get away with it." So, they used to laugh off these jokes uncomfortably so as not to be a jerk. It seemed that this co-worker simply didn’t understand social cues. Like, when told to stop, he never stopped.
- They think it’s funny;
- They want to make a co-worker uncomfortable or annoyed;
- They are jealous of a co-worker;
- They like a co-worker.
Daphne Magna provided some additional reasons why people act out in workplaces: “The company culture isn't inclusive, accountability isn't encouraged from leaders above, there are few to no repercussions for their unsavory behavior, or as an individual, they lack self-awareness and chose ignorant behavior instead of mature discourse.”
According to the OP’s explanation in the story, it’s quite likely that the reason behind their co-worker’s actions is simply trying to be funny and not understanding why their jokes actually aren’t amusing.
So, one day, about after 6 months of teasing, the jokes reached the post’s author’s breaking point. It happened when one of these jokes with a stapler broke the OP’s skin. Technically, they were injured because of this joke. So, the next day, they confronted the co-worker. At first, they tried to be civil, but the guy just laughed at it.
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
That’s when the post’s author lost it and raised their voice, which was out of character for them. They said that they’d go to management if the teasing didn’t stop. This made the bully’s eyes fill with tears. Apparently, it was a part of a “saving face” tactic, as he later went to the manager and cried to them about how he didn’t want to lose his job. And he didn’t lose his job then.
He lost it a couple of months later for simply being bad at his job and an awful person in general.
People online cheered the OP on for standing up for themselves. After all, no matter what the actual intent behind the co-worker's actions was, they were still unpleasantly annoying and even injured the person, who was nothing but nice to them. This prompted some netizens to share their own stories of similar co-workers.
And it’s no wonder why there are so many stories about co-worker-bullies. Apparently, almost 6 people out of 10 people have witnessed or suffered bullying in the workplace. This bullying can take the form of not only teasing jokes, like in the Reddit story, but also in actions such as ignoring, passing on blame, and spreading rumors.
Sadly, bullying takes a toll on the employee who is experiencing it. In fact, it can majorly damage a person's psychological well-being. And then it can damage not only their work performance but other areas of life, too.
Fortunately, some people stand up to it, just like the story’s OP. For others, we can wish to get their courage up and not let some co-worker ruin their experience at the workplace. It’s not worth ruining your life because of some obnoxious person!
Internet folks were completely supportive of the author, and some even shared similar stories of despicable co-workers.
