VENT: I want to strangle my co-worker!

[Mokat76]

Myob.

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by jensen

Please humor me and let me vent for a moment before I ask for some advice. I have this co-worker who is simply awful. I like to call her "smarty pants". She thinks she's the smartest person in the world. But, she's a $10/hour bookkeeper whose last job was at Walmart. So, make your own judgement.

She's frequently ill and mostly on Mondays. She's in a lawsuit with Walmart for a workman's comp case where she fell and injured her back. Recently, she's had to come in late because she's been attending therapy sessions for her carpel tunnel syndrome. Did I mention that she's only 30 years old?

But, the thing that really has me going lately is that she's been on this kick where she thinks she runs the office, always telling people what to do or how to do it. I've had a couple of conversations with our mutual boss about things she's done or said specifically towards me. My current issue is not specifically towards me, so I'm trying to ignore it. But, it's grating on my nerves and I feel like she needs to be put in her place before it goes any further. So, here's where I need advice...

We have a new employee who doesn't wash her hands after using the toilet. Ugh, right? But, I'm inclined to simply wash my hands better and ignore that. Well, "smarty pants" has taken it upon herself to start putting notes around reminding people to have healthy habits. It started with a note on the ladies room door reminding you to wash your hands. Then a note in the break room reminding you to wash the dishes with SOAP AND WATER. Today there was a note on the donuts (brought in by a vendor) to use a napkin to pick up the donuts and not your bare hands.

And in between the appearance of these notes, we are constantly hearing her complain about people being gross and dirty and disgusting.

I'm so tired of it... I'd really rather have the germs than her constant nagging.

WWYD?

I know you are just venting but the fact that she makes less than you shouldn't matter. Everyone in a company is just as important. Everyone has their own roles.

I can't stand when people don't wash their hands and I will say something to them personally. Why? Because that is unsanitary. Think about it. Coworker goes to the bathroom. Wipes themselves then gets urine and perhaps even fecal matter on their hands and doesn't wash. Then, they open the door to your office, touch the printer and touch all those donuts before picking out the one they want. That does affect me so I will say something. Not rudely but that is just disgusting and a great way to pass unwanted germs. Many restaurants and even Walmart has signs reminding employees to wash their hands before returning to work.

If she misses work, does that directly affect you? If she is not your direct report, it is none of your business. Let her manager address her if there is an issue. It is very possible for a 30 year old to have carpel tunnel. Epscially with how much computer use people do.

As for anything else.....if that person was not my direct report, I would have spoken to them rather than going to our mutual boss to tattle. I would say something like, "thank you for your suggestion, I prefer to do it this way. Should you have an issue with it, please feel free to take it up with my supervisor."

[jensen]

Hi folks, thanks for the feedback... I did just need to vent... and am OK with the flames... I do deserve them!

Now that I got it out of my system, I'll be able to ignore some more.

[Acklander]

This kind of stuff I just ignore. Not my employee, so not my problem. The reality is - some people are annoying, and they have to work somewhere.
I don't look down on people for the job they have though. We're all trying to get by the best we can. I'm sure her life long dream wasn't to work at Walmart, but she did it anyway. Nothing wrong with that.

[wvjules]

Personally, I'd be thankful for the hygiene notes. Especially when you consider that no-handwashing after bathroom woman is probably sticking her hands in the box of donuts too. Ewwww and Ick!!!!

And it sounds like you aren't fond of her so every little thing she does is going to annoy you, even if it is not worth being annoyed about.

[WDSearcher]

I'm with the camp that having had a job at WalMart and currently making $10/hr doesn't necessarily mean that she's not smart. I was working minimum wage jobs with an MBA simply because having an MBA doesn't mean there's an exec-level job waiting for you after graduation. Sometimes you're stuck. A know-it-all attitude has nothing to do with how smart someone is. And neither does their job description or pay rate.

So ... whew ... that's done!

The woman who doesn't wash her hands ... could it be she has wipes and / or sanitizer at her desk? I used to do that because the soap in the ladies room irritated my skin (and I mean big-time -- rash, hives, etc). So, I'd go to the bathroom and then -- whenever possible -- wait to clean my hands until I got back to my desk. At that particular workplace, there was also a woman who left notes in the bathroom -- 8 x 10 notes in HUGE print -- that reminded everyone to wash their hands and flush the toilet. I imagine they were directed at me, but she never said anything specific. I didn't take much notice of them until about two weeks in, when the notes got longer (explanations of e coli, etc) and started to be accompanied with "I know who you are!" notes in her handwriting.

I finally left a note of my own next to hers that said, "If you know who I am, please come and talk to me personally. Thanks." She never showed up in my office, and the notes continued.

I finally took one to our office supervisor and told her that I was pretty certain the notes were directed at me (turns out, I was wrong). And then I said that, while I thought the woman probably had everyone's good health at heart, I thought it was kind of a bad picture to portray to our clients, who also used those bathrooms. Here we had clients coming in, thinking that the people in the office had to be told to flush the toilets and wash our hands. How did that look and what kind of image did that project?

Notes were gone the next day, the woman was spoken to by the boss, and all was well.

So ... that's one way to go ....

[Gumbo4x4]

I was the one who put up an "instruction" letter in the bathroom that we shared with another office across the hall (different employer) some years back. Seems one fellow didn't feel the need to flush - and in the stalls, not the urinal . IIRC, the note went something like this:

Step 1: Poop
Step 2: Wipe
Step 3: Pull up pants
Step 4: Flush
Step 5: Check bowl
Step 6: If contents remain in bowl, go back to step 4

Someone later wrote in "Step 7: Wash hands!"

[Jennasis]

Originally Posted by Debbie7452

I would just start throwing the notes away(anonymously) maybe SHE will "get the message".

This.

[HM]

I get how annoying that might be.
But, there's not much you can do about it. Better to vent here than talk about it at work, right? It might be best if you find a way to not let her little 'ventable actions' get to you at all. Is there any way you can just laugh about it rather than get stressed about it? Find a way to make the little things seem smaller, you know? Good luck!

[MissManda]

Originally Posted by jensen

Please humor me and let me vent for a moment before I ask for some advice. I have this co-worker who is simply awful. I like to call her "smarty pants". She thinks she's the smartest person in the world. But, she's a $10/hour bookkeeper whose last job was at Walmart. So, make your own judgement.

She's frequently ill and mostly on Mondays. She's in a lawsuit with Walmart for a workman's comp case where she fell and injured her back. Recently, she's had to come in late because she's been attending therapy sessions for her carpel tunnel syndrome. Did I mention that she's only 30 years old?

But, the thing that really has me going lately is that she's been on this kick where she thinks she runs the office, always telling people what to do or how to do it. I've had a couple of conversations with our mutual boss about things she's done or said specifically towards me. My current issue is not specifically towards me, so I'm trying to ignore it. But, it's grating on my nerves and I feel like she needs to be put in her place before it goes any further. So, here's where I need advice...

We have a new employee who doesn't wash her hands after using the toilet. Ugh, right? But, I'm inclined to simply wash my hands better and ignore that. Well, "smarty pants" has taken it upon herself to start putting notes around reminding people to have healthy habits. It started with a note on the ladies room door reminding you to wash your hands. Then a note in the break room reminding you to wash the dishes with SOAP AND WATER. Today there was a note on the donuts (brought in by a vendor) to use a napkin to pick up the donuts and not your bare hands.

And in between the appearance of these notes, we are constantly hearing her complain about people being gross and dirty and disgusting.

I'm so tired of it... I'd really rather have the germs than her constant nagging.

WWYD?

Sounds like its more of a personality conflict than anything. I know you are venting, but you are making a lot of judgements about your co-worker. I personally don't see where she is so off base.

In regard to her hourly pay and where she used to work. Well, times are tough. She might be a very well educated person and that this job and her job at Walmart are beneath her education (hard to tell from your post) but due to the economy can't find anything else. Not really fair to judge based on where they used to work. At least she's working and brining home a pay check.

In regards to her health issues and calling in sick. Again, you have no right to judge. It doesn't matter how old she is. She can still have health issues due to her injury at wal-mart, carpal tunnel, etc regardless of how old she is. Her health issues are none of your business. If her calling in sick is a problem then that is something that needs to be addressed between her and her supervisor.

In regards to the employee that doesn't wash her hands after using the restroom, well that is just gross. I can't stand to see someone not wash their hands. They then use those unwashed hands to open doors, handle papers, pick up donuts, etc. Its just gross and there is no excuse for poor hygiene. I don't have a problem with her leaving notes reminding people to wash hands.

In my office building, someone (and I'm really not sure who) went into our bathrooms and on each still taped a note to remind people to clean up behind themselves...make sure the toilet is flushed, make sure to wash hands, etc. We also have a person that is known to not wash their hands. We also have notes in the kitchen area to clean up after ourselves. Well, I know that I already do these things and so the notes aren't aimed to me. Therefore, they don't bother me.

Why are you so bothered by her notes? You see notes all the times in businesses to remind people (especially employees) to wash their hands before returning to work.

Personally, if this all that she has done, I think now that you've vented, you just need to get over it. Ignore her where you can and work with her only when you need too.

[jensen]

Originally Posted by gjl

I had what my orthopedic doc called one of the worst cases of carpal tunnel he had ever seen and had it surgically corrected when I was "only" 33. So yes, I can believe she has therapy for her carpal tunnel at 30. What's wrong with that?

Guess I wasn't clear here... I know you can get carpel tunnel at any age. I have this suspicion that she's losing her case against Walmart and setting herself up for a new claim...

Originally Posted by ccgirl

If she misses work, does that directly affect you?

Yes, I have to work late when she's gone, because I have to back-up her end-of-day reports. This means I'll be late picking my kids up from school and have to arrange to have someone else get them.

It's one thing if she'd have a planned vacation day and I can arrange ahead of time. It's another to scramble when I get to work and find out she's sick again!!!!

Originally Posted by wvjules

And it sounds like you aren't fond of her so every little thing she does is going to annoy you, even if it is not worth being annoyed about.

Yes... this is true.

Originally Posted by MissManda

Ignore her where you can and work with her only when you need too.

Good advice, which I am trying to take!

[Disneyland1084]

Originally Posted by Gumbo4x4

I was the one who put up an "instruction" letter in the bathroom that we shared with another office across the hall (different employer) some years back. Seems one fellow didn't feel the need to flush - and in the stalls, not the urinal . IIRC, the note went something like this:

Step 1: Poop
Step 2: Wipe
Step 3: Pull up pants
Step 4: Flush
Step 5: Check bowl
Step 6: If contents remain in bowl, go back to step 4

Someone later wrote in "Step 7: Wash hands!"

[ccgirl]

Originally Posted by jensen

Guess I wasn't clear here... I know you can get carpel tunnel at any age. I have this suspicion that she's losing her case against Walmart and setting herself up for a new claim...



Yes, I have to work late when she's gone, because I have to back-up her end-of-day reports. This means I'll be late picking my kids up from school and have to arrange to have someone else get them.

It's one thing if she'd have a planned vacation day and I can arrange ahead of time. It's another to scramble when I get to work and find out she's sick again!!!!



Yes... this is true.



Good advice, which I am trying to take!

Sometimes you can't plan getting sick though. What if you got sick or stayed home with your sick child? Someone would have to pick up your slack; right? As others have said; it sounds like you just don't like her and are looking for reasons to be mad at her.

[LongLiveDisney]

Simply ignore her.

[JessB320]

Originally Posted by ccgirl

Sometimes you can't plan getting sick though. What if you got sick or stayed home with your sick child? Someone would have to pick up your slack; right? As others have said; it sounds like you just don't like her and are looking for reasons to be mad at her.

This person calls in sick most Mondays, giving themselves a three day weekend and causing OP to have to stay late to do her backup .
That would bug the heck out of me.