(Sorry this is so long)
I work with a woman who, I think, has a mental illness. She started out as just being annoying, but her behavior is getting more and more strange and is starting to make me and some other people here uneasy. There is a psychologist in our building who has tried to get her to come see him, but she refuses. He told me and another woman here that, based on what he has observed, we should try to avoid being alone in the building with her, which makes me even more uneasy.
Here are some examples of her behavior…what do you think the problem is? Do you have any advice on how we should deal with her in the workplace??
[ul]
[li]Yesterday, upon hearing that another woman got a sale at a local business, “A.” became extremely irate. When the rest of us left for lunch, A. went into the other woman’s office and began yelling at her. She said that she knew someone at the local business, so the other woman should never have approached them for a sale (this is not even remotely what our sales policy is). She was extremely agitated, with a “wild look in her eyes” (according to the other woman), was pacing and was pounding herself in the chest. She was screaming that she was the only reason the rest of us were here, that she makes all the revenue for the office, and that the other woman is just handed sales all the time (none of this is remotely true). She continued the pacing and ranting in her office and the hallway.[/li][li]A. is oddly sexual. We have had complaints from customers that she has made inappropriate sexual comments during sales calls. She is extremely touchy and makes a lot of sexual innuendoes with men who work here and who are here visiting (clients, vendors, etc.). An example of this: she frequently “adjusts” her thigh-high pantyhose in front of our tech, which involves hitching her dress up to her waist. She makes come-on type comments while she does this. She also comments frequently to me that she or another woman who works here is having an affair with my husband. She likes to talk about her husband’s desire to have sex with her, but she also makes comments to the effect that she won’t, doesn’t want to, and that she wishes he would just hurry up and get it over with.[/li][li]She cannot grasp rules. She is frequently (at least once a week) out sick, but refuses to turn in her time-off requests. She says that since she is sick (not taking vacation), she shouldn’t have to do it. When I explain PTO and our company’s time-off policy, she looks at me like I’m completely insane. She consistently ignores other policies in the office regarding paperwork, approval for proposals, etc. This carries over into her personal life regarding traffic rules (I’ve been in the car with her) and her behavior in her neighborhood (which has a homeowner’s association), which brings us to….[/li][li]She has a fixation on one of the women in the office…the woman she yelled at in my first point above, as a matter of fact. She moved into her neighborhood (right down the street), she joined her church, and she attempts to make friends with the other woman’s friends. She went over to the other woman’s house one night. The woman invited her in and asked if she would like a tour of the house. A. said no. After a few moments of stilted conversation, A. left.[/li][li]A. name-drops to the nth degree and says these people are her best friends. For instance, there is a woman in our community who is very well-known and well-liked. She is the president/CEO of an important local company. A. tells all who listen that the woman is her best friend, but the woman isn’t. They’ve met and the woman would probably know who A. is, but they wouldn’t be considered friends. In fact, it doesn’t seem that A. has any friends…she tells us a lot about her personal life, but it seems to consist mostly of sleeping and going to doctors. A. also tells stories of her encounters with famous men. She has often told the story of her meeting with Jack Nicklaus…she said he considers her “his girl” and insinuates, without actually saying, that they had an affair.[/li][li]A. has MANY physical health problems, but hasn’t been diagnosed with anything. She’s been going to the doctor for pain and fatigue for as long as I’ve known her (about a year), but they haven’t been able to pinpoint the problem. Her health problems, sex, and who she knows are her main topics of conversation.[/li][/ul]
This is just the tip of the iceberg; there are a million other anecdotes I could tell you about. You all are probably wondering why she hasn’t been fired, especially for the client complaints and refusal to follow company policies. I honestly can’t tell you. I’m not her supervisor and I think the powers-that-be are a little intimidated by her. She has a history of making phone calls to supervisors of supervisors and complaining about their abilities. She does meet her sales quota and she does have some connections in our area because her husband is a prominent businessman. I live in a very small-town atmosphere, so connections are the end-all be-all.
So, what do you think is the problem? How should I cope with this coworker?