For those who’ve been following my recent work melodrama in the pit, I thought I’d give an update and invite some feedback.
So last week, E. spent her time generally being miserable until Friday. She’d been shredding docs (totally benign as it turns out) and my office mgr confronted her about it, accusing her of not giving a shit about the office. I think this made her wake up and realize her job was on the line. My boss had a big talk with her Friday after the shift and when I came in on Monday, she was like night and day. She came into my office and apologized personally for being so hard on me. We had a really good talk, and I told her I thought I would be able to work with her in the future but that I wasn’t going to tolerate any bullshit. She said that I didn’t have to worry about anything, that she was on a new track.
This whole week has been the best week at my job. She’s been nice to me, helping me with work, treating me well, and she brought us all into a room to apologize to the group for her actions.
I think for her to have acted the way she was, she must have some serious shit to deal with. I’m willing to move on, and I’m actually contemplating staying at my job for a long time.
Am I being naive? Are you all expecting a blow up thread in a few months? Pushover? I appreciate the feedback.
I don’t think you’re being a pushover. A pushover response would have been something like “oh, don’t worry about it; it’s not a big deal.” You said you will be able to work with her but won’t tolerate bullshit. That seems up front and honest without being confrontational.
What could you have gained by saying you don’t accept her apology? At this point, she’s on shakey ground, and if she acts up again you can take it up directly with her boss. You’ve done all the right things so she can’t come back and say she tried to apologise to you and work with you but you wouldn’t cooperate.
I have no idea whether her new attitude will continue. However, if it doesn’t,she may very well be shown the door.
It’s possible she just had her head stuck so far up her ass she didn’t know that what she was doing was soooo bad. Then getting her ass kicked and feeling in the back of the head cleared it up.
Hopefully.
In my opinion, your response was the best possible way of handling the situation. It looks like you’ve accepted her apology at face value, and are willing to give her another chance, but on your own terms.
If you’re working well with her now, I bet it’ll reflect really well on you for the future at this company. They knew you had issues with her, that you don’t take rubbish, yet are willing to let personal things go just to get things done. I can’t think of anything more professional than that.
Of course, if you do want to drive her over the bend, now would be an excellent time to start playing mind games with her. You know, hide dog poop in her desk drawers, stick used chewing gum on her chair, mutter obscenities at her under your breath in the middle of conversations. That sort of thing.
Why would Rebekkah want to become an unsufferable bitch? Being nice is a lot better for stomach health.
I do hope it works out and I do hope you remember how to be nice while holding your ground for the rest of your life (one of the hardest things to learn, makes Calculus sound like a kiddie game).
I honestly think that some people are just clueless about how they come across. It’s possible she falls into this category.
Too bad we don’t have classes on social graces, but that’s a whole 'nother can o worms that I certainly don’t want to open!
You should be proud of the way you handled this entire issue. You remained professional under extreme stress and pressure, and came out with (at least for now) an acceptable and positive resolution. Here’s to hoping your work situation remains pleasant!