There's nothing more terrible than a bad coworker. But some terrible coworkers are...more terrible than others. Take these for example.
We asked friends, acquaintances, and readers to share their biggest coworker horror stories. Turns out, people had a lot to say. (We kept things anonymous for the sake of avoiding hurt feelings or retaliation—and to avoid causing another coworker horror story!)
The Middle Woman
At 21, I got hired at what was my first 'grownup' job. It was a small team—just my boss and two other women—and I couldn't have been more excited on my first day. Everyone had been so nice in my interviews. My boss was there to help me get situated, then took off for a lunch meeting, leaving me with the coworkers. Coworker #1, who I'll call Emily, asked me a few questions about myself, and we laughed about something or other. She seemed great. As soon as we got back to work, though, I get this ping in my Google Hangouts.
Coworker #2, who I'll call Jane, had sent me a message. It just read, 'Don't talk to her. Ever.' Over the next few days, it became clear that Jane was at war with Emily—a full-blown harassment campaign to try to get Emily fired. I never figured out why. But the longer I worked there, the more Jane targeted me, too, because I wouldn't pick a side.
I wound up taking screenshots of all the threatening and crazy messages and emails she'd send because I was afraid she'd try to sabotage my job, too. And she did. But when she complained to our boss about me, I walked into the office with literally 60 pages worth of her crazed messages. The horrible thing was, they never fired her. She got off with a warning and I found a new job ASAP.
How to deal: Well, readers, this contributor took two really important steps—and we commend her for it. First of all, she recognized that there was toxic behavior afoot. Once she did that, she kept a record of unprofessional emails and correspondence. Once you recognize a workplace is a toxic haven, it's likely best to look for a new job.
THE "GOOD INTENTIONS" COWORKER
I guess they weren’t my coworkers yet, but I got asked in for a final interview for this design job at a university, and it turned out it was actually more of a final meet and greet. They just wanted to take me to lunch to see if I jived with the team, which I wasn't expecting at all. So that was awkward enough, but after lunch, my future boss suggested that one of my future coworkers take me for a walk around campus. The campus was huge, and I’d shown up in these uncomfortable-but-job-interview-ready heels.
After almost an hour of walking, we got back to the building, where the guy promptly suggested we take the four flights of stairs back up to get me to my final interview—with the director of the whole department. Two minutes before I was scheduled to walk into my last interview, I ducked into the bathroom to check out the damage and found my eyeliner smeared everywhere (on my chin, kid you not) and my feet literally bleeding. But I got the job!
How to deal: This is a tricky situation because it's hard to know someone's intentions from the beginning—and we want to believe the best of someone, right?
When you're in an interview setting (or an interview-adjacent setting) you likely want to appear agreeable and pleasant. However, if you didn't bring your walking shoes or you need a little time to decompress before interviewing with someone important, communicate that. Rather than sounding rude, it shows that you take the job opportunity seriously.
THE GHOSTS
I started work at a new coworking space, and it turns out not one but two guys who work here are dudes I’d met on Tinder. I ghosted on one, the other ghosted on me. The best part? We all decided to pretend we didn’t recognize each other. This has been going on for months now, and it’s a small space. Every morning, I have to dodge them at the coffee machine.
How to deal: This sort of depends on how closely you have to work with the "spirits" you speak of. If they're not in your department, then continuing the ghost charade might be fine.
THE BIGOT boss
I work in an industry that you’d think would be very socially liberal, but my boss (who I’ve worked with for almost four years now) has no idea I’m a lesbian, not even that I have a long-term partner who lives with me. It's crazy because I've been out to family and friends for over a decade, and I had no intention of hiding it from my colleagues either. But one day after I first started, she stopped by my desk where I had some books out for research on a work project, including one by Gloria Steinem.
Suddenly she says, 'You know, I know everyone loves her, but let’s be honest, if she weren’t so stylish and good-looking back then, no one would have put up with her being a dyke.' I froze. I’m not sure I made the right choice not saying something, but I love my job. She's since made a few other...indelicate remarks, so I just try to duck all personal conversations to avoid engaging with her. It's worked sort of, but deep down, I'm so angry.
How to deal: This is not cool. Period. If your boss is making you feel uncomfortable or angry with remarks, then it's likely this is a recurring problem. If there is an HR department, report the "indelicate remarks"—they are unacceptable in the workplace (and, let's be honest, everywhere).
The Bad-Timing Boss
I was once an assistant at a big magazine. I was sitting at my desk, texting my sister, when the managing editor walked over to me and asked me to check my boss’s calendar. I’d just clicked on a link my sister had texted me. 'Doesn’t this guy look like your boyfriend?' she wrote. I was intrigued, but I placed my phone face-up on my desk while I took care of the managing editor’s request.
When he left, I turned back to my phone. The screen was displaying a porn video, its naked actors writhing around in full-screen mode, brightness turned all the way up. There was no way the managing editor didn’t see it. 'Sorry, wrong link!' my sister said. Um, yeah. It was.
How to deal: Err, sounds like you might be the nightmare coworker here? Keep your phone off your desk. Keep your personal correspondence off your computer. If you're not engaging in personal matters at your desk or in a common working space, nobody will see anything "unsightly"—regardless as to whether the link was sent by mistake or not.
