My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

Worst colleague you've ever worked with?

129 replies

ThoseArentSpiritFingers · 12/09/2013 00:26

Some of the stories popping up in the leaving work early thread have got me thinking about this, and thought we could share stories here to give me something to read

Worst person I've worked with was a guy in a bar who thought it was ok to serve underagers half pints because it wasn't a full pint.

Or the person who told me on one of his first shifts that he had a major come down. I was his supervisor at the time.

Or the person who arrived for a shift steaming, dropped and smashed 4 glasses in a row and had to be taken home. (Lived nearby so didn't take too long, but still)

Any stories to share?

OP posts:
Report
IAmNotAMindReader · 12/09/2013 00:35

Guy that used to set up appointments with new contacts, do the first meet and great and then fuck off and leave others to do the rest. Not only that but he would not inform anyone of the clients requirements.

We always dreaded going along to these as he'd have promised them the earth and the customer was expecting a fully planned project with costings and time scales.

We would then turn up with not a clue.

Needless to say none of his contacts ever called back but he was a slippery sod who liked to spread the blame around and got away with it for quite a while. Never quite the same tactic twice, he left before he was pushed.

Report
IAmNotAMindReader · 12/09/2013 00:35

*greet

Report
Fairyloo · 12/09/2013 00:37

Girl I worked with was so lazy. She would make up names for her caseload. Pop out to visit pretend clients on her case load.

Would argue over absolutely everything. Milk, parking, smoking, drinking, not smoking, not drinking.

Was a bully and a deeply unpleasant person. I have never met anyone like her.

Report
MammaTJ · 12/09/2013 00:40

I worked a few odd shifts when needed on the locked ward of the big psychiatric hospital.

On one occasion, there were three women who needed 'specialing', one to one attention, as they were suicide risks. There were only two female staff available for this and one male. Not a problem, as the plan was for him to swap with one of us, should 'his' lady need to go to the toilet.

They went off to another rrom, then my lady needed the toilet. I found the man outside the cubicles and the door locked between him and his lady, not a good idea. We were meant to have the door ajar a little. I broke in, found her hanging, got her down, checked her breathing etc. Luckily, she had only been able to hang from a lowish peg by her narrow and not strong belt, so no real damage done.

That is the worst member of staff I have ever had to work with. He did not follow the protocol in any way and risked her life by his failings. The worst thing was, he was a trained psych nurse and I was an auxilary (as we were called then).

Report
NoComet · 12/09/2013 00:41

The boss who sacked me when I wouldn't sleep with him age 19-20 when I knew his wife was heavily PG.

Personally I had no objection to bar men who served me underage, most of our local pubs did. We'd have black listed for life any that didn't Grin

Report
MrsTerryPratchett · 12/09/2013 00:48

The manager who was demoted into a supervisor position I had been promised. It was a homeless shelter and when all the fire alarms went off one night she turned to me and asked what to do. I wanted to shout, "you are the fucking supervisor". I didn't, I told her to call the fire brigade while I got everyone out. Gave her the easy job that night and everything. Stupid, lazy, incompetent and not even the decency to apologise.

Report
Mimishimi · 12/09/2013 01:02

When I was in uni, I used to work during the pre-Xmas period as a Santa photographer. One day Santa showed up drunk, his eyes bleary and his breath reeking of alcohol. It was impossible to take a good shot of him despite his very rosy cheeks Grin. His speech was slurred when he asked the couple of kids we let see him what they wanted for Christmas. We had to send him home, ring up management and they sent a backup Santa.

He wasn't really the worst though, sort of the funniest. Worst are the bitchy, take credit types.

Report
Buttercup4 · 12/09/2013 01:05

I once worked with a guy we were both at 'manager' levels and he was so annoyed one day that I helped out a colleague he was in competition with that he pinned me against the wall with his hands on my throat.

Also the boss who shouted at me for 6 hours without stopping one afternoon, then shouted at me that I hadn't got any work done. Hmm

Can't decide which was worse.

Report
mewmeow · 12/09/2013 01:31

Boss of a place where I volunteered years ago, only one on a salary, who only turned up about once or twice a week ( for a few hours at that) leaving us right in the lurch. Not as bad as some of these, but I really don't understand how she kept the position so long!

Report
NatashaBee · 12/09/2013 01:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

treadheavily · 12/09/2013 01:49

Shona Sibary

If you find her irritating in print, multiply your irritation by 100 and you will have her annoying colleague status

Report
mrsjrob · 12/09/2013 01:50

I worked with a guy who asked me on my first shift if I would like to go in the back and practice making babies, I slapped him Confused

Report
raisah · 12/09/2013 02:07

My old boss was lovely but...she had a tendency to drink a lor secretely through the day & not much else. It was a bit of a toxic combination.

Report
tallwivglasses · 12/09/2013 03:11

Buttercup Shock Shocked also at shouty for 6 hours boss. Did he take a loo break? Follow you down to the sandwich shop?

Report
Buttercup4 · 12/09/2013 06:52

Nope, I didn't get lunch that day Sad it started shouting at me at 12noon and I left at just after 6pm. He didn't even stop to take a sip of water.

I worked there for 6 weeks and in that period, he had about 10 women come in for sex, explained why he preferred 'African women who have been circumcised' accused me of being too 'PC' because I found this all a bit weird.

His colleague wasn't much better gave me his laptop to use for work and he had granny porn and women with 'bucket' vaginas. He also accused me of sexual harassment when I baked some cakes for the office. Hmm Weirdest company ever!!!!

Report
Pollydon · 12/09/2013 06:59

Worked in a team with a woman who would go off to the loo, then come back, point at a random bloke & announce that they had just had sex in the toilet.
Did that about 6 times.
2 of the men were gay ( one out, one not but my mate )
Barking mad Hmm.

Report
LindyHemming · 12/09/2013 07:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ruffello · 12/09/2013 07:06

Blimey Buttercup. What business were you in? Shock

Report
HowlerMonkey · 12/09/2013 07:13

I think I've been pretty lucky - never met anyone like this!!

Report
darlingdaffodils · 12/09/2013 07:17

One - colleague who sat near me. Moaned constantly. Gossiped about everyone. Liked to stir up trouble and spread lies just to be able to watch the drama. Always the busiest in the office and yet had time to make personal calls, take long lunches, read the newspaper, and wander off for ages to gossip in the kitchen. The senior staff never challenged her - perhaps they were afraid of the reaction they would get as she could play the victim very well.

Two - manager who insisted I did every late night that needed doing. The team members were supposed to do one each but people always had appointments or needed to go shopping or were going to a gym class. Basically if you were her out of work buddy too you could do whatever you wanted. She was also one who would pass blame for her own mistakes onto others and always took credit for everything. I remember she had one new girl take this massive document home to type up. It was such a mess -bits of random paper and post its - and it needed to be in presentable condition for a meeting the next morning. The manager had had it to do for weeks but only gave it to the girl the night before. She was up until 2 am finishing it. Then the manager took credit and wouldn't let her claim the time back.

Office work.

Report
GrrArgh · 12/09/2013 07:21

I once briefly worked with a man who "was" an actor, he was just doing to make money.
I have a contact in that world, which I mentioned in passing.
For a while I literally couldn't go into the staff room, for fear of being cornered and begged for an introduction.
It was absolutely humiliating, I mean, I know they say if you want it hard enough you'll do anything, but badgering a young woman you've known for three days every time you see her is ridiculous.

Report
Balaboosta · 12/09/2013 07:21

The gardener in Regents Park that used to spend the entire day riding round and round the Inner Circle road on a tractor.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

dramajustfollowsme · 12/09/2013 07:28

Woman who announced that I couldn't have a diabetic child in my class as I would be so negligent she would die. This was in the staff room in front of the whole school.
Shouted at me in front of parents as I did something a different way to her for a school trip.
Told me to not bother trying for another baby after 3 miscarriages and a still birth. She said I was either barren or these babies had just realised how useless I'd be as a mum. Sad
She also complained that I took too much time off after open abdominal surgery for a burst appendix. I was back after 4 weeks. The stitches were not even healed properly.
She is an out and out bully. Several staff have left just because of her. I've never come across anyone so vile. I'm delighted that she is the room next to mine this year. I just ignore her and don't engage in conversation at all.
Complaints against her get logged and she gets spoken too then she goes back to the old routine.

Report
livinginwonderland · 12/09/2013 07:31

I've never met anyone awful - mostly just lazy colleagues or colleagues who generally don't care or do anything at all.

Report
YouTheCat · 12/09/2013 07:34

The snobby cow at work who liked to sneer and look down her nose at me who was incredulous that I knew who Beethoven was. Always brown nosing with the head teacher and never actually did any proper work.

She's in a really rough primary now. Grin

The bar manager who, when I was physically assaulted by a drunk customer, gave me a warning for having asked him to let go of my arm. She also had 2 mental and vicious alsatians that she kept in the back where the ice machine and cellar was. She'd often send me out there knowing the dogs were there and laugh hysterically because I was terrified.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.