To have a little rant about the woman at work...

[ConfusedLlama]

I work in a small web based department in a company. A woman started with the company around 3 months ago and has been very quietly manipulative, I just generally do not get a good feeling about her.

Trying not to out myself here.

She has come in to a role that isn't entry level but is also not a position of authority. She spent the first few weeks saying how our website should look like her previous companies website. For context our website is aimed at women shoppers, her old company was aimed at men. Who, without sounding sexist, have different ways of shopping and therefore would not suit our purposes. This has been explained. Several times. I gave her the benefit of the doubt as I know coming into a new company you want to impress and you utilise what knowledge you already have. I was probably guilty of doing something similar.

So fast forward a couple of weeks, I am developing a new homepage for the site (I'm a developer). She asks me tells me "I don't understand why there are white spaces either side of the page". Fair enough I thought so start to explain. "the white space is to allow for different screen sizes.." before I could finish what I was saying she jumps in quite abruptly with a smug look (i'm not being biased, it was noticed) "our screens our all square though". I very politely through gritted teeth explained unfortunately our customers don't all have the same screen size as that would make my job alot easier.

She has now, whilst quietly befriending everyone "important" in our office managed to copnvince the head of department that the quite and generally lovely worker is scary and intimidating. Resulting in stern talks with said worker and her being at a loss to what she's meant to have done. This has put my back up, as said worker has the next level up of this woman's job. My feeling is she's basically gunning for it.

It gets worse. apparently she's now also a designer everyone always is and has started telling my boss, the DESIGN manager who has 12 years experience and a degree in digital design communication, how he should be designing the website. Also why can't I make this shoppable, why can't I just click the bloody make website button and have done with it. Why is it taking so long just to build one page.

I'm going to lose my rag with her one day...and I wont even feel bad.

[DragonsCanHop]

Feel better?

Sounds like there isn't very much you can do, I wouldn't be surprised if she is pissing your seniors off as well.

Can you give her ow page to fuck up work on to show her it isn't as easy as pushing a create button?

[ConfusedLlama]

So much better! Had a little rant to my best friend but bless I think got confused after I said about the third name of someone who works in my office.

I have thought about this many times. Even offered to sit down and show her the process of designing and building a page. It backfired with her saying "That's ok. I'll just be more specific in how exactly I want it to look so you won't struggle."

My inner self wants to shake her, my mantra at the moment is "must stay professional".

[DragonsCanHop]

Can you avoid her, do you think she is faking it till she makes it?

[ShutTheFuckUpBarbara]

What is her actual role? Is she supposed to get involved like this in your work?

[ConfusedLlama]

Open plan office (who designed these?) She is however at the other end. When ever she comes down my way I pretend to be completely engrossed in my work. Sometimes I genuinely am in what I like to call a "nerd out" , some times I think I'll just let my boss deal with her.

It transpired today lovely woman has handed in her notice as she felt like she was being phased out. Guess who got her job and sat with a smug smile on her face?

I'm not normally this bitchy, I'm trying to save face, normally I try top view it from the other point of view as well. However, my rational brain seems to have flown out the non opening windows.

[ConfusedLlama]

Her role is to analyse and select the products that will be a feature on the site and emails. Check we have enough stock to back a promotion, so on and so forth (I don't pretend to understand it). So far we've had site and email changes almost everyday due to there not being enough stock to back certain promotions really trying not to out myself

[MargoReadbetter]

She sounds a busybody. She'll burn herself out. Shame about the other person, though. I hope she goes to a better place.

[MargoReadbetter]

Job, I mean. That'd be a bit extreme.

[ConfusedLlama]

Haha, Margo. I like lovely woman lets hope she doesn't go to that better place just yet. Any company would be lucky to have her to be honest she's a very hard worker and actually does her job properly.

[DragonsCanHop]

How strange that someone resigned today and was replaced internally the same day, don't you have to advertise to allow external and internal applicants to apply?

I agree she will burn herself out or make a big mistake that brings her back to the ground, you will just have to hold your breath.

Does her "new" role mean she needs to be involved in your side of things?

[MargoReadbetter]

:)

I think I'm quite thick skinned in many respects. I don't get involved and so don't 'get' hints and slights, I carry on. I see it as the other persons problem. As it happens, though, I'm in quite an independent sort of job where i don't feel undermined. Good luck. She'll slip up soon.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

Oh this happened to me years ago. Young girl got hired, batted her eyelashes at everyone and before I knew it I was phased out. Similar story, telling me how to do my job, making 'friends' with the manager etc. I had the last laugh as apparently she then tried to edge the manager out and he saw through it. She ended up being made redundant, last I heard. Karma's a bitch.

[youareallbonkers]

So everyone important in your office is too stupid to see what's she's like? That sounds plausible. Sour grapes perhaps?

[MOTU]

She sounds exactly and I mean EXACTLY like someone I worked with a few years ago. In the end her empire building got a little too ambitious and she ended up tripping herself up and the MD realised how little of what she appeared to be achieving she actually was! Shame the company wasted a years salary on her though-very small web design company so not like we could afford many mistakes!

[ConfusedLlama]

She has taken over the workload rather than being promoted but probably what she was gunning for anyway as she now has more responsibility.

She won't exactly be involved in my job, however, I forsee alot more work coming my way as she "won't understand" why its like that or thi ks it should be like old companies site.

I kind of want to say to her that if she loves her old company that much why did she leave?

[ConfusedLlama]

Oh no, others have seen and are very wary of her. However the heads and directors like her as she "gets her point across" and is basically a yes man.

[TiggyD]

There was a lovely and able person where I worked. She had to work with, and was senior to, somebody with a lot of confidence but poor ability. Lovely person got pissed off and left. Me and lovely person laughed when we heard rubbish person had gone for the senior job. Of course they got it. I have to work with her all next week. She seems to think nice labels everywhere is the key to success.

[TiggyD]

Do you read 'Dilbert'? Office politics all make sense if you do.

[ConfusedLlama]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who's had this situation.
A month ago, the designer on my team was involved in a car crash, so to help out I used my limited photoshop skills to do the site changes for the day. I was told specifically how to design every promotion which resulted in the site looking awful for a day and someone from another design department having to come and sort it out. This was when she tried to tell the head of design how to design, which resulted in her being told where to go.

At least I'm off tomorrow so wont have to deal with the shitfest until Monday.

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

Ah she's possibly overreached herself in taking on your boss. I'm hoping boss has overseen a successful look and feel and has done so for a while. That may be the point at which the management see the truth.

[ConfusedLlama]

tiggy my night will consist of reading through the Dilbert strips now! They ring so true!

My boss is a very friendly guy and professional with it. Its why I love my job so much when I'm not being annoyed. Its very rare for him to be so blunt with someone. I did laugh a little bit, behind my screen where no one can see me.

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

Dilbert is magnificent if you work in IT.
What were Computing thinking?

[SuperFlyHigh]

You have one of three options:-

1. try to scupper her or place obstacles in her way or try to facilitate her downfall
   

or

1. keep out of it and let her mess up and leave/be fired
   

1. let her burn out
   

if the bigger bosses like her then there's not a lot you can do.

[plutonimum]

I can't understand people who try to get involved with things they know nothing about. It cuts into the job they're really meant to be doing (actually, perhaps they're incompetent in that, too, so are just trying to divert attention). If they end up getting the more responsible job, they will be exposed! Are they really that dim?

[Skiptonlass]

Ahhh...you know what one of the biggest red flags to me about a new worker is? The ones that come in, spend no time learning what we do and why and instantly pronounce everything incorrect and try to correct it.

I've seen it a few times and without exception, they are on their way pretty soon. It's a great way for them to just not do the work (oh I'll improve process x for you!)

I had a woman like this in the last place I worked. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally open to suggestions from staff and we will change anything that we can see the rationale for, but that's different from not doing the job they were hired to do!

Sit tight, people will get sick of her.