Seriously shitty email from colleague.

[Boredbumhead]

I've had a shit week and need to moan. I had a week of last week and came back all bright and breezy. I started replying to emails on Monday only to be hit by a barrage of aggression by a colleague who didn't agree with a decision I had made whilst he was on sabbatical. Whilst the line manager backed me up, the tone of his email was so nasty it has ruined my week,. I've been under so much stress with working and managing kids that I thought we were supposed to be tolerant of each other. It's not the first outbursts I've endured from a colleague, mainly before lockdown, and frankly I've had enough. A colleague even remarked that 'I get a lot of shit', so I am not imagining it. Am I an easy target or something? Frankly I'm thinking if handing in my notice.

Raise a grievence with HR.

I'm reluctant to go formal with it.

Take it to your line manager, who needs to tell your colleague that his tone in emails needs attention.

In future, cc everything you write to him to your line manger (HoD?).

you can bcc, I ve had to do this, raise with line manager.

Don't you resign and take the hit because they are a shit! They should be communicating respectfully even if they disagree. So, I would cc your line manager into all future emails and also ask them to have a word over the tone if this continues. HR is there as a back up. But don't you disadvantage yourself!

I had this from a colleague last term and I responded with "I'm going to assume you didn't mean that to be as rude as it was". That was the only thing I said in the email and it did pull them up a little and they apologised.

But they have since trod warily around me once it was clear I would pull them on rude tone in an email.

I can understand you not wanting to share specifics, but it is hard to comment without knowing what the email says.

Thank you for these comments. They are helpful.

Don't you resign and take the hit because they are a shit!

Thank you for this. Wise words.

Good luck, OP

I would show your line manager the email, and rather than BCC a PP suggested, be open - cc emails. So it's not underhand.

Well he's shot himself in the foot there, hasn't he, with putting it in writing?

Presumably if he was on sabbatical then you were able to make decisions in his absence? Your line manager is backing you up. You really deserve to be treated with respect, not with a barrage of aggression.

Make it formal. If you let him get away with this now it's going to be a nightmare later.