To be annoyed at my colleague?

[PandaAndLionRoar]

I was in an all day meeting with the board/C suite in work today. My colleague/friend was in work but not in the meeting with me. It was her last day before MAT leave and it was coming up to 5pm and I was still in my meeting with the board so she came to the meeting room and interrupted my meeting by knocking on the door and then asking for me and saying “I’m sorry to interrupt but can I have a quick world please, it’s urgent”. It turns out she didn’t have anything urgent that she needed me for but she just wanted to say bye to me before she goes on MAT leave and knew that I wouldn’t be out of my meeting before 5pm when she left the building so she decide to interrupt my meeting to say bye instead. I feel a bit annoyed that she interrupted the whole meeting just to say bye to me whilst I was in a meeting with the board, fair enough if it was something urgent but it wasn’t. She could have just phoned me later to say bye if she wanted. AIBU to be a little annoyed with my colleague for interrupting my meeting just to say bye? She took me out the meeting room and just said that she just wanted to say bye to me before she goes on MAT leave and then we chatted for 2 minutes and that was it, nothing urgent at all!

I can imagine someone else on here posting how angry and upset they are that their friend left for MAT leave whilst they were in a c suite meeting and didn't even have the courtesy to say bye!

YABU

Stop being so pretentious. I am a director and regularly at board meetings- it’s only work. Get your head out of your arse.

YANBU that was incredibly unprofessional of her.

m Is she quite junior? It’s such a stupid thing to do.

Yes it's annoying.
I can't imagine a man doing that to any colleague in front of the c levels. Unless just coming in and saying goodbye to everyone maybe? That would be more appropriate than what happened.

We had already agreed to keep in touch and meet up while she’s off work. I have a DD as well. She has my number and knows that she can call or text anytime.

I agree, this is only acceptable here because OP is a woman.

In the real world this is unprofessional and cringeworthy.

Jesus wept. This with bells on. Why do some people think they're so bloody important. Get a bloody grip it was some boring meeting you weren't finding the cure for cancer. Ffs.

We had already agreed to keep in touch and meet up while she’s off work. I have a DD as well. She has my number and knows that she can call or text anytime.

Definitely unreasonable of her. What was said when you returned? I'm in meetings like that often - medical directors rather than corporate - but unplanned interruptions are not well received as people are so very pushed for time all the time.

Well if it’s Sanofi or Astra Zeneca, you don’t know, could be a topic 😂

You've said the word bye more times than N Sync in that opening post.

I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be so important to your business you forget the human side. You couldn’t spare 5 minutes to say goodbye to someone going on mat leave? I find that pretty poor leadership from someone so important and influential.

I think a lot of people don’t understand what that kind of corporate environment is like. Yes she was very unprofessional. I expect by the time she comes back from ML you will have got over the irritation, though it’s not good for her reputation. But that’s her problem. I’d just leave it and move on tbh.

Does no one from the meeting ever go to the toilet, or eat? Someone stepping out for 2 minutes doesn't sound very disruptive

My husband gets on like this. Drives me mad. Especially when I can hear what they are all on actually talking about.
people get caught up in their careers and lose all sense of perspective.

It was unprofessional of her but it was a one-off, exceptional occassion so I think you can be generous and overlook it this one time.

It could have been been a Bridget Jones interruption 🤣.

seriously though if I was in a meeting all day would have loved chance to be interrupted .

Can't believe she would do that! She could have arranged to meet you for a lunchtime coffee at some point before her baby arrives if she wanted a farewell in person.

I’m sorry but the people here saying YABU clearly have no idea what a big corporate environment is like. Especially if you’re not part of the Board - this is a pressurised day for you having to prep everything to present to them and make a good impression. Her behaviour was unbelievably unprofessional and tbh would totally put me off meeting up with her.

I never get asked to present to the Board or even one level down from that but none of my colleagues would interrupt a meeting to pull any of us out just to say bye. That’s ridiculous! As you’ve said, she could have messaged later and you’d planned to meet up. Personally I’d be distancing yourself slowly - colleagues like her won’t help your career prospects at all.

Are you for real? People out there have real problems, get a life

💯this.

@ClementineChurchill I'm afraid I have to agree with you here. If you've not worked in that kind of corporate environment then you probably don't understand what it's like. I don't have my head up my arse and I absolutely understand there are more important things in life than work, but in the big multinational that i work for, to even have a seat at the table at that type of meeting with the leadership is a big deal. It would definitely be bad form to pull someone out of that kind of meeting if it wasn't an emergency. The colleague could have texted or called later.

yes, OP, you are very important and she should grovel and apologise forever more.

In the real world: it was fine.

It was just a bit awkward when I went back in to the meeting because they were all asking me questions about what she needed me for that was “urgent”. I didn’t mention that she just wanted to say bye, I just had to try and brush it off as “oh just something to do with my department but nothing major, it was just a quick question about something”. But I felt very awkward though when they were asking me what the urgent thing was that she needed me for. I personally probably wouldn’t have interpreted a meeting with the board for it like she did, she has my number and she could have called or texted me later on to say bye instead. We have already planned to meet up while she is on leave as well.

well a man wouldn't be going on mat leave, would he?

But...how rude of people to ask? If I was the chair at a push I'd politely ask 'is everything OK?'. Not because I cared just in case there was a reason I couldn't carry on with the meeting.