What’s given you the work ick?

[MyAmusedOpalCrab]

I’ve started a new job recently and was surprised at how quickly I lost respect for certain colleagues. My manager regularly doesn’t show up for meetings she scheduled and just leaves you sitting there. Another colleague vapes through every meeting like it’s completely normal. It’s not the end of the world but it definitely gives me the ick and now I can’t take them seriously.

So AIBU to feel this way? And what are your workplace icks?

Starting messages with Hope you’re well! No they don’t care if I’m well. They just want me to cover absence and think nothing of sending personal texts on my day off trying to guilt trip me. When they have no plan in place!

Definitely ice breakers, tell us something wacky about yourself.
I said, I like cats. There was complete silence 😂 Im not going to tell complete strangers anything weird about myself.
The colleague who picks her nails all day and chews what's left to the bone.

I o longer work thank god, but people who called across the office to ask me something, rather than walking over to my desk. So fucking rude, They’d never do it to their superior, only an underling.

Workaholics who expect everyone around them to be the same.

One of our SLT used to have another ick of sending a deadline date but not a time. The unwritten rule was it was for 4.30pm if no time specified but this member of staff would email at around 7am on the deadline day and say “just a reminder x document is due at 9am today” with no prior mention of 9am.

We had a lengthy document due in that I had finished but wanted to proof read. Two days before the deadline I emailed to clarify the time it was due. Instead of emailing me, he came to see me to ask why I needed to know the time. I explained that the document was finished but I wanted to proof read it before submitting but that I had no free periods for the next couple days and that my next free period was the morning of the deadline so I was just trying to plan when to check it over.

He then said with such disdain “don’t you do any work when you’ve put your kids to bed? I get most of my work done after midnight.”

Well no, I don’t. I’ve been in work 7.30am-5.30pm and I’m adjusting to life as a full time working parent (my son had just turned 1), by 9pm I’m done for…definitely no good for proof reading. Just tell me the time the document is due! Or perhaps address why a head of department doesn’t have a free period for a 2.5 day period to get management tasks done.

The time wasters

These are the ones that suck up 85% of the managers time for nothing

It's all about them and their issues (which are mainly ones they've either brought on themselves or others wouldn't give a thought to) or looking at everyone else's behaviour,waiting for an opportunity to squeal on them

We have two (makes it worse that they are married)

For example,I'm always early,not once had I been late until a few months ago and our area had flooded

I'd set off with plenty of time to get to work but I couldn't get through the floods,so I rang work to say id be a few minutes late-all fine

These two went mental that I was 90 seconds late and spent over 3 hours trying to get the manager to fire me,or at the very least to give me a warning

They spent weeks trying to get the management to fire a lad for not cleaning a table (he'd cleared it and wandered off to find a cloth to wipe it)

They are the ones that claim mental health issues every 7/8 weeks and go on the sick for as long as they can before coming back for their 4 hours a week shift

The weak management can't seem to get rid of them,it drives the rest of us insane as when they are in work,they don't do any but spend their time whinging about their problems (99% of which are based on stuff they've made up in their heads) while walking off into the office for a whinge at the managers

Manager who starts our Monday morning by going round the table and asking everyone what they did at the weekend. Same manager who takes a day off and puts "so sorry to be letting you all down" on our WhatsApp group. You don't do anything when you are in anyway, literally nothing changes when you take a day off, get over yourself.

He's not called Heath is he?

No! Susan.

People walking around at top speed with earnest faces as if they're the busiest people in the world ever.

And in days gone by .. with sheets of paper in hand.

I used to do this as a cover for sloping off and getting a coffee as I was bored - worked every time 😂

Myself also that's how I recognised it👍😁

Managers whose sole purpose is to receive an email from their manager, and pass it on to the team. They add zero value themselves.

The bosses son who joined in a position which was due to you know, nepotism rather than ability who had been working in America and used loads of coporate bullshit. Proceeded to try and manage me despite me a) working under my own steam for the 4 years before he joined and b) having 20 years more experience than him. Started his TEAMS messages to me with 'yo xy' (initials) and then 'can I drag this up your list' followed by 'no need for you to issue it, if you can send it to me I can send it out (i.e. I don't know what I am doing but want to look like the big I AM with the client). I didn't last long!

Oh we had one of those as well in a job I had years ago.
His dad was my boss, and obviously thought his son was the best thing of the planet (only natural). Unfortunately his son, although very sweet, was absolutely terrible at the job. Managed to fill up the company van with the wrong fuel twice in a month (!) and was just not very bright. I feel bad saying it as he wasn't a bad guy at all. He "left" after a couple of months to do something else.

I had a colleague that liked 4 sugars in his tea. I refused to make it like that, and said 4 is ridiculous and you're having 2 at the most, he'd have to go back to the kitchen and get more if he could be bothered! We actually got on extremely well, it wasn't any major thing I just couldn't bring myself to put 4, (4!) sugars in a cup of tea.

I work from home full time now, sometimes I miss this petty little squabbles when making my own little tea for one!😄

I had a stupid twat colleague who used to do similar. What is the point of making someone a drink that's unpalatable to them? I also had a work Christmas lunch rendered completely inedible by a domineering colleague squeezing lemon all over my dish "because it tastes better that way." Except that to me it then smells and tastes like Mr Muscle. Beyond gauche behaviour.

My direct manager who was regularly vicious after a cocaine and booze comedown. Vile.

The word ick gives me the ick.

Wanky LinkedIn posts blowing smoke up each other or even worse themselves- unless you are in a field that networking this way is critical it just feels cringe. Like I understand people that are self employed or in certain roles but a lot of it seems disingenuous.

Especially people that pay to go to conferences but phrase it as “I had an interesting discussion with these key note speakers”, almost implying they were on the panel basically.

Yes eating on camera for me too (turn it off FFS no one wants to see your face anyway - is my inner seethe).

Even when they are not eating on camera now the ick means I can’t look at them!

'Reach out'

‘touch faith’!

Had a supervisor who would come in and allocate us jobs, then fuck off to the canteen for a fried breakfast and sit down for an hour.

Forced workplace socialization