Obnoxious Coworker Blathering About My Addition

[Anonymous]

I’d counter with more and more outrageous things.
“The wife started an OnlyFans site to pay for it”
“I got a second job as a pimp, would you like to join?”
“We need the space so I can cook meth to pay for the increase in space. It’s a vicious circle!”
“I spy on co-workers and blackmail them”

The more outrageous, the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$400k on top of the house price means you are very wealthy.

Depends what the price was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So my wife and I are putting a second story on our house. It's a huge expensive PITA ordeal but it is what it is as we are currently a family of 5 with two dogs and two cats stuffed into a 1930s 3 bed/ 1.5 bath Tudor.

I made the huge mistake of mentioning this to a colleague that lives on gossip. Literally not a single day goes by without him making a snide, snarky, borderline harassing remark about the costs of X and 'It must be nice to build a mansion' and "Oh, only if we all had your money" and "Where are you send the kids to school now? Exeter or Lawrenceville?"

Keep in mind- this is a run of the mill, middle of the road 400k addition.

I have not taken the bait yet but I'm about to unload on him.

Do I document the harassment and bring to HR or do I pull him into the parking lot and tell him if he makes one more quip, I'm going to beat his old fat ass.

I want to do the later but I know he'd consider that a victory.

I appreciate your honesty. Moat posters try to make themselves look good when they tell a venting story.

Cut back on the cocaine.

[Anonymous]

His comments are totally inappropriate, but I lean towards you not reporting this to HR. Being able to build a 400k addition to your house is not a protected class.

He looks bad saying this, not you. I would just give him a quick quizzical look and change the subject.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d counter with more and more outrageous things.
“The wife started an OnlyFans site to pay for it”
“I got a second job as a pimp, would you like to join?”
“We need the space so I can cook meth to pay for the increase in space. It’s a vicious circle!”
“I spy on co-workers and blackmail them”

The more outrageous, the better.

Ok. No. THESE are reportable comments, not the coworkers. THjis will make things worse

[Anonymous]

Lol must be nice to be rich OP. Nice humblebrag.

(And no I’m not your coworker).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m always amazed by how dcum people think a snarky comment or a full insane meltdown is the right response.

Be a grown up!

Say, “Frank, your comments about my house are making me uncomfortable. I regret sharing about it. Can we agree not to discuss it any more?”

This is a terrible script. No one actually talks like this. Especially when OP is talking about beating his old ass in the parking lot, lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He wants to know how you’re paying for it so he can judge you and feel better about himself. Sounds like a very petty person. I bet your spouse is better looking than theirs too.

I agree. He is obviously jealous and insecure. I would give him every detail just to drive him crazier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You’re just tone deaf. The majority of people in this area are working their butts off to afford a “modest” home. You decided to share how much your renovations cost now you have to deal with the consequences. Read the room next time.

You sound like op’s coworker. You are jealous and bitter.

[Anonymous]

My only response would be to ask once why the colleague is obsessed with my money.

The most effective thing would be to give coworker a blank stare for a few seconds then change the subject immediately or the blank stare and walk away. Leave the person hanging with nothing.

[Anonymous]

Learn from this, OP. Your coworkers are coworkers, not friends. There will always be one who exploits your personal life for gain -- even if it's just to mock you and make you feel lesser somehow.

That's why you keep your personal life to yourself.

[Anonymous]

I would actually take pleasure in egging the person on. I would make up crazy stories to make the person crazy with jealousy.

"I am already overbudget but thankfully my spouse just got an inheritance."

[Anonymous]

Called out on your humble brag

[Anonymous]

Just smile and nod and eventually it will go away. But also know your audience. I used to work with a senior partner who would talk about things like what type of tires he needs in different weather for his very fancy sports car and how it’s a shame they need replacing so often. Very tone deaf IMO, but to some of my peers at the time it was aspirational because they wanted to be like this guy.

I live close to my office, inside the beltway. Our office was originally in Reston and moved around the time we were buying our 1st home. Lots of people have homes west of Reston that they bought well before I bought mine and their idea of what a home costs is skewed by both time and location. When people ask where I live and tell them, I used to hear a lot of surprised “Oh! Interesting” or “Must be nice” comments. Now that the office has been in the current location for 10 years, I hear it much less and more people are neighbors. I used to feel like I had to deflect or explain, now I just steer the convo in another direction.

[Anonymous]

I want to know how you got your wife to build the addition?