Has co-worker ever trashed you?

[Anonymous]

It's awful, and eye-opening. In two cases, I had to find another job because the person doing the bad-mouthing was a higher level than I, and the companies were so dysfunctional that it was easier to leave than get embroiled in an outrageous mess created by these mentally ill people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's awful, and eye-opening. In two cases, I had to find another job because the person doing the bad-mouthing was a higher level than I, and the companies were so dysfunctional that it was easier to leave than get embroiled in an outrageous mess created by these mentally ill people.

Ok hit return too quickly. Its amazing how much the work environment can go south with just a few bad apples. I had a co-worker and a supervisor who would make things up and spread rumors about events and job related stuff with no basis what's so ever. You'd come back to work after a vacation and thankfully I had good friends in the office as well and they would tell me all of the stuff that was being said and done behind my back. It wasn't even like it was competition for a job or promotion it was more about women with no self esteem who wanted to backstab me because I worked hard and was well liked by others in the office. Who knows what they have said about me since I left but I'm very glad to gone.

[Anonymous]

If people feel threatened by you, then they tend to look for ways to trash you so they can look better.

[Anonymous]

This has happened to me...and just about everyone in my department. The culprit was one very difficult person. This person had a habit of saying NOTHING to anyone they were working with, including answering legitimate questions, checking in for follow-up, answering phone calls, you know...COLLABORATING in any way shape or form, unless it was cc'ing your supervisor about something they were unhappy about. Fortunately, it became pretty damn obvious to everyone relatively quickly what the pattern was, and now nobody takes this person's antics seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I might win this thread....

I once left a job I wasn't a big fan of because I was bored and unchallenged. I left on what appeared to be good terms - it just wasn't a great fit for my career goals, I did my two weeks, transitioned my work, and I went on my merry way. Or so I thought.

A few weeks later I emailed a friend if they happened to want to grab lunch. No reply. Repeat again. I get a reply that they can't really see me given what happened.

What happened??? Huh? I reply asking her what she means. Turns out my coworker, with whom I always thought I had a perfectly normal working relationship, went to my boss and said some things. I didnt know what (yet) but I discovered that a company wide email telling staff to call the police if they saw me was sent. Apparently a police complaint was apparently filed. The police wouldn't let me see it unless I filed a subpoena.

Off to the lawyers office I go. Few days pass, during which time I am absolutely going nuts wondering what the hell has happened. I get a copy of the complaint.
Turns out my coworker claimed I had threatened to come back and destroy property and equipment, had planted a virus on the computers, etc... I mean all sorts of crazy stuff.

Another letter from my lawyer gets fired off - claiming that my rights had been violated, the company had not investigated these claims but had emailed several thousand people to call the police if they saw me, etc. I didnt care about money... and had no interest in drawing attention to the issue more than had already occurred, in the end they agreed to lawyer fees and sending an email retraction to staff, which is all I really wanted anyway. To this day however, I am "persona non grata" in two buildings. I don't much care as I've completely changed careers and will never cross path with anyone from there again, but wow, what a peculiar life experience.

I never figured out my coworkers motivation - I had already quit, what possible threat was I to him? We were peers - there was no opportunity for him to get a promotion or anything, it just made no sense. It was as if, he just woke up, decided the best way to seem like a good employee was to make up a bunch of crap about me and that somehow, that would translate to ..... what? Looking loyal? I never got it. The strangest thing was that it was all done after I left, so its not even as if I would ever have known about it (if the motivation was spite or hatred)... I only discovered the whole mess by accident.

Just goes to show you some people are truly insane.

You should have sued him for slander --- what the helllll???

[Anonymous]

Once when I had applied for a team leader, I was given a "probationary" period for the spot. I had the same team manager as before, I was just now directly under her instead of at the bottom. I had volunteered for a particular project, and another management team member emailed the rest of management on why I wasn't qualified for it. Unfortunately, she accidentally hit "reply all" and copied me in her response. I understand if she had concerns, but it was written in a particularly nasty way and really bashed me in front of my new team, when honestly I was just trying to help out.