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There is a co-worker at my office who is very "difficult." I have never met anyone like her before and for the life of me can't figure her out. The other co-workers feel the same way, so its not that she just gets on my nerves. She is one of these people who has to disagree with anything and everything. Always negative. No matter how hard I try to make something positive she has to crash it down. For example, if I say "Maybe we will get all caught up with our work today" she will come back with "No we won't." For every single issue. The problem is in our department it is a tiny narrow little room with no windows. Being enclosed in there with just her drives me up the wall with her attitude. If I make small talk like "I made a new chicken recipe last night" her reply will be "I hate chicken." I didnt ask her if she liked chicken, was just sharing that I found a new recipe.
She also has some strange habits. Her work shift is from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. She comes in at 6:30 (she tells me this and other people who have had to arrive early like at 7:00 said they have seen her there). She works "for free" until 8:00 a.m. because she can't stand the fact that there is a lot of work to do. So she will powerhouse through it and by the time I get there at 8:30 the work is caught up. She also, and I kid you not, has this big jar of Vaseline on her desk and a large container of hand lotion. All throughout the day she will stop, flip open the lid on the Vaseline, put it on her lips and then go for the hand lotion and rubs her hands furiously with it. ALL DAY LONG! I cringe when I hear the sound of that lid! I don't know if that is an OCD type of thing or what is going on with that. She cannot turn her coffee pot on until 8:45 a.m., not before and not after. For lunch she eats the exact same thing every single day. She has told me she does not eat breakfast or dinner, so that is her only meal and it is THE SAME always. She uses the same terms over and over and over too, mainly "This is so frustrating" and "That irritates me." She goes to bed at 6:00 p.m. and gets up at 4:30 a.m. yet is always saying she is "sooooooo tired." On the weekends she goes nowhere....EVER. Spends the entire weekend watching TV with her boyfriend. They never go to the movies, to dinner, to friends, shopping...nothing! Her only purpose in life is to go to bed early and watch TV on the weekend. She and her boyfriend get drunk every Friday and Saturday night so they feel like crap the next day. Anyway, that part is none of my business and does not affect me, but the situation at work and being around her is horrible.
Does anyone here have any insight as to what might be this person's deal? There are so many other quirks she has which would take me all night to go into, so I will leave it at this.
I don’t know but I’d stop trying to engage her in any conversation, and tune her out. As for what she eats, so what. I don’t eat breakfast and quite easily eat the same lunch every day.
It might help not to try and understand her or focus on her irritating quirks. Treat her like a giant gnat buzzing around you are trying to ignore. Wear earplugs if you can.
I love it! I can actually do the Sling blade guy....fried taters, mmmmm...huh!
I know so much about her because as I stated in my original post we are both in this tiny room 8 hours a day every day. She has no filter and says whatever is on her mind so she has told me a lot about herself and how she is. I have never asked, nor cared to, she just blabs and blabs and blabs.
OP, how long have you worked there with her? And you're still trying to engage her in small talk, with the same result as always. WHY??? For heaven's sake, stop talking to her!
How do you know what she has for lunch? Do all of you lunch in the same room you work in? That sounds a bit too cozy. Nobody goes outside, or to a lunchroom elsewhere, or take the opportunity to get out of the office? I think it would be a very good idea, if you found someplace else to have lunch, someplace you could enjoy a little. Heck, everyone needs fresh air, don't they?
I love it! I can actually do the Sling blade guy....fried taters, mmmmm...huh!
I know so much about her because as I stated in my original post we are both in this tiny room 8 hours a day every day. She has no filter and says whatever is on her mind so she has told me a lot about herself and how she is. I have never asked, nor cared to, she just blabs and blabs and blabs.
One thing I've seen people suggest on the Employment forum in such situations, is to put a fan on your desk, to try to cover up the noise. If you're near a wall, aim it at the wall, so others won't complain about the wind. Or you could wear earplugs. Or earbuds, and listen to music, if you're allowed to.
OP, how long have you worked there with her? And you're still trying to engage her in small talk, with the same result as always. WHY??? For heaven's sake, stop talking to her!
How do you know what she has for lunch? Do all of you lunch in the same room you work in? That sounds a bit too cozy. Nobody goes outside, or to a lunchroom elsewhere, or take the opportunity to get out of the office? I think it would be a very good idea, if you found someplace else to have lunch, someplace you could enjoy a little. Heck, everyone needs fresh air, don't they?
She sounds a little OCD, and possibly depressed.
I have worked with her for a year and a half. Again, please note that we are stuck in this small room with just us in it. When you are in a tiny room there will be conversation. It is impossible to not speak at all in a room with someone 40 hours a week.
I know what she has for lunch because we eat at our desks and work through lunch. In our profession we have to be on call at all times. She and I lunch in the same room. I dont want to reveal what we do, but it has always been this way that we have to eat and work. I understand your rationale of getting out, but it is not an option for us.
Thanks for the insight. My thoughts were OCD and if I were her I would definitely be depressed I think.
Does my MIL work in your office? She has to express the opposite opinion of literally anything I say just to be contrary. I say, "I ate at X restaurant; it was really good." She says "I hate X restaurant." I say, "Oh, I was watching X TV show the other night," and she says "I hate X TV show." About literally everything. Some people just have to be difficult. Probably due to insecurity.
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