[rdgrad15]

Anyone ever had or currently have a coworker that has a nasty attitude and just acts so miserable about working? I have this one coworker that is this way and can be so annoying. She is way older than me so that is why I am afraid to say something to her. If she was close to my age, I would not be afraid to politely ask why she has to act the way she does. I get it, everyone eventually gets tired of their jobs and eventually moves on. The job market is tight so therefore some people may stay at a job they dislike longer than they would want to. The only thing I wonder is why someone who has such a dislike for their job feels the need to bring one other person or even several other people down by having a nasty attitude.

I feel like if someone is that unhappy, then while they are working, then they can find another job that they may like or at least tolerate a bit better. I will admit, I am kind of sick of my job now as well, and the fact that it is only part-time and I really need full-time means I need to and will start looking for a new job. But I don't take my disgust for a job out on others. It is like, what makes the miserable coworker think it is okay for him or her to take their frustrations out on others. My coworker would constantly complain about having to go to work and even had the guts to mention how much she does not want to be there right in front of the supervisor. In my opinion, that is just asking to be transferred or even fired.

She signed up to be just a sub for summer school so she can decide on her own when she wants to go in. Well recently, when I saw her outside of work, she mentioned she hoped she would not have to see me or anyone else during summer school. I found out during our in-service meeting for summer school that she is not working during the summer after all. Either she opted out of it or they just didn't approve her for the summer due to her outwardly displaying disgust towards working during the summer. The thing that annoys me the most however, is that she takes most of her frustrations out on me. In a way, I also sometimes wonder if she dislikes me too and she is showing it passive aggressively by taking her dislike towards the job out mostly on me.

If you ever had this happen, how did you deal with it? Do you know why some people do this? How would you get someone like this to stop especially if they are way older than you? I am afraid to say something since I don't want her to get me in trouble even though she is not above me in the work force. I understand she may hate the job, but I feel like sometimes she is just being downright disrespectful. Sometimes I try to ignore it but it can be hard since I just hate it when someone takes their unhappiness out on me, and do it to me way more than anyone else. She will even go as far as to appear happy to everyone else or at least not be as cranky, but then if I see her alone or outside of work, her attitude changes. In a way, I feel like she is somewhat flaky, which is common in workplaces, but it is still no excuse to act like she does.

I have met people in past jobs who clearly disliked it and would rant/vent about it to others. I think when someone does this, they are looking for validation that the job sucks and just want someone to vent with about it. If you encounter someone like this again, play devil's advocate and mention something good about working there whenever they mention something bad about being there. It will force them to hear potential positives about the job and might even spark a change in perspective.

My bigger concern here is how much you focus on others' behaviour...it seems to be the content of most of your posts and I do hope you find it helpful to post here, but just don't drive yourself mad focusing on what other people do and how they act.

[rdgrad15]

Originally Posted by scaredandconfused

I have met people in past jobs who clearly disliked it and would rant/vent about it to others. I think when someone does this, they are looking for validation that the job sucks and just want someone to vent with about it. If you encounter someone like this again, play devil's advocate and mention something good about working there whenever they mention something bad about being there. It will force them to hear potential positives about the job and might even spark a change in perspective.

My bigger concern here is how much you focus on others' behaviour...it seems to be the content of most of your posts and I do hope you find it helpful to post here, but just don't drive yourself mad focusing on what other people do and how they act.

Thanks and yeah I agree, they just want to have a reason to vent. I probably will try harder to counter the negative comments.

[rechu]

Yeah, that creepy guy that I had to work with had the absolute worst attitude, always doing the bare minimum, rude whenever you said something to him, etc. It was annoying, but I coped by trying to keep my distance and deal with him as little as possible. If I had something to say to him I'd generally use slack, which is like an instant message service instead of talking to him directly.

Fortunately, due to his attitude and incompetence there were a lot of rumors he was going to be let go before his contract became permanent. So, he quit before that happened. They recently hired a replacement and she seems better so far.

[systemfailure]

This co workwr may have her own mental health problems, maybe asking her nicely if everything is ok ? sometimes we become do self absorbed, we dont realise that other peoples behaviour attitude can be the face of their own issues

[notz]

Over the years I've had coworkers like that. I've learned to stick with the winners and know that you can't change people, places or things. Bad attitudes are always looking for company and I'm not going to subject myself to that. Life is too short. Detach and focus on you is my best suggestion.