Imagine your colleague refusing to work with you because you… won’t make them lunch (Picture: Getty Images)
Office politics are confusing and irritating — that we can all agree on. But one woman has been left feeling uncomfortable after a colleague pestered her to cook food for her.
The woman, 26, shared her story on Reddit after her colleague (who she nicknamed Sally) became passive aggressive when she declined to bring in her lunch.
The woman, who works in a design agency, is one of the only members of staff who brings her cooked lunch to work, much to the surprise and awe of her colleagues.
Sally, 27, who is the woman’s junior, first started ‘throwing in comments’ about being envious of the woman’s ability to cook her own food, and eventually started asking when she was going to cook for her.
‘I was taken aback but I thought she was joking and waved it off with a smile and a nod,’ the woman wrote.
Then the requests became more frequent, with Sally even offering to pay the woman $3 (£2.40) to make her lunch and becoming ‘visibly upset’ when she said no.
‘She told me it’s not that hard to make her lunch since I’m already cooking for myself every day, single and I am being unsociable and unfriendly by not making her food,’ the woman wrote.
‘Since then, she has been passive aggressive towards me, as well as not willing to cooperate at work when I hand her new tasks.
‘It has made me feel bad about it and I have no idea how to go about this.’
In a follow up post, the woman revealed that she confronted Sally about her behaviour and all Sally did was zone out and ask why she couldn’t cook for her.
That’s when another senior colleague noticed and told the woman that it isn’t the first time Sally has acted this way.
‘She once pestered a colleague into buying her souvenirs as this colleague does a lot of work travelling,’ she wrote.
‘In meetings, she would zone out when people are talking to her and she would always shift the weight to someone else.
‘Also a few times she’d take bits of food off guys’ plates like fries and would giggle if anyone tries to tell her off.’
The woman’s colleague advised her to talk to their supervisor — and commenters agreed.
‘You definitely need to bring this up with your supervisor, and highlight her lack of cooperation at work,’ wrote one person.
‘And don’t ever make her lunch—not even once!—because she is so entitled and you will have just taught her that if she harasses you for long enough, you’ll cave.
‘You know it won’t put an end to this, she’ll just escalate.’
How to diffuse workplace drama
Conflict and drama at work can be draining. After all, we all go to work to get paid, not to engage in petty social games.
Thankfully, Charlotte Davies, a career expert at LinkedIn previously gave us some solid tips on how to diffuse workplace drama.
Ignore, then action
Workplace disagreements can quickly turn into arguments when emotions run high, so be sure to take a moment to collect your thoughts before responding to a situation.
This could look like taking five minutes to yourself, asking to continue the conversation the next day or waiting 20 minutes to respond to any emails.
When in doubt talk it out
According to Charlotte: ‘Face-to-face verbal communication leaves little room for misinterpretation and can be a better way to resolve uncomfortable and sensitive situations.
‘It’s essential to clearly outline the points you want to get across – write them down beforehand if you think that will help – and to listen carefully to the other person when they do the same.’
Use a mediator
Finally, if a calm and friendly conversation is no use, it’s important to call on a mediator.
That could be a supervisor or someone from the HR department — as long as they’re neutral and can listen to both sides.
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Workplace drama just got weird.