Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

BoredPanda Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

‘Karen’ Interviewing For A New Job Gets Told Background Check Revealed She’s A Bully
593

‘Karen’ Interviewing For A New Job Gets Told Background Check Revealed She’s A Bully

ADVERTISEMENT

Work relationships can be tricky. After all, a workplace is a bunch of different people with different personalities trying to work together to reach a common goal. However, no matter how singular the goal is, people are bound to have quirks and attitudes that don’t mesh with everyone. That’s where work tensions arise that can be hard to manage.

This is what happened to the woman in this story. She had a co-worker that was disrespectful to such a degree that it eventually forced the woman to quit her job. And while that is unfortunate, it did lead to quite a funny petty revenge story. Scroll down to get all the details.

Workplace tensions can ruin even the best job, just like it happened to the woman in this story

Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)

She did her best to deal with it but, in the end, it was petty revenge that brought back her peace of mind

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: Roberto Hund (not the actual photo)

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: ConfectionEuphorix

Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)

Bullying at work is not an uncommon problem. As much as 30% of Americans are bullied at work, with the number being even higher in other countries, such as India.

Recognizing bullying can be hard because it is often verbal or psychological. Some examples can be:

  • Practical jokes
  • Being purposefully misled about work duties such as deadlines
  • Verbal abuse and threats
  • Micromanaging
  • Harsh or unjust criticism

While not all criticism qualifies as bullying, when it is done to humiliate a person, it qualifies as bullying. In this situation, it seems like the micromanaging as well as made-up rules were crossing the line.

ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

The best way to handle such a situation is reporting it to your supervisor. Document the bullying, see if you can get any physical evidence, and then take it to the higher-ups. Confronting the bully is only advisable if you do it in front of other people and manage to stay calm and polite throughout the exchange.

This might be where the author of the story made a mistake. She confronted the co-worker in a private chat where she “berated [the bully] through text.” This might have given the rude co-worker enough documented evidence to take it to the management and complain.

And while this misstep led to the unfortunate loss of employment, the petty revenge did make up for a little bit of the damage. We also hope that the author walked away from the situation having learned how to deal with workplace bullying in the future.

Many thought the revenge was quite brilliant and even suggested how to kick it up a notch

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on Facebook
Agne Steponaityte

Agne Steponaityte

Writer, Community member

Read more »

Agne Steponaityte is a writer at Bored Panda. After getting a BA Film Production degree in England, Agne moved around Europe living and writing in Lithuania, Belgium, and Portugal. Now, together with her partner and daughter, she is residing in Munich, Germany. Her favourite book is East of Eden, favourite movie – There Will Be Blood, favourite show – Succession.

Read less »
Agne Steponaityte

Agne Steponaityte

Writer, Community member

Agne Steponaityte is a writer at Bored Panda. After getting a BA Film Production degree in England, Agne moved around Europe living and writing in Lithuania, Belgium, and Portugal. Now, together with her partner and daughter, she is residing in Munich, Germany. Her favourite book is East of Eden, favourite movie – There Will Be Blood, favourite show – Succession.

Viktorija Ošikaitė

Viktorija Ošikaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

Read less »

Viktorija Ošikaitė

Viktorija Ošikaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

Join the conversation
Add photo comments
POST
acey-ace16 avatar
Ace
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thread should be renamed "Workplace Bully Illegally Stalks and Harasses Former Colleague who Stood up to Them. "

mkinjubhy avatar
Isaac Nemo
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Colleague who stood up to her? How do you get THAT conclusion from the story? The OP was clearly not the bully.

Load More Replies...
acey-ace16 avatar
Ace
Community Member
6 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like the OP is the bad guy here. There must have been some reason for the initial incident, and she doesn't begin to explain about the one that lead her to quit, which makes me quite suspicious. The 'revenge' is way out of proportion anyway, even if all the previous aggression was completely unwarranted.

mrob avatar
Gardener of Weeden
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe you are wrong, I have had women hate me instantly. because of the way I look. They made working difficult. There are people out there who are extremely judgmental and will take attitude the second they lay eyes on you.

Load More Replies...
kimberly_blizzard_blizzard avatar
ThisIsMe
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Am I the only one who reads a post like this and is disturbed by juvenile behavior being one-upped with more sophisticated juvenile behavior? Bad work situation? Quit and move on.

Load More Comments
acey-ace16 avatar
Ace
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thread should be renamed "Workplace Bully Illegally Stalks and Harasses Former Colleague who Stood up to Them. "

mkinjubhy avatar
Isaac Nemo
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Colleague who stood up to her? How do you get THAT conclusion from the story? The OP was clearly not the bully.

Load More Replies...
acey-ace16 avatar
Ace
Community Member
6 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like the OP is the bad guy here. There must have been some reason for the initial incident, and she doesn't begin to explain about the one that lead her to quit, which makes me quite suspicious. The 'revenge' is way out of proportion anyway, even if all the previous aggression was completely unwarranted.

mrob avatar
Gardener of Weeden
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe you are wrong, I have had women hate me instantly. because of the way I look. They made working difficult. There are people out there who are extremely judgmental and will take attitude the second they lay eyes on you.

Load More Replies...
kimberly_blizzard_blizzard avatar
ThisIsMe
Community Member
6 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Am I the only one who reads a post like this and is disturbed by juvenile behavior being one-upped with more sophisticated juvenile behavior? Bad work situation? Quit and move on.

Load More Comments
You May Like
Popular on Bored Panda
Popular on Bored Panda
Trending on Bored Panda
Also on Bored Panda