Work can be exhausting and frustrating enough without taking into consideration how your colleagues behave. If you’re stressed out and struggling to meet deadlines, smelling your colleague’s tuna sandwich might send you over the edge. And while Christmas music is intended to spread joy, it began ruining one woman’s life when she had to hear it all day every day at work.
Below, you’ll find a story that this woman recently posted on Reddit, detailing how she ended up unemployed after having a meltdown about holiday music in the office. Keep reading to find the full story, as well as some of the replies invested readers shared.
Christmas music is usually played to spread joy and cheer
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
But this woman decided that she'd rather quit than be forced to listen to it all day long
Image credits: dmitrytph / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Wiroj Sidhisoradej / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: dmorelli99
"Don’t stop talking about the lack of worker rights and protections we have and the inadequacy of our safety nets"
To find out more about this situation, we got in touch with the Reddit user who shared this story, Dmorelli99. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share a brief update on her situation.
"No one from my job reached out, I have yet to see if my job contested my unemployment claim or not," the author says. "My unemployment claim is still pending, waiting to see if anyone thinks the reason I quit was warranted or not. No one has even contacted me about my possessions from my desk. It’s been about a week."
We also asked Dmorelli99 if she had ever considered quitting her job prior to this. "My job was food pantry. With all the recent changes in SNAP and welfare services, things were really ramping up at the pantry," she shared. "More donations, more clients, and more tension in the office, as there was a lot of pressure and disagreement over how to manage the chaos. I was feeling resentment, which was probably mutual, but I wasn’t planning on quitting anytime soon. We did have a pretty good working relationship though."
And what did the author think of the replies to her post? "I was so relieved to see so much support," she told Bored Panda. "Those first few days after it happened were wracked with panic, so it was soothing and validating. A lot of people gave me good ideas too."
"But it was rough to initially have felt so insane, so I’m glad I made the post. Relieved to hear the comparisons to torture and the references to the Geneva convention, that was funny," she continued. "I had a great time talking to everyone, even the ones who said I was wrong. I appreciate hearing something challenging my thinking."
Finally, Dmorelli99 added, "Don’t stop talking about the lack of worker rights and protections we have and the inadequacy of our safety nets. Here in the USA, we either let Boomers bend us over a barrel to Elvis or we struggle. I chose the struggle for now, but we deserve better."
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
85% of workers say that they have at least one annoying colleague
You definitely don’t have to be best friends with someone to coexist in the workplace. After all, you will likely have different views and priorities from many of your colleagues. As long as you can be cordial and make small talk while grabbing coffee, your job won’t be in jeopardy. But apparently, a lot of people have at least one coworker that they just can’t stand.
According to a survey from KickResume, a whopping 85% of workers say they have to deal with annoying colleagues. 62% say that they’ve been faced with obnoxious behavior directly in the office, and 58% say that their productivity is significantly impacted by frustrating colleagues.
Nearly one third of workers say that they prefer to deal with this annoying behavior by simply distancing themselves, but 41% admit that they’d like to be honest with their coworkers about what they really think of them. Some even say that they’ve fantasized about getting a colleague fired.
When it comes to what kinds of employees make for the most annoying coworkers, credit stealers take the number one most obnoxious spot. After that, micromanagers and chronic complainers aren’t far behind. Then we have personal space intruders and lunch thieves, who still manage to annoy over a quarter of all workers.
A survey from LLC.org even found that over one fifth of workers have considered quitting their job due to an annoying coworker. Meanwhile, 29% of workers say that Gen Z is the most obnoxious generation to work with. But a quarter of employees say Baby Boomers are actually the worst, so the author of this story certainly isn’t alone in her frustrations.
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
It's best to keep your distance from any coworker that drives you crazy
Now, if you’re wondering how to deal with an annoying coworker without simply quitting your job like the author of this story, Monster recommends first taking a step back. Try to figure out why this behavior is bothering you so much and determine if it’s actually such a big deal. If you can just take a deep breath and ignore the coworker, that’s the simplest solution.
It’s also wise to isolate the behavior from the person. You might not actually dislike your colleague, you just dislike something you see in them. Perhaps they remind you of an ex or some traits you dislike about your parents. Try not to make your frustration personal.
If you can find a way to connect with the colleague, you might find that their behavior bothers you a lot less. Ask them about their weekend, get to know them as a person, and try to find common ground. Perhaps you’ll realize that they’re just human, and they never intended to get under your skin in the first place.
Now, if their behavior is really too much to handle, you might just need to set boundaries. Don’t interact with them more than necessary, and keep your distance to try to keep yourself from growing frustrated.
And if the situation starts to escalate, then it might be time to involve your manager or HR. This will likely be an uncomfortable situation, but if you’ve reached the point where you might blow up, it’s better to do so in a safe space than cause a scene from your desk.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this woman was justified in getting up and quitting on the spot? Feel free to weigh in. Then, you can find another Bored Panda article featuring workplace drama right here.
Many readers agreed that the music was inappropriate, and the author joined in on the conversation to share more details
