1932 When a team member is not playing their role

Good evening, everyone. I hope all is well. So, I had a different post in mind today. I was going to share an empties post with you, but I got some news earlier this afternoon that opened my eyes a little bit, shocked me, made me feel quite angry and for lack of a better word made me angry.

Some of you may already know, but for those of you who don’t know, I started a new job in 2021, (like many others). I have been really enjoying working there, I have got along with everyone, and have not had any trouble. I believed we had a great team and that everyone was great working together. Which is rare, it isn’t easy to spend so much time with someone and not run into a few disagreements.

Now, I went to school, as did most of you I imagine. I spent time with other teenagers, I’ve heard about backstabbing, and I’ve experienced backstabbing. It’s not nice, it is petty and childish. People complaining about others behind their backs is just unfair. If you have a problem with someone about something, either deal with it or have the courage to discuss your problem. I understand why teens are not great at this, but as adults, we should be able to avoid backstabbing and insulting people.

I’m not talking about having a little moan because someone upset you or annoyed you… there is a difference between getting things off your chest and plain outright slagging someone off.

When I was in school, I believed that when I got to the real world of work, everyone would have experienced this and ultimately had enough of this. And most likely grown up enough to not participate in backstabbing, slagging people off, being two-faced and everything else that you could count as petty and childish behaviour.

Unfortunately, that is not the case, and it really winds me up. I found out today that there is a person who is more than double my age (which would suggest they are mature and don’t with childhood insults) but this person has been talking about me and complaining about me behind my back. Which I have no words… I cannot believe that someone in their position behaved this way. It is condescending, bullying, intimidating, unprofessional and overall, as mentioned previously CHILDISH.

I have been told that I am approachable by many people, and that is what puzzles me. If you have a problem with me or my work, say it to my face. Sorry, but if you don’t have the guts to tell me directly… don’t go to my colleagues and slag me off.

I am not concerned over his problem because no one else has expressed any concerns about me or my work so I am pretty much ignoring what was said… but now how the actions of this person will impact our working relationship I cannot be confident. I have lost any and all respect for this person and will not be helping said person out at all.

If the person who has been talking about me behind my back is reading this, you know who you are. Please confront me or stop talking about me. I do not appreciate it, and I won’t be forgetting it.

To those of you reading this, please respect your colleagues. There is so much more to life than childhood games.