Can you suggest some petty but entertaining ways I can get revenge on an aggressive bullying work colleague?
Posted by Norklander@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 25 comments
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ohnobobbins@reddit
The ‘sensible’ option: Just don’t respond. You have to train unpleasant people to not expect a response.
She will work herself into an unpleasant frenzy and probably message you something unwise, at which point you screen grab and send to HR.
The non-sensible option: Next time she is abusive, screengrab the page of her messages and send it straight back to her, just the jpeg. No comment on it, just the grab. Then once you get the blue ticks, delete it.
That’ll get her worried… they don’t like the idea someone is keeping their abuse on record. It’ll look like you meant to send it to hr/your boss/her boss and accidentally sent it to her.
If it’s ok for her to use company property to abuse you, it’s ok for you to make a record of it.
BrainlessPackhorse@reddit
Cc her boss into every response you send her.
bellabanjsk@reddit
Not exactly petty revenge - because as others have said I don’t think that would help you ultimately, but you could set up a teams message or email rule that sent an auto response - if she’s regularly making errors in the same area you could set the auto response so it asks for that (like IT saying “have you tried turning it off and on again?”)
DLoRedOnline@reddit
Use her work email any time you are asked to sign up for anything, e.g. 'join our mailing list for 10% off your meal' and sign her up for the Scientology Today newsletter
TheLightStalker@reddit
Set up automatic out of hours replies for all platforms.
underlyingnegative@reddit
How have you not spoken to your HR contact about this yet? This is exactly what they are there for.
I’m not a fan of going behind your manager’s back, but you’ve given him an opportunity to sort it and he hasn’t, so now you escalate. Document with stats and examples so what you present is fact and not just hearsay.
As others have said, petty revenge is not going to change this woman’s behaviour, but a word from HR will.
Oh, also, block her on teams too.
Altruistic_Cress_700@reddit
Mute her on teams.
Have a special emial rule on Outlook the files her emails in a folder. And sends an automated reply saying: "My working hours are X-Y emails received between these times will be looked at when I'm back in the office. During Office Hours, i review emails at various set times of the day. Rest assured that I will respond in due course."
I would set up this rule so that every email she sends gets exactly this response. Every time. So she floods her own inbox.
Then set aside 15 mins a day to look at what she's sent.
Tell your manager what your strategy is to manage her, so they are totally aware in case it blows up. Ensure you tell them (manager) that you are doing this to ensure you don't have to 'context switch' when she sends communications and can give her the time when it suits you, not her.
Fanjo_mcclanjo@reddit
Sign her email up for endless spam.
Serious-Use4585@reddit
Sign their phone number up to marketing calls. Sign her email up to loads of things that send spam. Things for old people seem to be the worry, like stair lift companies. Awful that’s the case but they are ruthless
Relevant_Cancel_144@reddit
Every time she resends a message in capitals, reply with the same message, underlined, in bold and increase the font size and change the colour to red. Also mark the message as important. Send nothing else in the message.
space_absurdity@reddit
No. These are the same problems that YOU complain about in larger life. Be it by politicians, law enforcement, judiciary, or council. You should stand up and adreess them directly as needed. Anything else is a failure to yourself and community at large. Peace.
mhoulden@reddit
Get your boss to confirm in writing (or email) that he can't do anything and then follow your company's formal bullying complaints procedure. You don't want someone like that to make a complaint about you.
Crazyblondie11@reddit
I would mute her, forget her unless exceptionally necessary and go about your day. Imagine her melting with rage as she realises that you’re ignoring her 😬
dospc@reddit
This woman is never going to change. You will not get her to change her ways. Any "revenge" will just get you in trouble and possibly lose you your job. Do not do this.
Instead - assert your rights and set boundaries! Tell your manager her conduct is unreasonable and that you won't respond to her until he addresses the issue. Document examples and do it in writing.
At the end of the day, if it seems that your boss isn't too bothered whether you respond to her or not... why are you even responding? It clearly doesn't actually fucking matter to the business.
TheDarkestStjarna@reddit
I suspect your boss can do something, he's just chosen not to.
Get it in writing that you should ignore them, and then filter anything from her into a separate email folder and deal with them when it suits you.
Alternatively forward each one to your boss, as a 'here's a record of how many times she emails me'. Make it more of his problem.
Public-One3608@reddit
Get a back bone, set a boundary and tell her straight that her conduct is unprofessional, and that after showing her aggressive communications to your manager, you’ve been advised to ignore her, make clear exactly what she is doing wrong and why it’s unacceptable, and the kind of communication you expect moving forward (no messages at weekends/no aggression or drama etc), so you can both do your job. If she is still being a dick, at least you can prove you’ve taken appropriate steps to resolve the matter, before escalating to her boss.
Petty revenge doesn’t help anybody.
ButtholeHunters@reddit
Fart in his face.
skibbin@reddit
Play dumb. Have them spell out exactly what they want you to do and how. Then slow walk getting them what they need. Larger paper trail, fewer results. That way your ass is covered whilst they become disincentivised to come to you
Pikmanpikman@reddit
https://shipyourenemiesglitter.com/
This?
LadyNajaGirl@reddit
She sounds exhausting. But you don’t owe her anything. Just ignore her from now on, or report her to her own boss for harassment.
Inevitable_Bid8719@reddit
Sounds like impatience is the key to solving the problem, hold off on replying for as long as is reasonable - maybe take a break at an unexpected time if your boss agrees to such a thing (or an extra long toilet break if they dont), like directly after being asked something she clearly has the answer to already, or right in the middle of a conversation which has cleaarly annoyed her. Leaving her to her own devices for some time should bring out the worst of her temper, giving you a way to make a complaint, or at least making a good point to ridicule her on.
You can also reference her past mistakes in future correspondance, so long as you are polite and respectful, just point out that there is a common issue with her broken logic/ arithmetic skills and watch her wind herself up
DenseRequirements@reddit
You mute her messages on teams and reply when you see them. As someone mentioned, make sure you have any messages or emails of your boss telling you to ignore them.
Revenge will make you look bad for going down to her level and can get you in trouble. Let the management system sort it out instead of taking matters to your hands.
PARFT@reddit
autoforward them to the spam inbox
Nameisnotmine@reddit
Your boss said to ignore her so ignore her just make sure you have it in writing that you were told to disregard her messages/emails
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