We all work with one or two of these people, unfortunately. What I don't understand is why the boss of these toxic people put up with their nasty behavior. I can see them not getting involved if it's just two coworkers not getting along. But when you have a whole department complaining about the same person because they just have a nasty, bitchy attitude, and the boss just listens to the complaints and does nothing, it really gets under my skin. Are they afraid to confront the person or what? Seems to me that a boss should have enough balls to confront the problematic person, and get their attitude under control, and if they refuse to cooperate, they should get terminated, no ifs ands or butts. Yeah, I know, bosses are afraid to fire people or fear of being sued, but the state I live in (Ohio) is an employment-at-will state. You can be let go at any time, even for no reason, so you would think a boss would keep that in mind when he/she has people complaining about a bitchy coworker. Part of being a boss is having people skills, but it just seems like bosses these days don't give a damn when there's a person causing problems in the department. They just seem to like to ignore it, like they think if they do that, the problem will just go away, and they won't have to deal with it. It's good thing I'm not a boss, because a bitchy, nasty person would not stand a chance of keeping their job if I had any say on it, that's for damn sure!

What about when the BOSS is the TOXIC co-worker???

PurpleJedi said:

Uuuuuugggggh that's even WORSE! I've had a few of those as well, and it makes it difficult to want to go to your job in the morning.

SweetGypsyMoons said:

Fortunately, the boss I had like that took a different job. Just happened to be before a company-wide survey was to give its results.

TMPletz said:

My boss is the most TOXIC man in the Western Hemisphere.
Unfortunately he pays me well (or at least, better than any offiers I've had since).

don't get me started. there's enough toxicity to warrant a quarantine at my job.

What I hate is when my managers act like they're afraid of the customers. Apparently, the customers know more about my job than I do. So when we get in little confrontations the manager is contacted, and handles the situation by telling me something, then telling me to repeat it to the customer. Come the fuck on now. Fuck that Tora Tora shit. Let the bitch know how we do things.

DynamicSavior said:

the problem where i work is that my boss is great with the business end of what we do and our clients love her, but her HR skills blow chunks. she's horrible at keeping morale up in the office, and she hires some really scary people who don't stay on very long. i think those of us who have stuck around do so because the pay's decent and we know we'd have to do something murderously awful to get fired around there with some of the numbnubbers who have come on board lately.

DynamicSavior said:

...do you work in RETAIL by any chance...?
I used to work in Macy*s, and towards the end of my tenure there, all of the managers were spineless p*ssies! All a customer had to do was threaten to "speak to the store manager" and they would cave in to whatever ridiculous demand they wanted.

PurpleJedi said:

Yes. I work in retail. I could tell ya'll some fucking stories. The Chronicles of Giant.

DynamicSavior said:

DO TELL! http://www.prince.org/msg/100/171942

There is definately a TOXIC person in my dept...always complaining, running up to human resources, late, takes too many days off, smoking funny cigs during business hours...etc. She's the kind of person who stirs up trouble where there is none. Always needing drama in her life. Her own siblings don't like her.

The problem is that the Office Manager is her "friend". I put that in quotes
because the manager will be her friend to her face, but the moment the worker steps out of the office to smoke her doobie, the manager will make comments about "wondering where she's going...". DROP THE ACT, EITHER DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT OR STOP MENTIONING IT!

This worker knows I don't like her and it drives her nuts. Everyone else in the office is pleasant enough, but I have very few words to say to her.
[Edited 12/24/05 5:23am]