Incredibly Minor Work Rant

[OhHiImSam]

So, I've been temping for the last two months with a nonprofit in DC who does credentialing for people to become victim advocates blah blah blah. We're in the last leg of getting their certifications out and we've got this new temp who I'm just not a big fan of, because, like, it feels like he thinks he's better than me because he's at least 15 years older than me and went to the "better" university in the same area as my alma mater.

Well, after the minor annoyance of him treating me like I should be his assistant he really ticked me off today.

The postage machine kept jamming so the manager told me to just turn off the sealant since that seemed to be the issue (mind you, he was two feet away when she told me to do so) and I did. Well, while I was gluing the envelopes shut he comes over and says, "you know why they're not sealing right? It's because you have to have this switch pushed over here."

Mind you, the sealant switch isn't a tiny switch. It's a giant blue switch on the top of the machine that say SEAL and NO SEAL. So, no fucking shit.

Like, it honestly just rubbed me the wrong way... I majored in English because I'm a relatively decent writer and every industry needs people who write well, not because I'm a fucking idiot. Regardless of if he thought he was being helpful or not I'm 90% he's the reason it was jamming in the first place since every time he runs the meter something goes wrong: The sealant isn't working, gotta take it apart; it's not posting some of the envelopes, it certainly can't be because I'm overloading it; oh no, the scale is uncalibrated.


I dunno, I'm probably being irrational but he just rubs me the wrong way.

Anyone else ever work with someone you just couldn't stand without knowing why?

[EleanorRigby]

He sounds like he just wanted to "put you in your place". Dick head. It hurt his ego.

I work with a couple people I can't stand, though I could tell you exactly why! My boss is a narcissist if that gives you any clue.

[OhHiImSam]

Yeah, that's how it came off to me and I hope it's because I'm so young (23 is relatively young in any professional field) and not because I'm a girl... Since 99% of our office consists of women except for the executive director who's a pretty chill dude.

If fact here's what our postage machine looks like for reference. The giant switch is the sealant on/off switch.

[NutraSteve]

First off, I'm familiar with those postage machines... And they are a HUGE pain in the ass.

Second, it sounds like he might be asserting his "male dominance". We could both be wrong, but I know the type. If you see him make even a minor mistake, you might point it out to him. If he reacts in a douche manner, then that's probably what it is.

I've got a woman I work with who is kind of the same way. She's nice enough, but has a degree from a liberal arts school, and it destined to take her managers job whenever her manager retires. It's a completely different department, but sometimes when she gets in a tizzy she tries to overstep her boundaries everywhere. Typically we have to tell her to back off in a "nice" way.

Good luck!