We're tackling something we all have to deal with at some time or other: work drama. Each week, I'll be bringing the juiciest stories from across the web right to our little virtual water cooler.

From toxic bosses to nightmare workplaces, I'm here to speak a little justice on behalf of the average worker. While you're here, please note that this weekly series is meant solely for entertainment purposes. Please do not have your HR team call me tomorrow saying you heard it from Joel at Digg.

My New-Coworker Might Be Beautiful, But To Cover Up Her Crazy

[Image credit: Amir Esrafili]

I'm an engineer (M25) working as a production manager for a food and beverages company. I have worked at this company for around six years while in college. First in the factory, later as a planner and now manage a small portion of operations since this year. I only report to the owner of the company and another production manager who is more experienced than me. I have an assistant that basically does tasks that I don't trust the factory workers with or tasks they don't want to do. She is (F66) and had been at this company for a little over 10 years. She is old but tries her best to learn how to work with computers. I have learned a lot from her since I started there and she also learns from me. Last year she hit the retirement age in my country. Instead of retiring however, she wanted to keep working. I had no issues with this because she performed really well and basically doesn't need any micromanaging from me. She was also really friendly and my favorite coworker. I told her I would speak to the owner and HR about the possibilities after retirement.

Fast forward two months and I get a phone call from HR. She claimed that they had issues with her early in her career and don't want to take the risk with a new contract. I was shocked because I never had issues with her. It is true that three years ago, before I was her boss, she had major surgery on her stomach. And after that, she had free days for checkups. But the quality of work and production never suffered because of this. It was also a medical necessity so who cares. I told HR that I did not agree with her, and her conclusions are really unexpected. She kept mentioning stuff from the past about my assistant I can't remember or check. She also kept pushing for me to give her approval to open a new job opening. I called my boss after this explaining the situation. He told me he would talk to HR about it. A week later I still had not heard anything from HR or the owner so I called him. He told me my assistant was too expensive and HR had quite a large file of remarks on her from the past 10 years. I was so disappointed I left work early to smoke a blunt. My assistant told me she didn't mind retiring anyway. However, you could tell the sad emotion in her voice and facial expressions. She only has one daughter who is busy as a doctor and no husband or other relatives in the area.

I went on vacation after this for a month and wasn't really involved in the hiring process. I emailed HR with a job description before I left. During my last week of vacation, I got an email from HR that they found someone. When I came back, I introduced myself to the new assistant. Let's call her Emily. She is 38, has no background in production, and has spent the last decade traveling around the world and doing marketing stuff. Anyways, it did not bother me that much. I like training coworkers and I have found it easier to train people who have less experience in the field because they seem to listen better and have an open mind. I spent a lot of time the first two months trying to get her up to speed. Progress has been really slow. Like so slow she is actively not trying or has a learning disability. I mentioned this to the HR manager in a meeting with the CEO and me. Instead of doing something about it, they just tried to nuance the situation. She is new, machines are complex, give her time, whatever. I found out she is friends with HR and that's why she got the job. I also have the feeling that's why my old assistant got replaced.

I have basically taken most of Emily's tasks and given them to other people in the factory or tried to automate them as much as possible. She is still behind on a bunch of work. But the worst part is her creepy behavior. We don't have a dress code at work nor do I care how my coworkers dress. However, she has been showing a lot of cleavage. Like the amount you show when you go out clubbing. Again IDGAF how you dress but she keeps sitting on my desk whenever she has a question about something. And she asks a lot of questions. Like it's impossible not to look at her boobs because they're literally in my face. Whenever I'm having lunch she sits in front of me. Her legs constantly bump into mine. At first I kept adjusting them but after a while I accepted it. Now she constantly wraps her legs around mine under the table. What did it for me was the massage she tried to give me when I was on the phone with logistics. I jumped up in my seat because I'm not used to people touching me. I told her it's weird to touch your boss and to never do it again. She told me she gave her coworkers massages all the time at her last job. Remind you she was in a team with only females.

After this incident, I planned a meeting with HR. Emily's bestie, the HR manager, shows up being all nice to me, trying to talk about my personal life. I shut her down and told her what happened. That I have never had an employee touch me without consent. And that my old assistant would never act so unprofessional. She told me it was probably a misunderstanding and that Emily just tries to be nice to me. I insisted on firing her but she kept making excuses about her not having enough time in the coming weeks to look for a replacement. And that Emily is just a nice people person. And that I'm a tense person that needs to learn how to relax more. I got nothing out of this meeting so I went back to my desk and gave Emily a written warning. I figured out I can't fire her without HR but I can give her write-ups. Company policy states that three write-ups mean you get fired so I'm waiting for her to do something stupid or creepy again. This was two weeks ago and her behavior is still the same. She distracts me every opportunity she gets. I am starting to question if I'm just socially awkward or Emily is just getting away with ridiculous behavior because she is besties with HR. I honestly try to focus on work but all I think about is inappropriate stuff. I would really appreciate some advice. I'm thinking about switching jobs if this keeps on going. Emily is good-looking but no way I'm risking my job for something I can get outside of work. I really miss my old coworker.

An HR department like that is not to be trusted, and neither is that new hire. Start looking for a new job, but if not, then keep your guard up from here on out. I wish work places weren't such war zones, but he's clearly on his own in that office. Read the rest of the thread here.

My Little Sister's Joke Could've Ruined Our Lives

[Image credit: Tima Miroshnichenko]

I (27m) am the guardian of my younger sister (13f), and I work for the USPS. Lately, I've been on a route that delivers mail to the local middle school and high school, and she happens to go there. Today I was at the middle school walking to the main office with the mail, and then suddenly I hear "BACK AWAY, PEDO!!" I got really startled and looked, and it's my younger sister with her friend. She was laughing, and I told her that wasn't funny, and a nearby teacher came over firmly asking what was happening. I frantically explained I was delivering the mail and she was my younger sister, who was making a tasteless joke, and my sister was just standing there enjoying the situation. Fortunately, the teacher heard me and just told my sister and her friend to get back to class. Before she left I said "hey," and she looked, and I sternly said, "give me your phone." She stopped for a moment and said, "what?" I told her to give me her phone. She protested at first, but I persisted, and she gave me her phone and seemed really upset and annoyed as she walked away.

I got home this afternoon, and she was pissed at me. Finally, I got to have a conversation with her about it, and I told her her behavior was completely inappropriate and unacceptable because she very easily could've made me lose my job (which is putting food in our mouths, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads) just because she wanted a quick giggle. She continued to persist and pulled the "who do you think you are, my parent?" card, and I said, "I think I'm the person who pays for your cell phone bill and can easily cancel that phone plan anytime they want." She just walked away, and I asked if she was gonna eat dinner or should I put it away, and she flipped me off as she went upstairs (to which I called out, "yeah ok, I'm keeping your phone another day").

My sister is a big ray of hope in my sea of depression and stress, and the most important thing in my life and my reason for trudging through this shit job, but holy shit she can be such a brat sometimes. I'm wondering if maybe I overreacted by taking her phone. Maybe this is a completely separate thing, but sometimes it just feels so weird "punishing" her. Like I feel I'm the one who's supposed to help get her out of parental punishments rather than the one asserting them.

AITAH?

TL;DR: I was delivering mail at my sister's middle school, and she saw me and jokingly said, "BACK AWAY PEDO" loud enough for a teacher to get involved, so I told my sister to give me her phone as a consequence, to which she did NOT respond favorably.

This is obviously going to blow over eventually, sibling fights usually do, especially when it's a misunderstanding. It sucks that this is a part of parenting, but we've all been teens once and now nobody wants to relive middle school. Read the rest of the thread here.

I'm Doing Extra Work Without A Raise — Was I Wrong to Speak Up?

[Image credit: Dovis]

I've been working at a marketing company for three years, and during that time, I've always given my best effort. A few months ago, my boss assigned me new responsibilities, including supervising a small team and managing additional projects. At first, I thought it was a great opportunity to prove myself, but after a while, I realized I was doing much more work without any extra compensation or formal recognition.

I finally asked for a meeting with my boss to discuss the issue. I explained that while I appreciate the trust, I think it's unfair that my workload has increased without a pay raise or an official promotion. His response was that I should be grateful to have a stable job and that these extra tasks are an "opportunity" to prove I can handle more responsibility. This made me feel guilty, but I still think it's unfair to do more work without anything in return. AITAH for saying something?

It's a rat race out there, and, sadly, it's every rodent for themselves. The same way his boss is looking out for himself by downplaying the extra work, one needs to look out for themselves and prioritize "I" and "me." He's not going to have the same boss forever, but he will have forever lost that time if he just idly sits by. Read the rest of the thread here.

Check out the previous edition here.

[Image credit: Amir Esrafili]