The Office Nazi

This isn't hockey related, but perhaps some of you may relate to a similar situation you've encountered before.

Does your office have an "Office Nazi"? You know, the one who takes the company policies home to read in their spare time or bathroom visits? He is the one who thrives on complaining. Their entire life is miserable, so they use complaining as a way to bond with other people.

My "Office Nazi" is a woman who has 18 plus years experience in this state social services program. I'll call her Marge for reference's sake, and not her real name. She's good at what she does, and she makes sure that everyone knows how good she is. Co-workers say that she has issues eating the core of her existence. The fact that her marriage ended in divorce is a clue about Marge's bitterness. I guess Marge doesn't realize that we all have issues and personal problems that we have to deal with outside of our work environment.

I started as a volunteer at this office after I suddenly found myself unemployed from our failed family business. After 4 months of volunteering, I became a full time employee and Marge's favorite punching bag. I came from a totally different work background. The only similarity is that both have customer service as a top priority.

It has taken awhile to learn my duties and that of the other co-workers. Although discouraging at first, I was determined to learn all I could and become a productive member of this office. In all honesty, I have alot more to learn. I have only begun to scratch the surface. We provide a multifaceted social service that is not easily learned in a nutshell, but rather by hands on interaction.

Well, Marge has no tolerance for weak performers. She is ruthless, and if she feels that an employee is violating company policy or not providing top notch customer service, she sends harsh e-mails to our office manager. She is not tactful nor diplomatic about it - just plain vicious. And not only that, she writes it all in capital letters and her tone reeks of sarcasm.

The rumor is that this woman has been chosen by management to target slow performing individuals to the point of resignation. Co-workers tolerate her devious tactics in fear of losing their jobs. They feel that she may have connections to our state office. Management condons her harassment and makes light of her complaints, but is demanding of those whose complaint the e-mail is about without a fair explanation of the event in question.

And this is what irks me the most. Marge's complaints are considered the truth above all. But little do they know that Marge is a huge liar and exagerates everything she writes about. I hate liars, so when Marge threw one of these e-mails to my manager, I responded. After a couple of e-mail exchanges, I realized that I was becoming just as hateful and bitter as she, so I advised my manager that I was done responding to her and asked her if I could be excused from answering her e-mails in the future. My manager was out of town at the time, and once she returns we are to have a chat with Marge. I know that I will be sick to my stomach when this happens. Thanks for letting me vent; I feel much better.

To be continued.......