The joys of coworkers...

Oh boy, do I have some doozies. Today I really need to rant about one if you will indulge me.

I design print and packaging for a medium-sized manufacturer. My department has about 25 other designers in it. Being creative types, we certainly all have our quirks. But one person in particular just seems to lose it on a regular basis.

Let me start by saying that she's a very talented artist and designer. I think a lot of what she designs is amazing. And on a day to day basis I get along with her just fine, in fact she can be very sweet. However, she is also manic depressive and has a host of physical issues that make her a bit unpredictable. I recognize that and give her a fair amount of leeway but sometimes she goes too far.

For instance, today a fellow coworker of ours warned me that she (our manic depressive friend, let's call her M.D. which are not her real initials) had been ranting about me yesterday. M.D. told her that she'd been looking at the logs on our printer and saw that I had printed out something non-work-related the day before. M.D. ranted about how it was completely unethical for me to be doing personal work at the office and apparently she was really mad about it. Like to the point of throwing things.

Okay, let me stop here and say that the Official Company Line is that we are not allowed to do any personal business during work hours. And we are never allowed to print out personal files ever. That is indeed grounds for being dismissed. However, every single person in this company does this on a regular basis. Including managers and executives. In fact, I even designed invitations for one of the vice presidents on company time and printed them out on the company computer, at her behest.

Yes, a family friend called me in a panic and needed to see something I was helping her with right away. So I printed out TWO COPIES for her so I could bring it home with me. Is it technically wrong? Yes. But I also do company work on my home computer on my personal time. I also work late, come in early, and miss lunch when I've got a big deadline. The creative process is not something that can be turned on like a switch at 9:00 a.m. and turned off when I leave at night. Ideas come and go, and I recognize that. So therefore I don't feel bad about taking time here and there to deal with personal business because the flip side is that I am willing to work when needed. I also spend my own personal money buying things to help generate ideas at meetings. I could get reimbursed for those items but I don't because I want to be able to take them and use them or give them to my friends when we're done with them. And I spend my own gas money traveling to stores looking for inspiration, as is requested by my company. I don't get reimbursed for that at all. I figure it all comes out in the wash. In fact, considering what my company makes compared to what they pay me (about 40% less than I should be making based on regional salary surveys), I'd venture to guess that my company comes out WAAAAAY ahead in the bargain, no matter how many printouts I might make.

Conversely, M.D.'s mental and physical issues make it very difficult for her to get to work on time and stay the whole day. I'm sympathetic to her plight, I really am. But I hardly think she should be judging anyone else when she can barely manage herself. And I really wonder what her deal is that she's reading through the printer logs to spy on what people are printing out. Is she doing *that* on company time?

Ultimately I don't give a flying fuck what she thinks, especially when she decides to gossip rather than talking to me directly. I know right from wrong and am able to discern it without her assistance. I also suspect it's her mental condition and own frustration doing the talking anyway. However I am concerned she's going to go ranting to higher ups and embellish the story (which she's done in the past) to such an extent that she gets me reprimanded or even fired.

I am trying to decide how to handle it. Do I ignore it, prepare some answer for upper management in the event I get questioned, and move on? Do I confront her as a concerned friend, keeping in mind that she doesn't know I have heard about her tirade? Do I confront her more pointedly? Do I go to upper management myself? It's so hard to know what to do when someone is not the most rational person. Just a few months ago M.D. WENT OFF (I mean top volume screaming) on another woman in our department because that woman asked her to adjust their shared thermostat to a temperature that was comfortable for them both.

Oy vey, what fun.

chances are, you'll never hear a word about it, especially if she's known for this kind of thing.

If you do hear about it, tell the truth. I doubt anyone is actually going to fire you over printing two pages.

:hug:

have been making sure to be extra nice to her (she has no idea that I know about her tirade). I can tell it makes her feel guilty, so hopefully she'll chill out. She gave me a cute birthday present last week and, in my thank you note, I told her how sweet she was for remembering me (which is true). She came and thanked *me* for the note and proceeded to tell me that she is *not* sweet, so I think the guilt is getting to her.

If she is not in the position to supervise you, she should not monitoring you. However, it might be that she needs to stir up controversy about you - so that the focus isn't on her lateness or moodiness.

Frankly, it seems that being personally upset over two copies is more unprofessional than making the copies in the first place.

from upper management. And rightly so. I completely understand that mental illness is indeed an illness. The problem is that, when someone has cancer, or a broken bone, etc. it doesn't cause them to lash out at others. Hopefully, if she decided to "snitch" on me, management will take it with a grain of salt and consider the source. I hate worrying about this stuff.