Angrier

This Blog Post was originally published on adagia.org.

Only 20 working days and 10 vacation days are separating me from the new company. Every day I'm getting more excited, but on the other hand, there is also something growing that I didn't expect: anger.

Usually, I'm in the office instead of homeoffice, just like I was almost every day for the last eight years. But somehow, my co-workers drive me crazy lately. I'm unsure if I'm losing patience or what the problem is, but maybe my co-workers just got more annoying?

One person is sitting to my left: In the morning, they turn on the light (not so much a problem, but anyway) with the phrase "it is quite dark here". If it is above 26°C, they wail about turning on the AC (but sometimes we have 28°C and no complaints). When we turn on the AC, they put on a vest because the AC blows cold air on their hand. When I'm talking to a coworker sitting vis-a-vis (offset to the left), they get off their noise-cancelling headphones and want to talk along about something that is not their business. And probably the most annoying: if the nose is slightly blocked, they start to pull up the snot constantly instead of blowing it out. Not once, not twice, but the whole day long.

Then, another coworker, offset to the left, vis-a-vis the coworker I was just talking about. He makes sexist jokes. For example, when his wife does something stupid, he asks female coworkers, "Why are women that way?". Sure, someone might suggest that such phrases aren't "that sexist", but they are sexist nonetheless. Every time one of my coworkers mentions that the joke was sexist and he shouldn't say that (many times, we guys agree that these jokes aren't suited for business [not private]), he asks the women if they are bothered by the jokes. Which they deny and say it doesn't bother them. Did I mention that guy is the girls' manager? He should know better. Maybe, sometime, a woman will be bothered by such a joke, which could escalate quickly. I'm fed up with this shit. I know it isn't easy to change, but at least think about what you're saying!