Rolling my eyes upward
I have accomplished practically nothing at work today and feel fairly certain that I will accomplish nothing more. After my last rant about our team dwindling down to just myself and two other coworkers, I heard a rumor that one of those three is actually moving to a different project as well. Being prone to direct confrontation, I IMed the fellow, playfully asking if he would confirm or deny it.
He then went crazy.
He started demanding to know the source of my information. I did not want to get my coworker into trouble, so I refused. He became more insistent and oddly formal in his phrasing:
"i would like to know who this person is, for if someone is speaking falsely about me .. it could have severe career implications"
Instead of answering him, I casually asked my informant about the source of his information. I had to be delicate because I did not want to frighten him off ("hey, so-and-so went ballistic and wants me to give him your name"), but at the same time I needed to confirm that it was not some hyperbolic bullshit he pulled out of his ass. According to him, the team-change was discussed in public at a different team meeting.
Meanwhile, my apparently high-strung colleague continued to IM me.
And I locked my office door.
So, I may have now damaged my working relationship with one of my few remaining coworkers by refusing to snitch on my informant, but I do not respond well to threats nor do I enjoy breaking trusts. All I wanted to know was whether I am truly fucked because my team is shortly going to consist of just myself and a coworker 'telecommuting' from Middle America. Instead, I set into motion yet more ridiculous workplace drama.
Happily, A. interrupted with his biweekly phone conversation regarding our Friday night movie plans (which, for some reason, always devolves into him reading my horoscope from the Onion). This gave me a decent excuse for ignoring the IMs (I was on the phone).
Now, all I need to do is avoid him until he leaves our team.
He then went crazy.
He started demanding to know the source of my information. I did not want to get my coworker into trouble, so I refused. He became more insistent and oddly formal in his phrasing:
"i would like to know who this person is, for if someone is speaking falsely about me .. it could have severe career implications"
Instead of answering him, I casually asked my informant about the source of his information. I had to be delicate because I did not want to frighten him off ("hey, so-and-so went ballistic and wants me to give him your name"), but at the same time I needed to confirm that it was not some hyperbolic bullshit he pulled out of his ass. According to him, the team-change was discussed in public at a different team meeting.
Meanwhile, my apparently high-strung colleague continued to IM me.
And I locked my office door.
So, I may have now damaged my working relationship with one of my few remaining coworkers by refusing to snitch on my informant, but I do not respond well to threats nor do I enjoy breaking trusts. All I wanted to know was whether I am truly fucked because my team is shortly going to consist of just myself and a coworker 'telecommuting' from Middle America. Instead, I set into motion yet more ridiculous workplace drama.
Happily, A. interrupted with his biweekly phone conversation regarding our Friday night movie plans (which, for some reason, always devolves into him reading my horoscope from the Onion). This gave me a decent excuse for ignoring the IMs (I was on the phone).
Now, all I need to do is avoid him until he leaves our team.