update on my highly sensitive co-worker - Page 3

MickD · ‎03-10-2010

Beanie was moved into this nut job's office that she previously had all to herself....the nut explained that she was a highly sensitive person and suggested that Beanie read a specific book which she did.....

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.... ~ S & G

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

I thought ""highly sensitive"" meant she couldn't be around perfume and cleaning fluids...

Is this ""highly sensitive"" as in ""easily offended""???

kittymomNC · ‎08-09-2012

I sincerely hope you can resolve this, beanie. Maybe your union rep can help. I did keep up with your other thread, so I know what it's all about. Even though it's different from your situation, I want to tell you a short story that might make you feel a little better, knowing that bad situations really can be worked out. I hope yours doesn't take as long as mine did.

I spent 12 years dealing with a person who was my co-worker and then eventually my supervisor. Many people knew that her outward personna hid some very deep emotional problems, but the VP of our dept just would not believe it. This person was very intelligent and came across to most people as very professional, smart, and capable, and the hard part was that she could be very likeable. However, that part of her that only a minority of people knew about caused untold damage to me and several others over the years. It cost me promotions, almost lost me my job when I was a single parent with a young child, and I was not the only one.

The "boss" of our department, although a fine man in most ways, kept blinders on where she was concerned. At the end of those twelve years, I came back from lunch one day and she wasn't there. Come to find out, she had been fired on the spot, given 15 minutes to gather some of her things, and escorted out of the building. (We were the HR Department!) I never was able to find out exactly what finally woke him up, or what egregious thing she finally did that got her booted out so suddenly. He was the Sr VP, became my boss temporarily, and sat in my office one day with tears in his eyes and said he would have to live the rest of his life knowing that he had hurt so many people by refusing to see things clearly years before.

I subsequently got a huge promotion and salary increase, to make up for what she refused to do for several years. There were times when I had given up on things ever getting better, and I never thought she would ever be forced to leave, but miracles do happen! That was many years ago, and I just learned a few weeks ago that she suffered a heart attack and passed away. So I've outlasted her once again, and I hope that doesn't sound too awful, because I don't mean it that way. I don't wish that on anyone, but it is somewhat ironic. ${#emotions_dlg.crying}$

KathyPet · ‎03-09-2010

last time I checked being ""highly sensitive"" was a not a protected class of employees and doesn't allow this woman any kind of special treatment. if this co-worker expects to survive in a work environment she needs to not expect people to tiptoe around her because she is ""highly sensitives""

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

Several years ago, my company hired a new saleswoman. She got on the phone and started yelling at an office manager who wouldn't connect her to the boss. It was a cold call. She told the woman she would hunt her down and get her fired...she would go to their office and camp on their doorstep...she needed to talk to the decision maker ASAP!

It went on for at least 5-10 minutes...she was screaming. It was a client who already was a MAJOR advertiser and this new women didn't know that. I wrote on a note "The --- business is already advertising with us...they spend over a million dollars a year with us...it is another person's account." I slipped the note in front of her and tapped her (gently) on the shoulder to try to get her off the phone...I knew the businessman she was trying to reach was VERY high maintenance and wouldn't appreciate a newbie yelling at his assistant and threatening her.

Two days later...I was contacted by HER LAWYER. She was suing me for tapping her on her shoulder (to stop her from embarrassing herself!) The lawyer said she was bi-polar, "VERY SENSITIVE", and my tap reminded her of getting hit as a child and caused her to have flashbacks. It was a setback to her career at my company and she wanted DAMAGES. She had gone to the police and tried to get a restraining order on me!!! They laughed her out of the precinct - so she hired a lawyer to try and get money from me. Her lawyer went to my boss too...it was a HUGE mess.

Needless to say, she was fired ASAP. I was frightened for a while that she would hunt ME down!!!! But it all went away.

adelle38 · ‎03-09-2010

On 3/20/2015 missy1 said:
On 3/20/2015 dooBdoo said:
On 3/20/2015 missy1 said:
On 3/20/2015 dooBdoo said:
On 3/20/2015 beanie said:
It's all on another thread....too long to go into again.

I'll post the link to the thread for you, beanie (it's still open for discussion):

Highly sensitive person...this is a real personality trait

link goes to: http://community.qvc.com/forums/viewpoints/topic/493535/pagenumber/1/index.aspx

It has like over 250+ posts.

Yes, 262 of them right now. Interesting, insightful thread.

I skimmed the thread, op didn't have many replies themselves. Many people are sensitive, and can be highly sensitive depending what is said to them/or the situation. So is the op's coworker using this as a crutch to excuse bad behavior?

Either some replies have been removed or the OP never said what is actually happening other than she was moved into an office with a coworker who is highly sensitive. I have no idea what is actually happening .

It's always a victory for me when I remember why I entered a room.

4Kicks · ‎03-17-2010

Terrier3:

Your experience has me just shaking my head. I am so glad I am now out of the working world. There are words I would use to describe your former co-worker, but not here. I admire your patience and how you handled the situation.

Wow, just wow.

In Sunny AZ

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

On 3/20/2015 4KICKS said:
Terrier3:

Your experience has me just shaking my head. I am so glad I am now out of the working world. There are words I would use to describe your former co-worker, but not here. I admire your patience and how you handled the situation.

Wow, just wow.

Based on what this OP is going through - and my personal experience - "highly sensitive" appears to be a code word for bi-polar, schizophrenic, or just plain batty...

moonstone dunes · ‎11-06-2011

On 3/20/2015 terrier3 said:
On 3/20/2015 4KICKS said:
Terrier3:

Your experience has me just shaking my head. I am so glad I am now out of the working world. There are words I would use to describe your former co-worker, but not here. I admire your patience and how you handled the situation.

Wow, just wow.

Based on what this OP is going through - and my personal experience - "highly sensitive" appears to be a code word for bi-polar, schizophrenic, or just plain batty...

I do find it hard to believe there was no supervisor, manager or team lead in your group to assist with calls that needed to be escalated?

Having worked in a number of telesales and telemarketing environments, touching a co-worker for any reason unless it mutually agreeable is not appropriate and I do not understand how a reaction to inappropriate touching can be construed as bipolar, schizophrenic or batty.

Penellope · ‎09-03-2012

On 3/20/2015 moonstone dunes said:
On 3/20/2015 terrier3 said:
On 3/20/2015 4KICKS said:
Terrier3:

Your experience has me just shaking my head. I am so glad I am now out of the working world. There are words I would use to describe your former co-worker, but not here. I admire your patience and how you handled the situation.

Wow, just wow.

Based on what this OP is going through - and my personal experience - "highly sensitive" appears to be a code word for bi-polar, schizophrenic, or just plain batty...

I do find it hard to believe there was no supervisor, manager or team lead in your group to assist with calls that needed to be escalated?

Having worked in a number of telesales and telemarketing environments, touching a co-worker for any reason unless it mutually agreeable is not appropriate and I do not understand how a reaction to inappropriate touching can be construed as bipolar, schizophrenic or batty.

Suing someone for tapping on the shoulder sounds batty, or purely opportunistic to me. On the other hand, at a former job of mine we were given noise cancelling headphones for a more peaceful working environment, then we were forbidden to use them because they might necessitate tapping on the shoulder to get someone's attention, which was not ok.