I (F) have worked at a small, local business for almost 12 years now. We have about 8 employees currently and are short staffed.
About 3 weeks ago they hired on some woman in her 50s, who we will call "Karen". Karen, in the beginning, was very appreciative of being hired on - as her husband is out of work following a car wreck and their home was in the process of foreclosure.
She stated she had been searching for employment for months but no one would hire her because she had zero employment history. She was a "stay at home wife" (no kids).
Now, in the beginning Karen and I got along well enough. But sh&t hit the fan last week. She stated she has 5 dogs and I simply made the comment that I don't like dogs and could never have one as a pet.
I told her I like other people's dogs well enough but could never have my own, basically. She took it as a personal attack apparently. She turned around in her chair and avoided me the rest of the shift.
That night my phone starts blowing up with Facebook notifications from her. I don't have her as a friend on there. She was going through and laugh reacting at every single photo of my children that were posted as public (tagged photos).
If that weren't bad enough, she then comments underneath a photo of my youngest (4 month old) "ew, you don't like dogs but you like these ugly things? 🤮🤮"
And another comment not even 30 seconds later on a photo of my 12yo son and 10yo daughter, saying "gross".
I screen shot everything and then block her. The next day I go to my boss and hand over my phone with all the screen shots pulled up. I tell him "either you fire her right now or I'm gone. I refuse to be in the same work place as this b&tch."
Well, Karen just happened to walk in to his office while I was in there and he immediately told her to collect the items from her desk and leave. She asked why and he pointed to the screenshots on my phone and said "this is why".
She started berating me, of course, because I got her fired when she desperately needs the money because they will lose their home and no one else would hire her and she can't believe I'm being "so sensitive" and that she "just wanted me to feel how she felt" when I "threw in her face that I don't like dogs". AITA?
poppysworkshop writes:
ESH.First, you should have kept your opinion to yourself, there was no need to make it. Why did you feel is was necessary to open your yap about your feelings towards dogs to someone who is essentially a stranger?
That's something you only share with friends. Keep your opinions/feelings to yourself at work. Now, Karen is a wackjob, I am sure sooner, rather than later something would have set her off. She's the AH for sure.
NTA I suspect that someone who's surprised that harassment will get her fired is the kind of person that's hard to hire. I doubt her lack of employment history had much to do with her financial woes.
[deleted]
NTA. She harassed you. Taking shots at your kids is beyond unacceptable.
There's no chance this actually happened.
Gloomy-Pension5478 OP responded:
Oh, I'm sorry. I literally didn't realize that you sit in my front pocket and travel with me to work. I knew there would be at least one "it didn't happen to me so it didn't happen at all" in the mix, lol. But no, this shouldn't have happened. It is real. She's just a psycho, apparently.
What the actual drunken rage happened there? Who does that? Her poor husband is stuck at home with her. Yikes! NTA