I found out yesterday that my colleague — whom I thought was a friend and is on the same paygrade as me — was reporting tiny errors (that I only made occasionally) to at least two, if not three, of my bosses.
I always try and tell myself that work colleagues are not friends, but I also really like being friendly. I thought we had a good rapport. And then I overheard him speaking softly for some time to one of our bosses on the phone (with whom he is very close). He sits right next to me, so I got the jist of it.
I turned around in my chair and tried to laugh it off with “yno 'x', if I do something wrong, I'd rather you came to me about it,” and he said how awkward it would be. More awkward than telling two of our bosses (as I realised) right next to me? I joked about “who I should be reporting him to” for his mistakes, but I felt truly sickened.
It's part of a culture I just don't relate to or understand, and one I find quite dystopian and weird. I've never worked ANYWHERE with this kind of attitude. At my review meeting a few months ago they accused me of things that were not remotely true — for example, that I wore crop tops and miniskirts, and was given the full run-through of their creepy policy (“nothing you can see up down or through” — why are you trying to look anyway? For the reader I note that the men are allowed to wear skintight suits without comment, or dress like total slobs). Completely false and very hurtful to hear. I really wanted (and still want) to know who the hell accused me of it, but what would be the point.
I'd never tell on my colleagues. Not for tiny errors (which 'x' makes ALL the time — far more often than I do), especially, and probably not for major ones. I'd quietly tell them. But my review had more things besides, overwhelmingly things that had only happened once. Like that I left for lunch without reporting it to my colleague, who was late coming back and I was starving. There were others in the office and this happened ONE TIME. But it was “it has been noted that jessegrass…”
I don't know where I'm going with this. Just that I'm antiwork and this despicable office culture. Multiple people have either left or are trying to leave because they feel relentlessly picked at. This is the sort of reason why.