Employee Asks If He’s Wrong For Ignoring A Coworker Who Refuses To Use His Actual Name

• By Arsalan Sajid
• 5 months ago
• 5 minutes read

There is a fine line of respect between senior and junior employees in a company, and it should be maintained in order to preserve a positive workplace environment. Seniors are always willing to help and cooperate with newcomers if they are willing to acknowledge their seniority.

OP told the incident of a new coworker, Ted, who arrived for a six-month probation term at the company where OP had worked for eight years and addressed him by a different name than his. The supervisor introduced OP as John to Ted, but he greeted him as Jack. The OP and the supervisor corrected him to say the correct name, but he continued to ignore it. OP disliked him for his casual behavior since he saw it as a disrespectful manner of addressing a junior to his senior. He cautioned Ted that until he corrected himself, OP would ignore him whenever he called him Jack. Read the entire narrative to learn Ted’s response to OP’s warning and OP’s reaction after this.

Source: Reddit

Image Credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

1. OP wonders if it was wrong to ignore a coworker who refused to use OP’s actual name.

2. OP worked for 8 years in the office, having good relationships with the management and the coworkers. A new guy, Ted, was hired for six months of probation.

3. The supervisor introduced Ted to everyone and told him about OP’s job description and name, John.

4. Ted called OP Jack instead of John and OP, and the supervisor corrected him to use OP’s real name.

5. Ted continues his behavior despite many reminders from his supervisor and the OP himself. Finally, OP informed Ted that if he called him Jack, OP would ignore him.

6. He irritated OP by responding to him as Jackie boy.

7. Ted went for two days on business in a rented automobile. He asked OP for a lift from the car store around 7 p.m., calling him Jack again, but OP ignored him.

8. Ted contacted OP after 7, but he didn’t answer. He began phoning and emailing many times, beginning with Jack, but OP did not respond.

9. The emails were filled with anger and threats, and they were all for Jack.

10. The next day, OP brought prints of emails with threats to the office. Ted stormed out towards him and started bashing OP for ignoring his emails and calls. the supervisor took Ted away to learn about the matter.

11. The supervisor came to ask OP about Ted’s complaint but OP told him the whole story and showed him the threats.

12. The supervisor didn’t appreciate OP’s behavior with his coworker but had to fire Ted for sending threats to OP.

13. A few of OP’s coworkers criticized him for ignoring Ted and getting him fired.

On the OP’s harsh warning, Ted responded nonchalantly by calling him Jackie boy again. OP became annoyed and began ignoring him. Ted needed to travel on a two-day business trip in a rented car, so he asked OP for a lift at 7, but he still called him Jack. As promised, Ted was completely neglected, even when he was waiting for OP to pick him up on the road. OP completely disregarded his calls and emails because they all began with the word ‘Jack’. The next day, when Ted arrived to confront OP for leaving him on the road in the rain, and the supervisor was also concerned about OP’s behavior, OP handed him a printout of the threats. The supervisor had to fire Ted, but other coworkers criticized OP for getting him fired.

Now that you’ve heard the story, let’s dive into what Redditors had to say. Keep reading to discover other people’s perspectives on the matter.

14. According to Redditor, Ted got himself fired because he believed he was entitled to favors from individuals he was constantly disrespecting.

15. Redditor has a valid point.

16. What relationship they had despite senior and junior workers at the company.

17. Redditor is happy that Ted no longer works for OP’s company.

18. Yes, Ted could call some relative or friend instead of OP.

19.Redditor supports OP as the guy’s careless attitude leads him to get fired.

20. Redditor with an easily confused name experiences the same issue many times.

Ted’s persistent use of the name Jack irritated OP, so he finally cautioned him. Ted had ignored the OP’s warning and continued calling him a different variation of Jack. He was taking OP’s warning jokingly and hence suffered the repercussions. People like Ted created problems for himself by failing to show respect for his coworkers who are seniors. OP did the right thing by saving all of her emails as proof of his inappropriate behavior and eventually got rid of him by showing these emails to the supervisor. What are your thoughts on the OP’s technique for dealing with the unpleasant coworker? Share your thoughts in the comments section below, and stay tuned to Wholesomeness for more tales.