Working with a bully, how would you handle it?

[StrictlyEquine]

What do you do if you have a co-worker who makes it very known that they absolutely hate you for no reason? One of the vet techs I work with has been there for years and treats me like absolute dirt. Since I’m a new receptionist, I have no other choice but to ask her for help when we are working together. She’s technically a supervisor for our whole staff as well. The second I ask her a question, she rolls her eyes, shakes her head, cuts me off, and belittles me. She does this in front of clients as well. Even if I try to fill her in on something, she’ll look at me like I’m inconveniencing her, cut me off, and say,”I don’t really care.” She does not seem to treat anyone else like this. I’ve tried to be nice to her, brush it off, etc. but it’s almost gotten to the point where she won’t even let me speak and just ignores me and walks away when I’m mid-sentence. The practice manager doesn’t really care nor do the doctors and they pretty much allow her to be like this since she’s been around for so long. I don’t want to quit because I like my job for the most part, but this particular employee is just plain nasty towards me and I don’t understand why. I would talk to her about it upfront but she clearly has no interest in listening to me. Ignoring her is hard when we are supposed to work as a team and communicate.

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[SkiOtter]

id leave tbh
if no one cares to do anything about this tech, not even the doctors, simply because shes been there long, its not a good environment and you shouldnt have to deal with that.

also, you might check out these threads because youre not the only one thats been in a bad situation. Just because these situations happen to other people too doesn't make it right.
Toxic job
Having a hard time adjusting at my new job

 

[pinkpuppy9]

Relevant read: When Is It OK To Fire Someone? | DrAndyRoark.com

Sounds like you're being hazed tbh. Any practice I've started at, I got cold shoulders/excluded until a few months into the job. It sounds like you're having it way worse though. I would talk to your practice manager. If they blow it off or make an excuse for this person, or somehow make it seem like it's your fault, just quit. It's not worth the emotional trauma, and this is coming from someone who worked at a really toxic clinic for a while before I finally left for good.

 

[Mythical]

One thing to keep in mind is that there is often - not always - a degree of tension between career vet techs and the pre-vets who staff various clinic positions (tech, assistant, receptionist...) for a few months or years to acquire experience en route to vet school. Please be aware that this is absolutely NOT an excuse for cruel behavior. I'm just trying to shed some light on what could be going on here as I have seen it (and been subject to it myself) in many of the clinical settings I've worked in.

I don't know if you are financially dependent on this job, or if this is a specific practice that is unique in providing you the experience you want/need, but for your sanity and well-being, I think the best thing to do would be to leave. If this person has been at the practice for a long time and is respected by the manager and doctors, the probability of her being disciplined is somewhere around zero.

You could be the most genuinely kind, hard-working, responsible pre-vet, appropriately deferential to those with greater experience/rank without being an intolerable suck-up, but as a pre-vet, you are temporary, and therefore (from a purely business perspective) expendable.

I'm really sorry you find yourself in this situation. Please know you're not alone. I'm sure many people on this site have experienced something similar. But know how to pick your battles. This one does not seem worth your energy or time.

 

[BigRedEquine]

I’m in a really similar situation with one of the receptionists at my job, so know you’re absolutely not alone... The bully at my job has been there forever and I’m just a pre-vet who’s working at this clinic for my gap year, and like Mythical said these people view us as expendable and there’s nothing we can really do about it:/ luckily for me I never really work the same shifts as the bully at my job, so I decided to stick it out until this summer when I head to vet school. It sounds like your situation is much worse and you regularly have to interact with this person, so I agree with everyone that you really should leave... it’s not worth it at all to be in that toxic environment every day. I’m lucky that I don’t see this person most days so I’m able to escape from her outrite rudeness and maintain my sanity