Employee gets even with lazy ‘office golden boy’ by tracking his every move via spreadsheet, then ‘accidentally’ presents the document during a routine meeting

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Dec 10, 2024 9:00 AM EST

We all have that employee who does the bare minimum (or even less than that) and somehow gets company-wide appraisal for it. Usually, these lazy coworkers depend on taking credit for their colleagues pristine work to get ahead in their conniving agenda.

What's the best way to get back at this type of coworker? Well, you can always tattle to your direct boss—but that wouldn't be so fun, would it? Thinking of pettier, more playful ways of getting even after years of dealing with a faux "golden boy" sounds even more exhilarating, and you might even get a promotion out of it!

The employee in this next story decides to track their slacker coworker's every move via spreadsheet, then presents this spreadhseet after a routine team meeting in the office. Let's just say that this act of petty revenge is spoken about in the company for months after, even coining the name "Bradbuster". Sorry, Brad! You can only lie for so long before karma finds you. Scroll to read.

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    wwww "I also included screenshots of Slack messages where he'd send memes during work hours while claiming he was 'swamped.""
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    How a Spreadsheet Took Down My Lazy Coworker
    via firakti
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    I (29F) work at a marketing firm where metrics rule everything. Productivity, deadlines, client success-you name it, it's tracked and analyzed. My coworker
    via firakti
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    Brad (mid-30s, office golden boy) was obsessed with this culture, but not because he actually contributed anything. No, Brad's real talent was taking credit for other people's work.
    via firakti
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    He'd swoop in at the last minute, repeat the key points someone else had made, and bask in the praise like he'd solved world hunger. Management loved him. "Such a team player,"
    via firakti
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    they'd say. Meanwhile, the rest of us were drowning in actual work while Brad was off "networking" (read: chatting about golf or his new watch).
    via firakti
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    The final straw came during a massive pitch to a high-profile client. I had spent weeks crafting the strategy-late nights, skipped weekends, everything. This was my
    via firakti
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    project. The morning of the pitch, Brad waltzed into the meeting, picked up my printed deck, and presented it as if he'd written it himself. He even added, "I stayed up all
    via firakti
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    night perfecting this for you guys." Management ate it up, and I sat there silently seething while. they clapped for him. Instead of calling him out (which would've made me
    via firakti
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    look bad), I decided to get even. I started tracking everything Brad did—or, more accurately, didn't do. I logged every missed deadline, every email where he pushed his work onto someone else, every
    via firakti
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    idea he "borrowed," and every time he flaked on a client. I even went back through old emails and Slack messages to build a full record of his incompetence.
    via firakti
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    But I didn't just make a list. I created a full-blown spreadsheet-color- coded, with graphs, timelines, and quotes from his emails. My personal favorite was a pie chart that showed how 98% of
    via firakti
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    Brad's "contributions" were completed by other people. I also included screenshots of Slack messages where he'd send memes during work hours while claiming he was "swamped."
    via firakti
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    Once the spreadsheet was ready, I waited for the perfect opportunity. During a routine team presentation, I "accidentally" uploaded it to the shared drive under
    via firakti
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    the title "Team Productivity Metrics." People started opening it, and within minutes, I could hear laughter spreading across the office. Someone forwarded it to upper management, and
    via firakti
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    by the end of the day, Brad was called into a meeting. Here's where it gets even better. Brad tried to blame me. He stormed out of the meeting, came straight to
    via firakti
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    my desk, and yelled, "Why are you sabotaging me?!" Unfortunately for him, my boss overheard and immediately stepped in. She calmly said, "Sabotaging you? It looks like OP has been doing
    via firakti
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    your job for months." The look on Brad's face was priceless. By the end of the week, Brad was gone. Management sent out one of those vague "Brad has decided to move on to
    via firakti
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    other opportunities" emails, but everyone knew the truth. As for me, not only did I get a promotion a few weeks later, but my spreadsheet became a bit of an office legend. People
    via firakti
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    still joke about it, calling it the "Bradbuster." My boss even admitted, "Next time, just come to me—but honestly, that spreadsheet was impressive."
    via firakti
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    Bobbie... Brad, most people self-sabotage at some point but she even had to do that for you because you couldn't.
    via BobbiePinns
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    RealUlti... "HE HIT HIM WITH THE BRADBUSTER! IT'S OVER!" Best way to take someone down. May your spreadsheet live on forever
    via RealUltimatePapo
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    Cheezburger Image 10438275840
    via lovebeingana*****e

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Tags

terrible coworkers workplace-stories jobs work stories toxic-workplace petty-revenge-reddit job presentation work coworkers askreddit reddit story petty revenge petty entitled people karma workplace reddit thread red flag entitled people toxic-work-environment
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