‘The truth is wild. Greg is jealous. He was overlooked for a promotion at the exact same time I was handpicked for one’: Petty ex-boss tries to sabotage former employee, talking to new boss at regional event, but his bitter attempt backfires

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Apr 18, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

Unfortunately for all of us, offices across the globe are filled with people who spend a significant amount of time on petty politics instead of their job. But there are office politics, and then there's whatever Greg is serving up, call it a potluck of sour grapes, seasoned with desperation and garnished with ego bruises.

In the ever-competitive wilds of the American workplace, some bosses rise to the occasion, and others, like Greg, fall into the depths of vengeful envy the moment someone else gets picked for promotion.  

This dark and damp state of mind made Greg march up to our star employee's current boss at a regional company event, launching into a monologue about their alleged incompetence and planting seeds of doubt. Only thing Greg's managed to grow lately is a mass exodus of good employees and a metric ton of resentment. 

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  • So if you’re ever stuck explaining to your current boss why your name was trending in Greg’s personal black book i can only hope you’ll find some empathy in your heart for guys like Greggy, because the truth is as clear, see through, transparent, invisible (you see wher i’m going with this right?) as Greg’s leadership skills: when some people don’t get the power they crave, their only consolation prize is pettiness.

  • "Former boss told current boss that he was surprised I *wasn’t* failing in new role. Current boss wants to know why…"

    "Former boss told current boss that he was surprised I *wasn't* failing in new role"
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • My current boss Val is very concerned and upset by a conversation he had with my former boss Greg. They have the same role in different states and don't know each other well.
    via No_Perspective_242
  • They met today at a regional event. According to my current boss, Greg bee lined for him and went on a diatribe about how I was a bad employee and without saying it, a failure. Now
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  • I'm in the uncomfortable position of explaining why my former boss said some negative things about me.
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  • CEFFELLE
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • The truth is wild. Greg was/is jealous. That's the only conclusion I can draw. Greg was overlooked for a promotion at
    via No_Perspective_242
  • the exact same time I was handpicked for one. Different roles obviously. That's when he did a total personality 180.
    via No_Perspective_242
  • When he was my boss I brought my entire department's metrics up in every catagory and maintained them for the duration of my employment. My
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  • Cheezburger Image 10495182848
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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • boss's, boss's, boss hand selected me for a flagship property which was struggling where I've been for the last month. -
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  • Greg started being a got promoted and started micromanaging like crazy. when I During my 30 day notice he sent me an email that said, “My expectations for your next 30
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  • days," and within the email it said, "I expect you to complete these tasks by [date]." The funny thing is, if he had any clue how that department ran he'd know
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  • that I literally did or oversaw every single item on his stupid checklist every single day...... That was literally my job.
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  • He then informed MY TEAM to give all the deliverables for the month, TO ONLY ME. That happened during my second to last week of work. He took ALL
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  • their work - ALL OF IT - and gave it to just me. They ultimately answer to him so they had to comply but... wow.
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  • On my last week he moved me to, what is essentially the mailroom. Think Elf - dark, dingy, drunks. I had literally never worked in the mailroom once. He decided that was the
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  • day he needed to personally collect the mail for the department (something he has a assistant for). He came to MY window.
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  • After I left, a lot of good people left because they didn't want to work with Greg. Numbers there are in free fall (I can see this) and mine are shooting up in the short amount of time I've been here.
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  • So much more happened, I could go on and on and on about he how he literally snapped. We got along perfectly fine until my last 30 days. I keep
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  • saying, the best decision my company ever made was overlooking him for a promotion. That man doesn't need anymore power.
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  • That said, my boss doesn't know any of this, but is very concerned with Greg's comments, and is providing me the chance to give my perspective/feedback. I have no
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  • clue what to say. Should I write a big statement about everything that went down in my last 30 days? Should I CC my former boss?
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  • sphinxyhiggins Your response should be, "That's weird. I don't understand his comments, but he could be going through a lot of stress as a lot of staff left after I did."
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  • That's it. Don't be baited into gossip or getting into it with an idiot who could not recognize your abilities. Don't show your new boss you are agitated by a nitwit.
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  • Snurgisdr In writing "I am surprised to hear that, given my well- documented high performance in my previous role. Perhaps boss's boss's boss could offer his perspective?"
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  • At the coffee machine "Let's say Greg is a challenging individual and leave it at that."
    via Snurgisdr

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management boss workplace-stories hr toxic-workplace manager bosses work PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance
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