New hire "Lisa" tries to get 32-year-old star employee fired because of how good she is at her job: 'HR caught her, [Lisa's] now on thin ice'

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Aug 13, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

No one should have to go into work every day feeling like they have a target on their back, especially when the person you think might be sabotaging you is the new hire you just spent weeks training. Talk about an ungrateful coworker! 

We've all been in situations at work or in our personal lives when we have gone out of our own way to help someone without the expectation of reciprocity. However, one thing folks can expect after they do something out of the goodness of their own hearts is respect. In the workplace, it's customary for new hires to request the assistance of seasoned coworkers for their advice, even if it's just to double-check their work before it's finished. From the perspective of the seasoned coworker, it's a good idea to provide assistance not just for the overall benefit of the company but also for the harmonious relationship you will have with that coworker.

It seems that not every generation has seemed to inherit this generosity of spirit among coworkers. This new hire, "Lisa," returned the favor of having this author train her during her first few weeks on the job with sabotage. She started fabricating stories and spreading rumors among other teams in the office that the author wasn't very good at her job and was slacking. Perhaps this is Lisa's first experience in the workforce. Maybe her idea of healthy competition is severely skewed and out of control. Still, it's hard to find a way to defend her actions after the author had been so kind as to show her the ropes along with numerous tips she could use to stand out in her role. Keep scrolling below to find out what happened when the author decided that enough was enough!

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement

  • "When a New Hire Tried to Get Me Fired by Spreading Lies, Because She Couldn't Handle Not Being the Center of Attention"

    A blonde woman wearing a white shorts and a blue blazer sits across a table from two women wearing blazers in a conference room.
    via Tim Gouw

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Since the author had generated a lot of goodwill over the years at the company, she wasn't exactly the smartest person for Lisa to attempt to undermine. When the author caught onto Lisa's scheme, she could no longer give her behavior of the doubt and decided to get HR involved. At that point, you can just imagine who they sided with. Now, Lisa has found herself on a performance improvement plan only a few months after starting at the company. We can only expect that her days in this position are numbered.

  • I (32F) have been busting my a at this tech company for five years. I'm one of the top performers, respected by most of the team, and I always try to help new people settle in. But then came Lisa, the brand-new developer who decided that instead of earning respect, she'd just try to sabotage me.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • Right from day one, she was a nightmare, interrupting me in meetings, twisting my ideas like some petty playground b, and constantly whispering poison to the manager. Soon enough, I was hearing rumors that I was "not a team player," "withholding information," and even "sabotaging her work." Spoiler alert, none of that was true.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • But Lisa doubled down, throwing me under the bus like it was a game. I had to spend weeks documenting every interaction, screenshotting emails, and basically acting like a detective just to defend myself.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • I reported her toxic behavior to HR, and thank god they actually took it seriously. After interviews and digging, HR found Lisa was lying through her teeth. She's now on a performance improvement plan, which honestly should have been a pink slip.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • This whole experience was exhausting and honestly made. me question why I bother in a place where backstabbing newbies get away with trying to ruin careers.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • TLDR New hire tried to get me fired with lies because she couldn't handle not being the star. HR caught her, she's now on thin ice, and I'm done playing nice.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • A woman wearing glasses, a white shirt, and a light blaxer stands by the window while a group of coworkers chat behind her around a table in an open office space.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Firm_Assumption_.... New hires who come in swinging like that just want drama. Good on you for calling her out.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • Historical-Web-64... • I really hate workplace politics. I just want to work do a good job and go home. Work can be stressful enough no one needs the extra bull some people bring with them. If you got a attitude learn to leave it at the door and at least pretend to be a decent person at work
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • ACM915. You did the right thing by providing documentation and covering your a when the dust settles you will still need to continue to document because people like her don't really change. They just try again.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • MageVicky. like, what's insanely crazy is that it sounds like it almost worked????? if you hadn't had documentation to provide for HR what would have happened? crazy to think you were there before
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • her, you have good work history at your workplace already, you're helpful and respected, and this new person can just walk in, start a smear campaign against someone she doesn't know
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • (and also gossiping with people who know you, but don't know her) but somehow the lies spread anyway??????? ??? people just crave drama to an insane degree, i guess?
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • MachineCarl· Reminds me of my first job, but instead everything went wrong and I left the company.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • Busted my a to get my little corner programming their robots and here comes a newbie that once I gave him a little bit of trust, backstabs me like a mfer and it makes my life h I.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • Then, instead of the bossman listening to me, listens to him and over the days everything I did was overwriten. Wasn't allowed to load my backups and because he had no experience, it was a trainwreck.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • Why they listened him? Because he was the son of the lawyer who did all their legal dirty work. So yeah, I knew it was a lost battle.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • However, the fun part of all this is that the newb quit because he didn't feel like they were paying him. enough and when he left, they wanted me to fix his mess.
    via iridescentpetalkiss
  • I called it quits and told my 2-week notice were all the vacation days I had left and man karma's a b S This y job jumpstarted me to many more better jobs.
    via iridescentpetalkiss

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

terrible coworkers workplace-stories toxic-workplace work coworkers karen coworker toxic-boss entitled people karma workplace entitled entitled people toxic-work-environment
Scroll Down For The Next Article