Mid-40s coworker living on parents’ expense constantly brags about money and success, making 24-year-old colleague increasingly annoyed by the nonstop ego show: ‘For some reason, he sees himself as a mentor to me, giving me advice on life’

Offices always have at least one guy who treats the workplace like his own personal podcast. In this case, it is a mid-40s coworker who has been planted at the same job for 15 years, drives a flashy car, lives in his parents' apartment, and spends his days narrating how rich, connected, and important he supposedly is. Shady friends, sponsored vacations, hostile messages framed as jokes. It is less intimidating and more like being stuck next to a low-budget crime documentary that never ends.

What really grates is the self-assigned mentor role. Because the younger coworker is from a smaller city, this man decides he must be the wise urban success story, smarter than anyone else, here to teach life. The arrogance lands harder when the younger colleague actually comes from a self-made family, already knows how to work hard, and is not impressed by someone whose main achievement seems to be repeating the same story about powerful friends to whoever cannot escape the room.

There is also that quiet little sting of comparison. One loud, braggy man has been married twice, waves money around, and gets attention. A younger, more reserved coworker wonders if that is the trick. Act bigger, talk richer, pretend to have dangerous friends, maybe women will notice. The sad truth is this is not allure, it's noise. People do not respect it, they just tolerate it.

Author image for Etai Eshet Etai Eshet
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management terrible coworkers workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr manager bosses work coworkers colleague PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance
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