Gather ‘round the water cooler for some deeply disconcerting office drama.
Workplace dynamics can bereallyhard to navigate.
And that blurring can lead to someveryawkward moments between coworkers.
Enter Reddit useru/ta-worksister1234324,who recently took to ther/AmItheAsshole subredditwith a complex workplace dynamic of his own.
And buckle up, because there’s both theoriginal postAND an update.
Mary (35F) is one of my coworkers.
We have worked together for six years and frequently travel across the state to oversee government projects."
“We always travel in a group of two.
My wife also likes Mary.
Overall, we have a very healthy work relationship.”
“On to the incident.
It was a group of around ten people that stayed back.
Mary was blabbering about how much we have traveled together in the last year.
After a few seconds, I became uncomfortable and saw a few people staring at us.
“I felt guilty afterward because I could see Mary’s point.
“Am I the asshole for calling Mary my ‘work sister’?”
Mary ignored me the whole morning.
Everyone in the office could see we were acting weird, and I heard some people gossiping about us.
One of the ladies also came to me and asked if I wanted to talk about Mary.”
“Around 3 p.m., Mary came into my office and closed the door behind her.
I told her to sit and talk about what was going on.
She told me to get over myself and that I should know exactly what she had meant.”
She also said I behave like her husband when we travel together.
She said I am the definition of a ‘work-husband,’ and I am just in denial.”
“I was a bit angry at this point.
Only one woman gets to call me her husband, and that is my wife.
Moreover, if my actions give her such ideas, maybe we should stop being friends.”
She apologized to me and told me to just let it go.
She said she loves traveling with me and wants nothing to change between us.
She again said that I was misinterpreting her statement and just wanted to move on.
She came to hug me again, but I just told her it was okay and stepped back."
“I also talked to my wife about the incident that night.
As expected, my wife was angry at Mary and said she hates the term ‘work-husband.’
“I truthfully told her that I really had not felt that way.
If she repeats the same behavior, I should report her to HR.
