I recently heard of a newly appointed member of an office staff, who resigned only a couple of weeks after starting work.? It wasn’t the workload or that the job didn’t match the advertised description.? It wasn’t the hours or the rate of pay.? It was one other person in the establishment, who made her life so awful in that short time that she couldn’t stay, regardless of any other good aspects of the job.

We’ve all been there.? We’ve all had a job that would have been perfect if not for that one colleague, who had an over-inflated sense of their own importance.? We’ve all felt the frustration of knowing what was the right thing to do but being thwarted at every turn by one person, who seemed to have sway over the final decision makers.? We’ve all seen more than one of our colleagues feeling the same way but equally impotent.? It’s not an easy situation to resolve and no blame should be laid at the feet of those too insecure or lacking in self-confidence to stand their ground.? It’s harder if the difficult person is longer established, even if your position is senior.

At some point, this situation will ex – or im – plode.? This will not be good for anyone at the point of ignition but it will ultimately clear the air.? It may result in someone leaving – it should be the catalyst, but that isn’t a given.? However, someone – the senior manager for preference – needs to be strong.

Leaving work has opened many new horizons.? More time to do things during the week without rushing it all; more energy to do those things; less watching the clock and the calendar.? Above all, however, there is ‘not having to cope with work politics’.? In the most cordial and friendly of environments, there is always someone who thinks they can rule the roost, even if they aren’t the chief chicken.? I wish it was simple to take that stand, but it isn’t.? We can only hope that someone will have enough before it is too late.