Dear Dolores: How Can I Ask My Co-Workers To Leave Drama At Home?

Dear Dolores, 

Am I the As*hole if I ask my coworkers to stop bringing family drama to work? I’m so tired of having to choose sides when I’m trying to save someone’s life. I’ve never understood the whole adopting grown as* adults to “bring them into the family”. From what I’ve seen it causes nothing but trouble in the workplace. Gods forbid they settle their shit outside the workplace. 

I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but avoiding someone when your work is imperative to Los Santos, to the point of not going to work, and leaving more shit for me to deal with? Fuck them. Sorry if this turned into a vent, you can post as little or as much as you want of this question. 

Thanks for considering, 

— Worker Bee

Dear Worker Bee,

You’re not wrong and I understand your frustrations. What you’ve described is terribly unprofessional behaviour. To err on the side of generosity, it may be possible these co-workers of yours are unaware of the effect their drama has on those around them. If this is something you feel uncomfortable discussing with them, due to the high emotions that conflicts of this nature involve, you may consider approaching your work’s human resources department or another superior, if HR doesn’t exist in your place of business. If you are the head of the department, it falls to you to remind these people of what is and is not appropriate and professional in the workplace.

It sounds like you have an important job that leaves little room for those kinds of extracurricular shenanigans. If there are lives on the line, those are actual stakes that take priority over family drama that has no place at work to begin with. Unfortunately, being correct doesn’t always make you popular.

— Love, Dolores

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