I’m a 30 year old woman and I love the job I have. It’s rewarding, interesting, I get to work with kids (which is so fun), pays decently and close to home.
However, there are a few women that I work with who are quite petty and passive aggressive towards me because I don’t fit into their conventional suburban mothers’ club (no hate towards mothers, you know the type I’m talking about). I’m a feminist, progressive, childfree hippie who happens to have mostly lgbtq friends and these women seem to find my presence threatening for whatever reason. I have been nothing but nice to these women, but they will try to take me down a notch in subtle ways because I don’t fit in with them and their “way of life”.
What is the best way to respond to their behaviour? I low-key take their behaviour as a compliment because they must be envious of me in some way idk.
I’ve heard of grey-rocking, where you become so uninteresting that difficult people just don’t bother you anymore. Is this the best way? Or should I just keep being happy with myself and my life and just let them seethe in their bitterness?
Comments
I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of simply pretending not to notice whatever rude thing they’re insinuating.
They want to get under your skin. Don’t give them the satisfaction of letting them know they’ve succeeded.
Grey rocking is a good way because you don’t invest emotional energy into the problem.
If they are being insulting, albeit subtly, you could try being really really stupid. Ask them to explain the joke because you just don’t get it. Make them explain it further until they show the meanness behind it, or they get super uncomfortable (with whatever associated behaviours they have) because they know this is not acceptable.
Make them say the quiet part out loud.