I was having a phone conversation with a colleague who I’m really casual with. Like we talk shit and gossip and all that. Anyway, at this time we were talking about a work thing. The VP came up in conversation and the colleague said “VP is a dick, right?!” And I said “Uh. yeah. He can be hard to work with.” TBH I don’t even know why I said it. I haven’t even really worked with this VP. I’m horrible on picking up jokes/sarcasm and was just caught off guard, I guess. Idk.
Colleague laughs. I say Just kidding. Colleague says he’s standing right here.
Honestly, I don’t remember for sure if I said Just kidding before or after he said the VP heard. My brain may just be trying to make me feel better.
TL;DR colleague says VP is a dick over the phone and I agree unknowing that I was on speaker and VP heard
Comments
Your “colleague” did that on purpose.
Your co-worker is an asshole for not immediately telling you that you’re on speaker and who it’s with.
Your colleague sounds like the dick
Why would he set you up like that?
Wrong # who dis
You didn’t FU, you got set up by your colleague. That guy is a snake, watch your back..
What a prick
That’s a dick move on your co-worker’s part to trick you like that, though. obviously you want to maintain camaraderie with your coworkers, so you’re going to automatically try and be agreeable in such a situation, even if you didn’t really think VP was a dick. Sounds like your leadership sucks.
On the off chance that this is a thing that actually happened and not just engagement bait:
Your colleague you were on the phone with sounds like an either a massive idiot or a dick
JD Vance is a dick. Oh you meant some random VP.
Is his name Richard? Might be able to save it.
NTA
Wrong Sub
A coworker once told me to “eat my ass” in front of Directors and supervisors , it was good for a laugh.
It really all depends on the audience, but you better be REALLY sure.
At my old job, I called the VP a dick to his face. It was a Friday and he asked me to help him with a technical issue. The first question I asked was “when was the last time you restarted your computer?” He responds “when was the last time you restarted your mom?” I looked at him in disbelief for a second, then tapped his desk and said “you know, it’s Friday, you don’t need to be a dick.” and then walked out of his office
No more casual convos with that particular dickhead.
If the condom fits maybe he should wear it
Dude, Fuck your coworker
He tried to sabotage you.
Report him to HR, don’t brush it off like I did
source: Coworker gaslit and sabatoged me, and I acted like it was no big deal.
Professional etiquette is to introduce everyone on a call especially voice only. That was a Dick move on your colleagues part 💯.
I don’t get it. The coworker also called him a dick right to the VPs face also.
Be careful around they person, they are NOT your friend. Unless you know them really well and are absolutely certain this is just a friendly brother joke, he’s testing the water.
I used to call the Old Man funny names. Ironbutt. Boner.
What an asshole move by your coworker.
But as a person who’s been that boss before, we shit just like you, and most of us are pretty fucking awkward in any case ( thus the overwork to get those positions).
Plus were it me, it’d be the co worker I went after if anything, but I’d have done that immediately in front of you.
In many states this could violate wire tapping laws. So if they let you go you may have recourse.
Are you George W. Bush?
Never gossip or talk shit with coworkers. They’re not your friends
Are you sure he’s your friend cuz he just threw you under the bus
VP here. I’m judging your colleague more than you.
There’s nothing wrong with calling your boss a dick if its true. It’s better to put it on the table rather than to suffer quietly. A boss needs to know this, and if he can’t appreciate it, he needs to go. Do your homework, and be able to cite specific examples, otherwise, you’re just a whiner.
Dude you were one hundred percent led to that answer. Like he held your hand and basically told you to agree that the VP was a dick.
You don’t know why you said it because the way your buddy phrased the “question” was by making a statement and asking if you agree with it, which you pretty much automatically always reply yeah too. Unless it’s some crazy shit that you really don’t agree with.
It would also be totally different if you had gone further with the trash talk than he did. You didn’t. You basically deflected it with your next statement. “He can be hard to work with” not “he is hard to work with”.
Hopefully this makes sense, I’m a little tired and my psychology knowledge is mostly from JCS on YouTube
People you work with are not your friends. Never do this. I guess you learned. I wouldn’t talk to this guy again either. Total douchebag move.
Too late now lol.
If the VP is worth their salt, it’s no skin off their back.
I disagree with the room here. I don’t think coworker was trying to set anyone up. I think he was trying to make a joke, maybe poorly, maybe well and OP didn’t get it.
I was in a Chinese restaurant a week ago and ordered white rice. The waiter did a big sigh, looked up at the ceiling, did a big shrug and was like I DUNNO IF WE HAVE ANY RICE? 😃 And I was like … Oh ok.
And then an hour later I was like OH HE WAS BEING SARCASTIC.
The VP will appreciate your directness, doubt your colleague made a good impression
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One of my coworkers called a senior VP a greaseball to his face. He didn’t know he was the senior vp at the time. He remained employed
Ehh, just play it off that you were caught off guard and just rolling with it. To be honest, that’s probably what you were doing anyway. “Yeah I guess he can be tough at times 🤷♀️” Depending on the vibe of your colleague and VP, it may just be laughed off anyways.
Otherwise, your colleague set you up. A good VP (or anyone really) should understand that from the social situation. But may want to keep an eye on them in the future.
I got introduced to a company President. He was slumming it, and asked to be taken to the worst place on site that he could get to without special equipment. My supervisor introduced us, we shook hands, and I absentmindedly wiped my hands on my lab coat immediately after.
This didn’t go unnoticed. My boss’s eyes nearly popped out. The entourage leading the president around looked pissed.
It turns out lots of people had done it, and it looked like a coordinated insult. The dude just had a wet, limp handshake.
Rule of thumb, if your VP is not a Cheney, never refer to him as a dick.
Hot take here… but since the colleague said he’s a dick first, with the VP right there… something tells me that it might have just been a prank and the VP was in on it. OP didn’t even actually call him a dick, he just said that the VP is ‘hard to work with’ and pretty noncommitally at that by the sounds of it.
Unless you legit got in trouble, I think you’re fine.
Depends on the sense of humor of the VP. If they have a decent one they will shrug it off as your colleague being a dink and not hold it against you. If your colleague was willing to joke about it in front of him then hopefully that is the case.
I’d buy that for a dollar! This exchange was in Robocop. Did they put a grenade in your mouth by chance?
If your friend did that after being promoted by to do it then the VP tested you and you failed. You’re not leadership material.
They sound like 12 year olds.
That was not cool. Go bang his wife.
Always assume if a coworker is trashing a boss they can hear and don’t do it. She set you up on purpose.
Today you learned you don’t have friends at work, only coworkers.
Just like you don’t live with friends, you have roommates.
Relevant clip
Why would you call someone like that?
That colleague is no friend of yours and even if he were, you are equally guilty of gossiping and bad mouthing others. Gossiping doesn’t give you a free pass to do that