The minute you are afraid to engage with someone at work because you feel that they will respond in a reactive way, you have a problem. Although working in a comfortable environment where you aren't belittled seems like something very basic, not everyone has that pleasure. Some people's coworkers, especially ones that are working at a company for a long time, feel like they get a free pass to be an AH. Lord knows why… We tend to make fun of HR a lot, for a number of reasons, but when they actually do their jobs, it can save the work environment. C'mon, we're all adults here. We shouldn't have to avoid mature conversations with anybody. But some people are immature and need to learn a lesson or two, the hard way.
While scrolling through r/maliciouscompliance, I happened upon a post titled 'He told me if I had a problem with him, I should bring it up to HR..... So I did' — obviously intrigued to see what the dude had done, I began reading. If you're having issues with someone at work and want some inspiration of how to correctly deal with the AH, take some good ol' advice from Reddit, and more specifically, from this smart dude.
Speaking of coworkers, check out these funny memes that will have you in stitches.