I don't think I've ever been more frustrated at work than I am right now. One of my co-workers is mad at me and another co-worker for no apparent reason. In fact, he's giving us the silent treatment. It's a rather awkward situation and I don't quite know how to deal with it. I've decided the best medicine is to give him the same treatment right back. I've got to imagine that in time, he will come around. But he sure isn't giving up without a fight.
It all started over a week ago. My boss was looking for a fill-in to take over for him when has to take days off. Nobody else really wants to do it and I have a bit of interest in doing it. Plus, I did feel bad for my boss that nobody on the crew wanted to be the fill-in. If he wanted to take a day off, he couldn't. We basically didn't have a fill-in until I joined this crew in April. Well, Brad (the one that's upset with me) and I are considered to be the most "qualified" since we're assistant plant operators and have experience with operating the mill. Although I do have some interest in being a fill-in boss, I wasn't sure that I would like having to make the difficult decisions when something major could happen. I was offered the position, and almost everyone on my crew looked at me to do it, even giving me confidence. I didn't say yes or no, but I guess I had the look of interest. For some reason, Brad has taken great offense to that and has since said nothing to me or the operator of the plant.
Yesterday our boss gave us an assignment to work together on. Well, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to "break the ice" so to speak. Well, that fell faster than a lead balloon. Whenever I talked to him, he didn't respond. I made a casual comment and he shrugged. He never smiled and was serious the entire time. He didn't even walk with me, instead, staying several feet behind and never really stood next to me, either. I've never seen anyone act so childish in my life, especially when I did absolutely nothing to him. He's a hell of a worker, but he gets in these very moody swings. Right now, he's in one of the moodiest.
Brad used to joke around quite often with us and he used to be enjoyable to work with. Well, not anymore. I've tried being civil with him, tried talking to him, and been nice to him but to no avail. I've made the effort. But I don't feel I should be the one trying to break the ice when I don't feel I'm in the wrong. I mean, if he would just come forth and tell me and my co-worker why he's mad at us, then we could get over it. But he's letting it linger and basically, letting things get worse and worse. I don't know what else there is to do. I guess the next step might be getting really pissed off at him and start cursing him out. But who knows if that'll even make things better. I'll be releasing some of my pent up frustration, but he may decide to avoid me even more. I guess time will tell.
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