update from the reader with the inexplicably creepy coworker

Speaking of creepy coworker situations, as we were in the previous post, remember the reader back in July who was creeped out by one of her coworkers but couldn’t put her finger on why? She later wrote in with an update saying that several other women in the office were feeling the same way. Here’s her update now:

I wanted to offer another update on my previous creepy coworker situation.

A week ago, the guy I wrote to you about over the summer quit! It was quite sudden, and he left with no notice (very unusual for my company, which typically encourages people to give long notice periods), and with no new job announcement. It’s a bit strange, actually, because usually when people leave, there is an announcement at our weekly staff meeting, including noting where the person is moving on to, and a send-off happy hour, either in the office or at the bar down the street. My company tries to create a lot of good will with departing employees, but that didn’t seem to happen here.

Even weirder — this guy, who was fairly senior and who made me, a young, fairly junior woman, and several other young, fairly junior women, very uncomfortable, sent out an email on his last day inviting people to join him at the bar down the street (which is what the company usually does, but he did it this time). The strange part — the only people he invited out of my office of more than 100 people were 20 young, fairly junior women.

Anyway, I don’t know what happened in the end, but I have to say, I’m relieved he is gone!

{ 15 comments… read them below }

  1. COT*

    Are you sure he quit? It sounds like he may have been fired, or at least ask to not-so-voluntarily resign. Regardless, I’m glad he’s out of your office!

  2. DA*

    It doesn’t sound like he resigned. He may have ‘been asked to resign’ due to some shenanigans that were going on.

  3. just another hiring manager...*

    The strange part — the only people he invited out of my office of more than 100 people were 20 young, fairly junior women.

    That’s not strange, that’s confirmation that he was intentional with his creepy behavior!

    1. littlemoose*

      Agreed! That last bit about him only inviting young female coworkers to the bar just screamed creepy to me. Glad he is out of your workplace now!

  4. Editor*

    Did the email to the junior workers begin “Hey, babes”?

    With someone this creepy, I would find it hard to resist an online search to see if he showed up in a local court docket. I can see someone leaving abruptly if they’d been ordered to jail or something. There’s no reason to believe this is the problem, of course, but then I like to read fiction.

    For the OP’s sake, I’m glad to hear he’s gone.

  5. BW*

    Have to agree with everyone else. Doesn’t sound like he quit, and if he did, it sounds like your company didn’t want to keep any goodwill with him anyway. His departing invitation just confirms his creepiness.

    1. Jamie*

      I agree with everyone else – this doesn’t feel like a voluntary separation to me.

      Although I have to wonder if he was fired for being creepy why he had access to his company account to send that final email. During terminations I kill access before they are out of the meeting in which they are being fired. And if he sent it from his personal account – even weirder.

  6. Min*

    Ick. If nothing else, it’s good to have your instincts validated like that. His invitation shows that you weren’t getting the heeby-jeebies for no reason.

  7. Non-mouse*

    It takes it to even a whole ‘nother level of creepiness that he sent the email to MULTIPLE “young junior women” and, apparently, let them all know so. I mean, it’s creepy enough to be the SOLE recipient of the creepy attention (or at least perceive yourself to be, since creeps like this always do have multiple targets but many of them at least try to conceal that from the targets, at least momentarily). But it’s adding gross flagrant arrogance to broadcast your harem mentality to a bunch of chicks simultaneously and evidently expect them to actually WANT you because of it, like “this dude’s a HOT PROPERTY and maybe, just MAYBE he’ll pick ME!” like a damn episode of The friggin’ Bachelor. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew.

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