Ask Tefi: ‘Help, My Co-worker Is a Hater’

. ‘How Do I Keep It Professional With My Hater Co-worker?’

¡Hola, Tefi!

So, here’s the situation: I started at my current company three years ago, fresh off a job where my co-workers and I were way too close. Like, trauma-bonded-for-life close. When I joined this new company, I made professionalism my priority: polished emails, corporate mode always on, full Capricorn energy. Still, I came in cautiously optimistic that maybe I’d find a few real connections too. I’m a people person. I like to actually know my co-workers as human beings, not just colleagues.

Enter (let’s call her) Isabella. She’s around my age, so naturally I gravitated toward her. I thought, Great, someone I can chat with about life while we suffer through meetings together. But from the start, there was … an off vib