rSlash - r/Bestof My Coworkers Tried to Kill Me

Episode Date: April 6, 2025

0:00 Intro 0:08 Nut allergy 4:27 Relationships Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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With the Fizz loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with Fizz. Switch today. Conditions apply. Details at fizz.ca. Welcome to rslash best of Redditor updates, where one of OP's coworkers tries to murder

her. Our next Reddit post comes from Ask a Manager. I have a nut allergy and carry an EpiPen. It's never been an issue in the 12 years that I've worked for my company. I've recently been promoted to a new department. As usual, I explain to the manager that I have a nut allergy but that it doesn't affect anything. First aiders are aware and my EpiPen is located in my drawer if needed. I said I was only letting him know because sometimes I don't join in team buffets and bake-offs and I don't

want to appear rude. That manager sent out an email to the entire department banning nuts of any kind in the office because my full name is allergic. I was mortified and hastily explained that there was no need for that and it's not that kind of allergy. I'm only ill if I eat them, not if other people do." The manager refused to withdraw or clarify the email and declared the whole department is now nut free. When I asked why, he said it's company policy that if anyone has an allergy, the allergen is banned from the department and he can't change it. I explained that in my 12 years working here, this has never been the case.

I asked him to withdraw the email and explained again the reasons that it was not necessary. He refused, saying his decision was final and that it will not be changed. He's not getting sued for something like this. And he literally walked away from his desk. Since his email went out, there have been a lot of snide comments like, oh I would love a peanut butter sandwich, but thanks to you know who, I can't. All these people with made up allergies looking for attention. And here comes the fun police when I walk past. It's been a month and it's escalating.

Every day this week, I've come into many Snickers bars lined up along my keyboard. Everyone denies responsibility. I've tried to just laugh it off, but it's starting to really affect me. The change of department is a promotion, and I was so excited to learn and develop new skills. But I want nothing more than to go slinking back to my old position where the staff were lovely. I'm worried if I do ask to transfer back to my original department and pay grade, I'll be passed over for future promotions for being flaky and unreliable.

Is it even possible to apply for a demotion? What can I do? Then, two months later, OP posted an update. I did approach HR who advised me to speak to my boss if I felt that I was being bullied. Obviously, that wasn't feasible as the boss was fully aware of what's going on. I scheduled a meeting with the head of site who was second in command to the CEO and laid out everything that had been happening. The bullying, but also the toxic environment.

He promised me the situation would be investigated and to log every single incident in an email to him personally. I felt incredibly stupid having to send email after email listing the many incidents that occurred, but I logged everything. He came in personally one morning to catch the person putting nuts on my desk. She was fired instantly. It was the boss's right-hand woman who believed that she should have gotten the promotion, not me, and this was her attempt to make me leave.

The boss was suspended pending investigation. It turns out that for the last four years, he hadn't been doing ANY paperwork. During the investigation, they also looked into staff turnover, and there have been numerous accusations of bullying which have been ignored and a high number of staff have quit. The boss resigned last week before they could fire him, and I know it's unkind, but I'm absolutely thrilled. It's been hard work making changes within the department. There's been some pushback, and major changes have needed to be made.

Two staff have quit because they now actually need to perform. But we have two staff from different departments and a new manager who are all incredible. The head of site has been incredibly humble about it, which I didn't expect. He apologized and acknowledged that this should have been picked up years ago and assured me that going forward, the business will be putting more measures in place to ensure that it can't happen again. Most of the people in this story sound so stupid. The boss obviously is incompetent. But then OP goes to HR and is like, hey, my boss isn't helping me. And HR is like, have you tried talking to your boss about it? HR clearly didn't want to do any work and just kicked the can. Our next Reddit post is is from r slash ask women over 30.

I'm struggling to rebuild my self-worth after my ex-fiance left me for a woman who seems to be a younger, smarter, prettier and better version of myself. I know it's probably hard to believe given how nauseatingly pathetic I sound right now, but before this happened, I really felt like a confident and content human being. Almost all of my current friends are mutual friends with my ex-fiance, so I don't want to embroil them in this drama or compel anyone to choose sides or feel uncomfortable. I was with my ex-fiance for seven years. He's the only romantic partner I've ever truly loved. I was completely head over heels in love with him. Even now, after all this,

I still feel that way about him. He's charming, goofy, kind, quick-witted, interesting, ambitious, and gorgeous. We got engaged two years ago, but were not in a rush to get married. About a year ago, we began to seriously contemplate trying for a baby. We had lived together happily for six years. We'd done all the traveling and partying we wanted to do in our twenties, and we were excited to start our family. Over the next six months, he was much busier than normal, but I didn't think anything was wrong. I did my best to alleviate any extra stress he had, though I was experiencing some extra pressure at work too, by taking over all the housework and errands. Helping him organize and pack for trips and just being understanding when he would work very late or need to leave for

a week or two. We didn't spend as much time together during that period and I missed him a lot, but I thought that we were still happy. When the six months were over, our schedules reverted back to normal. I felt relieved until I started to notice him becoming more distant despite the fact that we finally had more time together. He started going on his phone more frequently when we were together, and seemed to be more protective of his phone. I'm not generally a jealous person, and I trusted him completely so I didn't think much of it.

Then, one day, after another month had passed, I brought up the topic of trying for a baby as we discussed. I could immediately tell that something was wrong. He was quiet for a while, and then he unleashed a flood. He said he was unhappy with our relationship and had been for some time. He said that he cared about me deeply, but that the spark in our relationship had died and that he tried to convince himself he could live without that spark, but had ultimately decided that he tried to convince himself he could live without that spark, but had ultimately decided that he couldn't.

He said that I'd done nothing wrong, and in fact was the perfect partner, but that didn't change the fact that he couldn't shake this nagging feeling that I wasn't the one for him. He said that he didn't want to hurt me, but that he couldn't condemn himself to a lifetime of settling for someone that wasn't his dream girl, even though he didn't know if his dream girl existed. He said that he was sorry, but he couldn't live a lie anymore. I don't think I said a single word as he was telling me all this, because I just felt so utterly shocked and blindsided.

I just stood there, staring and listening and crying silently. When he finished, all I could utter was something like, Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't know, do you still love me? He paused for a while and then said that he loved me but wasn't in love with me anymore. We proceeded to spend the whole night discussing his feelings and our relationship until we were both so exhausted we couldn't cry anymore and the sun was coming up. He said that he was sorry again and it was probably best if he stayed at a friend's place so he packed up some stuff and left.

That was about five months ago. We never really talked in person again. His brother and his best friend came over that weekend to get the rest of his stuff and I just left while they were packing because I couldn't stand to be there. I felt so shocked and numb and traumatized and tired that I didn't even cry much. I couldn't really process what was happening as I went through the motions of moving out and explaining the situation to my family. When I finally moved into my new place and sat alone with my boxes, I completely broke

down. I couldn't stop crying and dry heaving. I ended up using five vacation days to take off a week of work, which really irked my manager. I could not get out of bed. I barely ate, living off this old tub of peanut butter. I looked through all our old pictures and tried to figure out where it all went wrong. Then, for 4 months, I tried my best to move on. I deleted all my social media apps so I wouldn't have to see them. I dove into work. I ramped up my hobbies. I exercised my social media apps so I wouldn't have to see him. I dove into work.

I ramped up my hobbies. I exercised to keep my mind occupied. I met with friends and family and pretended everything was okay. I started going to my therapist again, which helped a bit. I finally thought that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Then, a month ago, I ran into a mutual friend from college. She said it was really sad to see that we weren't together anymore, and surprised to see how he'd moved on so fast.

I told her I wasn't keeping up with him anymore, but that I was doing okay. When I got home, even though I knew it was a terrible idea, I re-downloaded Instagram and went to his profile. His latest picture was him and his cousin's wedding with his arm around a gorgeous girl. All the old pictures of him and I were gone from his profile. Again, I knew it was a terrible, self-destructive idea, but I went to the girl's profile and googled her. She is literally a younger, smarter, prettier, and better version of myself.

We both studied at the same university, but she completed a prestigious program that I was rejected from. We both had green eyes and brown hair, but she is far prettier and legitimately looks like a model. We're both thin and fit, but she has an amazing hourglass figure and looks far more stylish than me and has tens of thousands of followers even though she's not an influencer or whatnot. In fact, we both work at the same company. I'm pretty sure my ex met her through work. But she landed a job in a prestigious division right out of undergrad and likely makes more money than me.

She's an improved version of me seven years younger and the love of my life is dating her. For the past month, I've been spiraling. I can't stop stalking my ex-fiance and this girl. I look at her Instagram every day and torture myself with her gorgeous pictures. She's posted a dozen pictures with my ex over the past few months and he looks so happy, healthy and fit. They've gone on trips together, he's brought her to his hometown, and he's even posted

a picture of them with a mushy caption which he never did when we were together. I have no evidence, and I don't think my ex would do this, but I now suspect that he was interested in her while we were together. She started at the company about a year ago. I am so paranoid of running into them. I can recognize that my behavior is obsessive and masochistic, and I've deleted my Instagram and told myself that I'm not going to do this anymore, only to wake up the next day and re-download the app and do it again. My therapist has been trying to help, but I just cannot move past this. I'm stuck in this mental loop of self-loathing

and self-pity, this crazy mix of extreme sadness and latent anger. I feel so incredibly low, worthless, used up, discarded, and suddenly so incredibly old. I know that comparison is the thief of joy. I know that I'm objectively still young enough to move on. I know that social media is a highlight reel and their relationship may not be perfect. I know that this girl has done nothing wrong to me. I know that my ex deserves to find his dream girl. But none of this knowledge helps soften the fact that I thought that by this time this year, I would be pregnant with the love of my life. And instead, I'm alone and he's found

someone better." Then, three months later, OP posted an update. The night I made that post, I finally blocked my ex-fiance and his girlfriend on Instagram, as many of you suggested. I think that actually verbalizing how obsessive and masochistic my behavior was, instead of keeping it all inside, and finally feeling validated in my emotional reactions after reading your sympathetic comments, clicked something in my brain. I tried to break out of that self-destructive loop, to stop torturing myself with their perfect pictures and reclaim a modicum of self-respect.

It was an incredible relief not to be constantly following the impulse to view their new pictures and give myself some time to heal instead of picking at that scab every single day. That weekend, I decided to reconnect with my family and friends and stop pretending that I was handling the breakup flawlessly. They were incredibly compassionate, though also shocked that I had been hiding my dark feelings so well. And it was like I'd instantly rebuilt my support network. I didn't realize how emotionally isolated I'd become until I was able to be honest

and open with the people in my life. I did continue to avoid talking to friends who were mutual friends with my ex because I didn't want to put anyone in an awkward position, but I was able to reconnect with a few of my other friends and I took the initiative to finally make fun plans. Getting out of the house to enjoy brunches, hikes, and shows with my friends over the past few months has been incredibly beneficial for my mental health. Just being in new environments and focusing on people other than my ex was therapeutic, even for someone who tends towards introversion, like myself. Another popular suggestion from you guys was finding a job at another company, away from my

ex-fiance and his girlfriend. I didn't think that would be possible since the job market in my field is not great at the moment, but I began actively searching for other positions. I brushed up my resume, filled out a couple applications, and even surprisingly secured an interview. Then, out of the blue, someone above me in my division quit to join a competitor. The senior managers were quite eager to fill this role quickly, so they decided to go with an internal hire. After 5 or 6 rounds of interviews…

God, I absolutely dread interviews. I got the job! I'm so grateful for this promotion. Not only is the salary substantially better, but the hours are actually more consistent as well. It's crazy! I feel like the momentum of my life has shifted so quickly, and I finally have an office! It's tiny, but I really

enjoy it. The only downside was this promotion also meant that I would have to continue working in the same building as my ex. And as I left work before Christmas, the moment I'd been dreading came. I ran into my ex as I was leaving the office. We exchanged a few pleasantries and he complimented my new haircut. I thanked him, wished him well, and said that I had to hurry to catch the next train. I wish I could say that I felt cool and collected, but I was so nervous to see him again for the first time in like six months that I was almost shaking. On the commute home, I calmed down and actually thought, hey, that wasn't so bad. He looked good, but I didn't feel a rush of sadness

or desire or anything. I mostly just felt awkward, like we'd become strangers again. I didn't feel that familiar impulse to stalk his Instagram and actually felt happy to see that he was doing okay since I'd cared for him so many years. I felt like at last I was really moving forward. The next day, I woke up to a dozen messages from my ex-fiance. They started at around 2am and were slightly incoherent in part, so I'm guessing he was a bit drunk when he sent them. They were all long walls of text, which surprised me because he's not typically big on verbalizing his emotions.

He wrote that he hadn't been able to stop thinking about me since we ran into each other outside the office. That he was sad that we weren't friends anymore because I still felt like his best friend and that he regretted how everything went down. He said he questioned if he'd made a huge mistake in a moment of weakness and messed up his whole life, and that he couldn't help regret it all when he saw me. He'd apparently noticed that I had blocked him on Instagram, which I found funny given how intensely I'd been stalking his Instagram.

And he said that made him really sad. I gathered from his messages that he had likely broken up with the woman I'd seen on his Instagram because he said that he felt like he had been searching for some ideal woman who doesn't exist, and that he wanted to re-ignite our spark after failing to find that same spark with other people. I'm not gonna lie, it was shocking to read his texts, and I was trembling and struggling to process a lot of it at first. Part of me wanted impulsively to give him another chance. But after taking a day to mull over his words, I ended up feeling like he was less sorry that he'd lost our relationship and more sorry that the greener pastures he saw weren't

as green as he'd imagined. I tried to respond kindly but firmly, saying that I really treasured and appreciated our relationship, but that I felt like I could no longer trust him to the same degree I once did, and that I felt like it would become confusing and painful for us to become friends in the near future. I told him how hurt I felt when he blindsided me after promising that nothing was wrong, and how I struggled for a long time to figure out what was missing in our relationship. But ultimately felt that as long as he thought the missing part was so crucial that he wanted

to leave all those years together, then we probably aren't meant to be together. I wish him the best. He didn't respond to my messages. I was a bit shaken by the whole thing, but I proceeded to enjoy my holiday break with my family and even elected to go to my friend's New Year's Eve party, which I was considering skipping. Well, I'm super glad I didn't skip the party, because I ended up meeting a wonderful man there. He's funny, intelligent, cute, interesting,

compassionate, and is eager to settle down and have kids after also somewhat recently exiting a long-term relationship. We've gone on three dates so far, and at the risk of sounding too enthusiastic, they've been the best dates of my life! We want to take it slow since we were both in long-term relationships a year ago, but we've been stunned by how compatible our personalities and interests and goals are, and frankly, we're also both quite keen to start a family as soon as possible. So while I'm trying not to be overly confident in this relationship, I'm also super excited to see where it goes.

So in conclusion, thanks in large part to the advice I received three months ago in this subreddit, I've emerged from a very dark place and I'm now cautiously optimistic about my future for the first time in a long time. This post is the perfect example of the phrase, the best revenge is a life well lived. Also, it stands as testament that you should never end your own life because when you're at your rock bottom, the only place to go is up. That was our slash best of Redditor updates. And if you like this content, be sure to follow my podcast

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