Dear Prudence,
How do I deal with a chronic “one-upper” at work? No matter what I (or my co-workers) say, she will immediately let us know we are not at her level. If I discovered an awesome obscure pizza place on the weekend, she says she eats there every night and knows the owner. If I rent a lake house for a few days, she says she always rents a 10-bedroom mansion there because her great-grandfather discovered the lake and obviously, she owns half the beach, too. If a co-worker tells a story about how they broke their arm surfing when they were a kid, she says she broke both arms surfing when she was a kid, as well as four ribs, her collarbone, and five toes.
It’s a small office—we are kind of trapped together, and I love my job and I love my co-workers, but this is driving us crazy. The other hard part is that the higher-ups LOVE her. She is extremely charming with them and always compliments them. And she is not totally horrible at her job, but she’s not great at it either. She tends to do less work than everyone else but talks herself up like she’s running the show. I have also seen her take credit for other co-workers’ work, but she is so sneaky and calculated about it that we would look like we were not being “team players” if we called her out. Would you please offer some advice to help us get through each day with this exhausting woman?
—Not Down With the One Upper