[phillamb168]

So, this guy, he's not my boss, but he's the boss of the other department I have to work with, and he's been there for a long time, so everybody knows him. Apparently he doesn't like me, although he doesn't have the balls to say so to my face. He's been talking bad about me behind my back to practically everyone else in the office, including my boss, even though he has no supervision over my work or anything I do. What should I do? I'm already looking for a job somewhere else, but I'm not sure how long that will take.

If he didn't like me and said so to my face, that'd be one thing. The only thing he does to my face is make fun of my inability to form grammatically perfect sentences in French. I have done nothing but nice things for him, including getting him a sixer of Tsing Tao when he said he couldn't find it anywhere.   

[majorvices]

Talk to your boss about it. Tell him it is making for a stressful work environment and that you are worried that his comments might be hurting your reputation.

[blatz]

confront him and clear the air.

[morticaixavier]

talking to your boss and/or confronting your co-worker are both good ideas. But one thing to keep in mind is that if you are doing a good/great job performing your tasks and your boss is paying attention the comments of some one who has no direct experience with you is not going to affect your reputation. Given that you were recently promoted I would say you are golden and the only person who's reputation is being negatively affected is the grumbler himself.

[narvin]

Come up with a funny nickname for him, like "Inspector Clouseau", and call him that behind his back.  Tape a dead fish behind his desk.  Run up from behind and kick him in the butt, then hide.

[theDarkSide]

Come up with a funny nickname for him, like "Inspector Clouseau", and call him that behind his back.  Tape a dead fish behind his desk.  Run up from behind and kick him in the butt, then hide.

Or Chocolate Mousse, but you have to say it like they do in "Top Secret".

[Slowbrew]

Talk to your boss about it. Tell him it is making for a stressful work environment and that you are worried that his comments might be hurting your reputation.

+1

Make your manager aware of what is going on.  Don't necessarily ask your boss to mediate at this time but just let him know it is causing irritation and you're not sure what the guy's trying to prove.  That way you're not whining but you have reported the discomfort so if/when it escalates no one can claim you didn't bring it up earlier.  

I work in a very large US corporation where "middle aged white male" = "nonentity with minimal rights who should just be happy they have a job" status so here you need to report the "harassment" without actually seeming to expect any assistance.  Hopefully France works different than this place, for you sake.

Good luck!

Paul

[EHall]

quite honestly, posting something like this on the internet, especially a homebrew forum is not the best thing to do... You need to talk to your boss and ask him/her to handle it. If they can't/won't then you should have something similar to a HR dept/ombudsman that you can report it too. You may also at some point want to let this asshole know that if it wasn't for Americans... he'd be speaking German.

[phillamb168]

I've already sent a few emails to the boss (and to the guy who is my 'psuedo' boss) and the general response has been 'just try to ignore him.' Also as a contractor I don't have the right to talk to HR.

[corkybstewart]

Set him up with a Parisian woman of negotiable virtue, take some pictures and offer to share them with his wife. 

[pyrite]

Usually people like that have no balls and have to resort to saying things behind your back or under their breath.   One of the ways to deal with people like this is to call this guy out in front of all your co-workers and be clear with him in the most straight forward way (please stop, If I am doing something wrong or something that bothers you please talk to me instead of telling every one else) when you catch him in his weasel ways.

[phillamb168]

Usually people like that have no balls and have to resort to saying things behind your back or under their breath.   One of the ways to deal with people like this is to call this guy out in front of all your co-workers and be clear with him in the most straight forward way (please stop, If I am doing something wrong or something that bothers you please talk to me instead of telling every one else) when you catch him in his weasel ways.

This sounds like a good way to do it.

[chumley]

The answer to this question seems (at least to me) to be obvious:

Move out of France.

Most of the French are a-holes, so the odds of having an a-hole coworker would seem to be statistically very high.

[theDarkSide]

The answer to this question seems (at least to me) to be obvious:

Move out of France.

Most of the French are a-holes, so the odds of having an a-hole coworker would seem to be statistically very high.

Well.....Pardonnnnnnnnnez-mooooiiii


 

[tschmidlin]

The answer to this question seems (at least to me) to be obvious:

Move out of France.

Most of the French are a-holes, so the odds of having an a-hole coworker would seem to be statistically very high.

I didn't know you knew most French people.

I agree calling him out in front of others is a good way to go, but instead of making it about work you can slam him at the same time.  Something like:

"Does it make you feel better about yourself to mock my grammar?"

Or "Est-ce que vous vous sentiez mieux dans votre peau pour se moquer de ma grammaire?"
Or "Rend-il te la sensation meilleure au sujet de vous-même de railler ma grammaire ?"

Depending on if you believe google translate or babelfish.  Of course since you actually know French you might want to just translate it yourself.