Maybe I’m too neurospicy

Hmm well I never thought about it as "putting up with someone you hate for a job." It's more like, "it was my job first, so they can leave." Letting someone you hate cause you to leave somewhere you already were, is the same as letting them control you. Sure they aren't the ones making that decision, but they are still the reason. And sometimes it's not easy to "just leave" somewhere you worked hard to get into. You struggled, you found a solution, they interrupted. They should just go back to where they came from and let you have your place. And the MC would have trouble finding another job in that field as it is, so having that job, through connections, probably is seen as being a miracle to him. He gets to do what he loves and wants to do, despite having been troubled in the past. When you work hard to get ONE thing that feels right, it's really hard to let it go just because you are uncomfortable. And if you mean the reason he left his last job, sometimes it just works out like that. If they want to believe someone else over you, you can yell and scream until you are clue in the face but you aren't changing their minds and just making it worse for yourself by making the situation bigger and harder to overcome. Not saying that how you feel is wrong. I would probably smile on the surface and then complain to my work friends later about what a piece of trash he is. However, he seems like he has a reputation and already has a viewpoint that people follow, so anything I say would just make me look crazy, I'm sure. xD

*blue, that was totally supposed to be blue. I dunno where clue came from lmao

Yeah but it’s not really about who started first in my mind. My mental health means more to me than any job or person so I’m happy to quit anything and anyone if it means my mental health survives. It’s fragile and needs the best care. Also if stating that someone hurt me and I don’t want anything to do with them will make me lose my job, i don’t want that job. My managers and my company should want to keep me safe and if they don’t, it’s not a good company to work at. That’s how I view it. I also don’t work hard at my job because I enjoy it. I work hard at my job because it makes me feel productive and I get money at the end of the month so I can do things that make me happy. As long as I get money at the end of the month in relation to the BS I had to put up with while at work, I’m happy. The company won’t pay me a BS bonus whenever I face a past bully so why suck it up? My time isn’t being compensated.

Yeah I totally get that. But as someone who has serious mental health issues, I've learned to cope with having mental health issues and work through them. Having a stable job, place to live and money to maintain that place to live, they are not things I can easily throw away just for my mental health. Not after 30 years of BS to even get that far on my own. xD There will be BS anywhere and everywhere. It doesn't matter if you have the best job in the world or the worst, you can't let BS tell you where to go or you'll be struggling more than you won't be and THAT'S NOT GOOD for mental health. Honestly, this situation looks temporary to me, ex's there for a job, not a permanent position, so he'd eventually be leaving. And yes, I know he's going to be a jerk and harass the MC. Because that's how he already seems. And 100% I wouldn't take that laying down, but I also wouldn't out him in front of a bunch of people who may or may not take my side and who might just start rumors instead. I would take care of it quietly, with someone of authority who can handle it, just as quietly. I probably would have done it BEFORE he started his position there and not waited until I had to face him face to face, but this is fiction and they need their drama cliches. And it's not like he's alone, dealing with a bully. He has a friend at work and a place to return to for comfort. If the job becomes a permanent thing and he's not going anywhere, 100% leave. But put up a helluva fight first. He's already seen what trying to explain himself did at his last job so he's taking a low road. I don't see it as giving up, I see it as a passive way of survival. And I 100% understand that not everyone thinks or feels this way. When you are broken and bruised enough that even getting out of bed to live another day is a struggle, you don't make the best decisions when it comes to surviving, you just react and kinda go with the flow. I also think your way of thinking is very brave. Not everyone has enough in them to be that brave.

I also have a lot of serious mental health conditions as well as physical disabilities. If this was 30 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to be this decisive about leaving a job over issues like this but since working conditions in the uk has improved and we have a ton of labour laws including anti-discrimination policies, I have the privilege of being able to do it. I left one job because they asked me to come into an office when I had Covid and the guidelines was self isolation for 14 days. I reported them to the labour board. I’m very strait laced when it comes to the law. I’ll bend every soft rule and I’ll utilise every loophole I can but I will never enable law breaking. My mental health comes above the law imo but the law comes above all else. I’m entitled to certain things BY LAW and I’ll be damned if an employer tries to skirt their legal duty to me. You say it’s brave but I’m just being a law abiding citizen.

I totally agree with that. And that's great for you! That actually makes me happy that it worked out. Working conditions are a different story. If a job has poor working conditions or fails to give me even basic rights, that's a no. Which is also another reason finding a job you click with is so rare and hard to leave. My coworkers are more like my family than my real family ever was. And they actually help my mental health more than anything, myself included. Any other job I have worked was just "I can't wait to go home". And it was miserable. If my ex suddenly got hired at my job now, we would have words. But it wouldn't be in front of anyone else because it's not their issue to be involved in. I'd be making their life miserable internally until they wanted to quit. Haha I don't think MC has such a rapport yet with his co-workers though and the other guy has more rapport. But I also know what it feels like to not have a choice or anywhere else to go. You also do a lot of crazy things when you think there is no other options. Things are a LOT better now as far as that goes, but not in all places. It's also hard to change a way you're used to living when you have done it for so long. I'm autistic but was not diagnosed until late adult life because it was not something so recognized before. I still fight with my mother over my way of thinking and my behaviors because she doesn't recognize that it is a thing that exists and chooses not to understand me. I worked hard as hell to get this far and away from people like that. But still, the first time someone asked me why I do something and the words "I'm autistic" came out of my mouth, it felt wrong and I immediately wanted to take it back. xD It's hard to think of it differently even though the world has changed when you have thought one way all your life.

I know we are totally off subject now. I was probably just happy you were listening to me haha So thank you. :)

Awh well my DMs are open if you want a listening ear again lol