There are some people in the workplace who appear approachable when interacting with colleagues of the same level, but once a leader is present, they become nervous inside and tend to shift this tension onto others, leading them to make mistakes. However, when traced back, they do not intentionally cause others to err.

This type of person usually finds it difficult to achieve genuine promotions because, in the eyes of leaders, although they seem responsible, they often come across as a big talker, lacking an honest attitude, which leads to their rejection during promotions.

In our company, there is such a colleague who, considering his years of service, can be regarded as a veteran employee. However, his unique workplace arrogance often causes those who follow his lead to make mistakes, gradually losing the trust of others in their work.

Today, some engineers came to measure ground subsidence and needed to open the garbage ground passage to enter for measurements. At that moment, the team leader happened to be present, so this colleague loudly told me to hurry over and help.

I didn’t understand what was happening at the time, so I ran over. After I got there, he said, "Aren't you bringing the garbage room key?"

At that moment, Sister Pomegranate at the front desk said that the garbage room key had already been taken by the cleaning lady. The cleaning lady was just opening the passage to the garbage room, and this colleague could have just kept quiet. Instead, he made another nonsensical remark, urging me to hurry over and open the door for them.

He seemed not to notice or hear that the garbage room key was in the cleaning lady's hand and ignored the fact that she was unlocking the garbage room door, loudly urging me to hurry over and open the door.

The reason for all this seemed to be that the team leader was nearby. His demeanor not only reflected what he said but also subconsciously gestured with his hand. Should I follow his instructions and run over to snatch the key from the cleaning lady and open the door? Obviously, that was not feasible. Of course, it was unnecessary. So I thought he was being foolish and retorted that I was responsible for taking photos.

Although this matter came to a close, later a supervisor passed by and started directing me to hurry and open the door, as if he understood everything while I knew nothing. It seemed to imply, "How could you forget to open the door inside? Luckily, I noticed this, so now I'm loudly directing you to complete it." If I had complied, the supervisor would have perceived me as forgetful, while that colleague would appear to be well-meaning. However, the reality was quite the opposite. Since I was no longer a newcomer, I knew which tasks needed to be done and which did not, so I firmly rejected his command and said it wasn't time yet.

The reason I dared to refuse him was that I had already understood his characteristics and was familiar with the business rules, no longer blindly following his words and making mistakes. In the past, I had made mistakes about three times by following his instructions, and each time the leaders advised not to listen to his nonsense. This shows that the leaders had become accustomed to his characteristics.

The first time was when we all gathered for fire operation training. At that time, the supervisor was demonstrating how to wear a fire mask, and this colleague standing next to me quietly said, "Hurry up and take a photo."

I was very surprised and quietly responded, "They didn't ask for photos." Unexpectedly, he continued, "Hurry up and take a photo; you should be taking photos from this position."

At this point, I decided to trust this guy for the moment. So I took out my phone and started taking pictures of the supervisor. Just as I took the first photo, the team leader and others immediately shouted, "Yanwei, what are you doing? Who told you to take photos?"

I was startled; didn't this colleague say that I should take out my phone from this position? So I instinctively replied, "Changlong told me to take photos."

The team leader and others immediately said, "Don't listen to him; he's misleading you."

However, after hearing this, Changlong still quietly murmured to me, "You should be taking photos from your position," not admitting he was wrong and unwilling to take any responsibility.

This was my first confrontation with him. He emphasized his proficiency as a veteran employee and randomly directed others to make mistakes in front of leaders, later insisting he was not at fault. I believe I was not the first person to encounter him; perhaps he had misled many others before.

If this was an accident, then the subsequent events could not be mere coincidences. Once, while I was on duty outside, he ran out and told me, "Brother Hua is checking in that alley; hurry up and take a photo. I'll cover for you for a bit."

At that time, I didn't doubt his intentions and found it strange why I needed to take a photo for such a matter. He was free at the time; he should have been the one taking the photo. However, I still followed his instructions and went to the alley entrance, took out my phone, and snapped a photo in the direction of Brother Hua. At that moment, Brother Hua happened to look in my direction with a somewhat serious expression.

According to work rules, using a phone during duty hours is not allowed, especially not in front of someone like Brother Hua. After taking the photo, I asked that Changlong colleague which group I should send the photo to.

At this point, he hesitated a bit and finally told me after thinking for a dozen seconds, "Send it to the company group." When I returned to my post to send the image, Manager Tang happened to come out of the alley, thinking I was playing with my phone. After Brother Hua and others passed by, Manager Tang rushed over to me with a serious expression, lowered his voice, and urgently reprimanded me. I was a bit confused and asked, "What mistake did I make? I'm not quite clear."

Manager Tang then said, "You can't play with your phone." I replied, "I wasn't playing with my phone; I was just following Changlong's instructions to take photos and send them to the group."

At this point, Manager Tang didn't say anything further and hurried to catch up with Brother Hua and others to check the old building. However, I was very frustrated, so I asked Changlong, "Was it necessary to take a photo in this situation? In the future, if such things come up, don't ask me to take photos; you can do it yourself."

This Changlong colleague argued, "It should be photographed in this situation."

I retorted, "If it should be photographed, why did you ask me to do it? Why didn't you take the photo yourself?"

Changlong did not directly answer my counter-question but said, "This is Old Tang's rule; the reason you were reprimanded is that you were caught taking out your phone."

So I said, "How can I take a photo without taking out my phone?"

The colleague replied, "It's not about when you took out your phone; it's about when you were in that position."

I didn't take out my phone when I was in that position; it was probably when I was taking the photo that Old Tang turned around and saw me with my phone.

Afterwards, I told Changlong, "From now on, I won't follow your instructions anymore. You always come up with unreliable things. If there's another photo-taking task, you can do it yourself. I've fallen for your tricks three times already." He seemed quite unconvinced and continued to play the role of a big talker.