I have been working at my current job for about two weeks. There are many things I have still not fully grasped but I try and work hard without making mistakes, but I still do mess up on occasion. Whenever I do make a mistake, I have a co-worker who picks on me and tells me that "I should have known better", and that I "shouldn't be so ignorant." From what you can gather, how would you describe this person at best? What adjectives/words would be most suitable his attitude or personality? Thanks.
I would actually say that telling us the co-worker made those particular comments gives us a better understanding of him than any adjective would do.
Or give the coworker a descriptive nick-name and pin it to them. "Her name was Gloria, but I came to think of her as Mother-Bully. No matter what I did, it was never good enough. Mother-Bully always had a better way it should have been done."
Critical, cavilling, fault-finding, unforgiving, carping, nitpicking, tiresome, damning, irritating, censorious, needling, a pain in the backside.
Narcissistic, vitriolic, intolerant, know-it-all, jackass, prick? To get a better descriptor it would be helpful to know whether s/he is a loser trying to boost their self-esteem at the expense of others or is s/he really hot stuff with standards beyond the hopes of mere mortals? Makes a difference.
I don't feel comfortable describing someone I've never met and who's not here to defend themselves. For I all I know, you could be a nurse and your mistakes could lead to serious clinical negligence. If that was the case, your co-worker would be justified. Or you could work on a building site and your mistakes could lead to injury, or even death. So, in order for me to offer an adjective I have to make several unexamined and implicit assumptions. I don't say this to be pedantic. Just being honest.
