Young, attractive and accomplished women who seem to have it all - how do you handle workplace jealousy by older women, especially if they directly oversee your work? If you notice that their judgment when it comes to your work is overshadowed by their jealousy because they are becoming more micromanaging and nitpicking to show you “your place”. I’m trying to remain respectful and cooperative but it’s impacting my performance and mental health.

Not sure that I check all the boxes, but have definitely been in a place dealing with some difficult people at work. As hard as it is some days, I just go above and beyond being nice to them. Oh, thank you SO much for catching that! There is a level of satisfaction because 9/10 times they are being mean and to see it isn’t ‘working’ on you, frustrates them that much more.

lol been there with men and women, price we pay for being exceptional and excellent at our work, ignore them, your work speaks for itself that’s why they are acting out! Just know you’re not alone

KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS

As an older woman I can assure you I'm not jealous of you. I've seen women put up with enough s*it in the workplace that I'm advocating for you and cheering you on. I can also tell you I've seen a lot of youngsters come into the workforce and feel their degree (yes, I have a degree. Two, in fact.) makes them more knowledgeable than anyone else. My recommendation, given with the kindest intent, is to refrain from emotional reaction as much as possible, even internally. Step back and do an honest self-assessment to see if you come across as cocky. If this woman is what you say, you are certainly not the only one who has noticed. Bide your time until you can transfer out. Find a mentor who can offer you guidance in dealing with professionally. Don't let her undermine your confidence. And yes, keep being the best you can be. We need strong women in the workplace when those of us who fought to get you better opportunities, retire and leave the work world to you.

And no, I don’t actually have it all. I’m just a socially awkward introvert who does not share her problems or insecurities at work and keeps it about business.

I would view any 'world of work' issues as a game that is there to test but then build up your patience as work ultimately requires that. The more problems and challenges you face early on builds you up to be able to handle any issues later on as personality clashes/Poor team dynamics/jealousy/incompetence/unfair treatment/pretty privilege etc etc will always exist ... most beyond your control, you just have to learn to control your acceptance of it and patience of dealing with it.

Or leave but I don't see that as a real solution as you can't leave everytime these issues arise given most teams have them.

I have maybe only experienced that once, close to 15 years ago. I was hired into retail banking then placed into a branch where the manager had no say in my hiring, she was just stuck with me. She was 5-10 years older, still young and was used to being the only attractive fashionable woman at the branch. When I joined, she was pregnant and was extremely jealous that she wasn’t getting the attention anymore.
All I could do was try to crush my numbers, I ended up leading the branch in a few categories. It just made her hate me more :/

It’s not just women - the more you differentiate yourself in terms of quality of outputs, executive presence and network the more you will be scrutinized. On the flip side if you can handle it with grace, transparency and collaboration skills you will develop the leadership skills and resilience you need for the higher levels. There’s a lot of courses and YouTube’s on how to handle difficult people and navigating organizational challenges that you can explore and practice. See it as a leadership challenge. That being said also be a bit cautious how you show up at work and err on the conservative side - it’s not fair for women to have to think about that but it’s unfortunately a reality you may have to deal with in more conservative sectors.