Praise for our psychics and sensitives here: my new job sucks.

[BlueIris]

Just as almost all of you predicted it would. The work environment has gone from tense and stressful to outright hostile and abusive. I was actually managing the stressful part of it just fine, because, well, it was manageable for me as long as I focused and did the work...sort of. The training I received for the position I occupy was minimal, and when they started throwing major responsibilities at me after 11 days, (in a position in which one person literally does the work six people would do in a sane work place) as well as dumping the work of dishonest, inconsistent, slacker managers upon me, too, (not to mention a fat ton of belligerence) I went from being able to tolerate the situation to barely hanging on. Which is fine for now, although clearly I am now scrambling to locate other opportunities...some more (I've been searching for those for three years).

This post is mostly just to confirm what others suspected: it's terrible. Bad people there contribute to its unpleasantness. There's nothing to be done about it other than look for other work and then move on, but in case any of you doubted your psychic skills: no need.

[suziedemocrat]

1. What did people predict?

[BlueIris]

4. Predictions from the original thread here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=245x23756

OhioBlues was the one who pegged it exactly right though: INSANELY "tense" (read: abusive) work environment which operates just barely within the bounds of the law, (and if you ask me, is well outside of it in some ways) featuring some...let's just say limited female supervisors, none of whom like to work with younger, college educated women in particular, and all of whom have a) admitted mental illnesses (OCD, Asperber's, PTSD) and classic abuser-bully personalities. Not to mention have a nasty passive aggressive streak (the older lady who works with us gets less abused by them as they will turn their abuser personas off around staff members they do not find threatening or are actively trying to manipulate). And I hate everything about the work itself, except that the chemicals I have to be around are arguably not "that" horrible and the actual work site itself is fastidiously clean. Still, the workplace is abusive, which I can't tolerate.

[MissWaverly]

2. spend time every night in positive thinking

negative situations sap your energy and negative people feed on that too. In order to progress,
withdraw and concentrate on positive things, think positively about places you have applied.
And don't beat yourself up for taking this job, you certainly have learned a great deal about
what you don't want or what doesn't work for you.

[BlueIris]

5. Yup. This job was given to me by the universe for a couple reasons:

to remind me of what absolutely does not work for me in a work environment in any way, shape or form, to help remind me what my strengths and weaknesses are, and...quite frankly, to motivate me to move on to other more tenable work environments ASAP because if I don't, this situation could do some serious damage. Also--well, some parts of what I've seen/experienced have been directly relevant to my novel and other fiction I'm trying to write. Especially the works I am really struggling with right now. So, there is one shred of extremely positive insight to be gained there.

[MissWaverly]

9. Good, keep the positive attitude

Wish you the best of luck!

:-)

[Cerridwen]

3. Damn, I'm sorry to hear it's so awful for you.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, as the saying goes.

I wish you well and lots of freezing. :evilgrin:

Let me explain the freezing part. I bet you already know about this but I'm gonna post in anyhoo.

When things got so bad at my last job and I knew I'd have to leave because it was so bad, I started "freezing" those who could have made it worse. It helped my overall mental health and, I believe, kept me safe from what could have been very damaging people.

This is my variation, yours may vary due to your circumstances and beliefs.

This has to be done with much intention and much love. The love part was hard so I concentrated on love of myself, my dogs, and my good friends who'd hate to see me suffer (if that helps).

I wrote each person's name on a small piece of paper and sent out the intent that they "do no harm, and it harm none" as I wrote their name, placed the slip of paper in a "baggie" and filled the baggies with water. The water filled baggie with name then went into the freezer; thereby "freezing" them "out" of any interference in my life.

It has the advantage of being neither negative, as it's done from a place of love, nor manipulative as it's done from a place of keeping yourself separate rather than playing an active part. (I hope that makes sense.)

If you can use this, please do. If not, please know my thoughts and positive energies are with you.

Brightest Blessings

~Cerridwen

[BlueIris]

6. Oh, man, I will be freezing away later tonight (I have a shift tomorrow).

GREAT suggestion. Better than any of the other spells I was going to try, I think.

[BlueIris]

7. Update: Still work there, and today was a little better BUT...

the revelation I had about this last night was that the main reason my instincts first told me to run like hell from this job, and the main reason I should leave it now, is connected to Karen Bishop's observation that for many of us, post July 2006, where we "should" be and what we "should" be doing have a lot to do with integrity. In this case, the integrity of the people in the workplace (and the company as a whole) is basically non-existent. This is why I must leave it and never return to anything like it. If it were stressful, that would be one thing. If it were a question of a manager I didn't get along with, that would be another. But it isn't. The staff is collectively abusive and the company is the sort that is hopefully going to be slowly phased out of the American economy (especially if I get my way as a "light worker"...). When searching for new opportunities, I will now know more about what kind will work and what will not. Now I just have to figure out where they are and the best ways to get myself connected with them.

[Mist]

8. A couple of times in my life, I ignored all my gut instincts, and all my

bad feelings about something, and man, did I get kicked in the ass! (This stuff happened before I started opening up my abilities and pursuing a pagan/wiccan spiritual path, so gut instincts and feelings were what I would go on). But, when I ignored those feelings, and decided to just barge ahead, the universe was there to make it impossible to do anything other than GET OUT. I know a job situation is one of the most serious situations--you need that paycheck! My (unasked)advice is: 1)Be very clear, and let those you work with/for KNOW that you're being clear, about your job description. Stay firmly in those guidelines. 2) Shield, shield, shield! 3)A kind of spiritual exercise: realize it could be worse; you could be as sick as those you work with! It's good to dodge a spiritual/mental bullet of that magnitude. They sound like a prize bunch of loons enabling each other.

[BlueIris]

12. "(E)nabling each other" is right. It is a total nut farm in there.

Me and the two other new people like, cling to each other every time we're in the office alone, shuddering at how yucky it is for us when the crazy ones are around.

[BuelahWitch]

10. Do you work for my company, Blue Iris?

LOL, just kidding! Actually mine is a bit different: they hire and promote convicted felons to management jobs; the tech guy is a violent psychotic and only has his job because he's sleeping with the second in command; my immediate supervisor (one of the Bush Backwash) likes to brag about how he likes to beat up women. The sad thing is I seem to be the only one alarmed by this (even among the other females); they are a call center who tells their clients they have x amount of employees for the work, but actally have far less (they have a 75% turnover rate, so even if they hire enough people initially most of them quit when they find out what a fucked up place it is). They change people's schedules with very little notice, and force them to work for two different programs so they can keep up their lies to the client. Supervisors are picked from those people who party (or sleep) with management. Backwash is best friends with the psycho tech guy, Ms Manager's boyfriend, you know how that is...
I'm on my way out of that hell, I'll send you some good vibes if you like...

[BlueIris]

11. Oh, good Lord, I hope you *are* on your way out of there. And how.

Run away! Holy crap. My workplace isn't quite that bad, I think (although I'm still not loving it and would like to leave now, obviously) and they found me a decent person to partner with today. 75% turnover? Is huge. I think the turnover rate for the department I work in is only 70%. Still the highest rate in the whooole warehouse, though, which you'd think would tell upper management that the problem with my department just might not be the underlings like me that they keep hiring. Maybe it's...our bosses? Who are (censored). Okay, sorry. I'm fine as long as I stay positive. And I actually had a great day, hell job aside. Good vibes would yet be awesome, however; right back atcha.

[BuelahWitch]

13. I'm glad things are going better for you

Yeah, it seems to be the bosses that are the most screwed up in organizations like this. I'll never understand how and why people hire the ones they do to manage others. Especially when they have no people skills to begin with...

[BlueIris]

14. OK. It's time to leave now.

I'll skip the specifics except to say that it is just not possible for me to function in an environment in which my direct superior is an aggressive abuser who basically answers to no one. It is literally not possible for me to think, let alone work competently, while dealing with constant verbal abuse. So, I guess this is kind of an easy call. I can't continue there.

I just can't decide when and/or how I should quit, as the cards and other feelings I get are actually better when I resolve to quit like, literally tomorrow, than they are if I decide to "stick it out," with the abusers for even two more weeks. I have never, in my life, considered quitting a job without notice, but this is ... I can't work, let alone around open flames, with someone insulting me every two seconds. The theme for today was actually, "Abusers abuse. You can't change them. You can't pacify them. And you can't 'work with' them. Especially those who are too damaged to know how much hurt they are inflicting on the world and have no motivation to reform as they have never faced any consquences for their behavior."

This theme were made clearer for me not so much at work, but after running into my abusive ex-father this morning, who was about to leave for California to watch my little sister marry a carbon copy of his non-recovering abusive alcoholic self. I got to be reminded that he basically thinks of me as his slave, something for him to use only to get his needs met, and that he never offers any form of love or affection unless it is to try to get something out of me (he offered me the use of one of the family vehicles a couple of days ago because he'd heard that mine is sputtering again and I needed transportation for my new job, an offer I politely declined which he said he was fine with, but which resulted in his showing up at my house to tell me what a bad person I am for not even offering to drive my parents to the airport--when I didn't even know when their flight was). Please, no one lecture me about the non-wisdom of taking even a single phone call from or coffee date with my father. He lives three miles away and until I have the financial resources to leave the city I'm in, hopefully without screwing up any spiritual pursuits or tasks I am desperately trying to honor, I have no choice but to avoid him and try to protect myself, two objectives I can't necessarily always succeed at.

Anyhoo, I'm going to choose to interpret the hateful abuse I was subjected to today as a reminder to get a move on WRT essential life changes, because the universe wants me to be safe as well as spiritually on target, fulfilled, and prosperous (not to mention have the opportunity to share my prosperity). Actually, despite the total silence from my guides about my questions regarding where to turn next for employment, how to maneuver out of my living situation while employment prospects are so shaky and how to get the book desperately crying out for completion done when I cannot manage to feel safe let alone concentrate, the main message sort of coming through from...somewhere right now is: "There's no need for you to suffer this way."