When I was written up for complaining & being negative, my boss mentioned that she had complaints from more than one person and that is why she had to act on them. I don't know who complained. I don't know who has decided that my complaints are more destructive to the corporate morale than other people's. Note to management: if you really want to eff with morale, plant the bug in someone's brain that someone they work worth is a traitor.
These people have become a major topic of conversation 'round the old water cooler (figuratively, of course, the real cooler was removed because it was too expensive). Many people have asked who I think complained. I find myself afraid to answer. What if the asker is the tattler? Will there be another complaint? Another report? Will I be fired if I complain that someone doesn't like me? Am I the closing announcer for As the Stomach Turns?
I strongly suspect my boss's boss's boss (yep, I'm that low on the ladder) partly because he has no sense of humor & is terrible at reading people and mostly because he's a jerk. One needn't being a jerk to manage in my little niche of the Fourth Circle of Hell. In fact, all the previous regimes have been nice people who thought their staff members made valuable contributions to the company and might even have a good idea or two. But the current Head Cheese is about as appealing as head cheese. I try to avoid talking to him anyway, so I don't really have to watch my mouth.
Trouble is, who else? There are so many people we interact with every day at work. You think it's just the guy at the next desk. Then you realize, the girl from the next department, with whom you never deal, does have a cube wall in common . . . and she could be overhearing just enough to completely misinterpret what you said. Or it could be someone visiting her. Maybe it's someone behind you in the breakroom. It could be a friend who meant to be helpful ~ thinking the boss would guide you away from the land of whiny bitches without putting anything in writing (Whoops!). Maybe it's someone you thought was your friend and you thought wrong. The last option is by far the worst.
Several people have asked me why I'm so perky ~ apparently, it's not quite believable. So, my paranoia rages. I'm afraid to talk to anyone, which is so antithetical to my nature that I've spent most of the week with a migraine. Woo frigging hoo. I feel like I'm living in The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life". It was set in a small town with an omnipotent little boy ~ if someone said, or thought, anything unpleasant, he could punish them and would banish them to the cornfield. (The short story upon which it was based is creepier.) So, I trudge through my days, wondering who I can trust, and reminding myself, "It's a Good Life."
These people have become a major topic of conversation 'round the old water cooler (figuratively, of course, the real cooler was removed because it was too expensive). Many people have asked who I think complained. I find myself afraid to answer. What if the asker is the tattler? Will there be another complaint? Another report? Will I be fired if I complain that someone doesn't like me? Am I the closing announcer for As the Stomach Turns?
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| My boss's boss's boss (a.k.a. The Head Cheese) |
I strongly suspect my boss's boss's boss (yep, I'm that low on the ladder) partly because he has no sense of humor & is terrible at reading people and mostly because he's a jerk. One needn't being a jerk to manage in my little niche of the Fourth Circle of Hell. In fact, all the previous regimes have been nice people who thought their staff members made valuable contributions to the company and might even have a good idea or two. But the current Head Cheese is about as appealing as head cheese. I try to avoid talking to him anyway, so I don't really have to watch my mouth.
Trouble is, who else? There are so many people we interact with every day at work. You think it's just the guy at the next desk. Then you realize, the girl from the next department, with whom you never deal, does have a cube wall in common . . . and she could be overhearing just enough to completely misinterpret what you said. Or it could be someone visiting her. Maybe it's someone behind you in the breakroom. It could be a friend who meant to be helpful ~ thinking the boss would guide you away from the land of whiny bitches without putting anything in writing (Whoops!). Maybe it's someone you thought was your friend and you thought wrong. The last option is by far the worst.
Several people have asked me why I'm so perky ~ apparently, it's not quite believable. So, my paranoia rages. I'm afraid to talk to anyone, which is so antithetical to my nature that I've spent most of the week with a migraine. Woo frigging hoo. I feel like I'm living in The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life". It was set in a small town with an omnipotent little boy ~ if someone said, or thought, anything unpleasant, he could punish them and would banish them to the cornfield. (The short story upon which it was based is creepier.) So, I trudge through my days, wondering who I can trust, and reminding myself, "It's a Good Life."
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