Lost at work

LegacyUser

Hi

Quick background - i am currently covering maternity leave in an office i worked last year as a temp. I have a few months left but i have a problem.

Going into work everyday is a struggle. I just feel like a total outsider.

I sit at a table at lunch that is incredibly "clique-ey" and i only really have one person at work i can talk to but she seems to be going more and more towards the "in-crowd". I dread lunch and breaktime everyday i'm totally left out of conversation and its gotten to the point where i feel there is no point in making an effort. I don't want to have to change to fit in.

I'm not happy in my work - i feel like i'm left to pick up a lot of the slack in my job while my co-workers send their time on the internet or on break. I end up taking the hassle or stress when things go wrong and i not even there long and haven't been fully trained for the job.

I just don't know wether to leave my job now and look for something new or if i should just grin and bear it for the next few months until the end of my contract. The chances of me findinding anything new at this stage in the year are incredibly slim.

There is nobody i can talk to as my supervisor and the HR team are in the "clique-ey" crowd and i just feel so alone i count down the minutes to the end of my day.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Is there a possibility that this is all in your head? I as because I've temped a lot and in a similar situation, I found out midway through my stint by accident that they all thought I was reclusive and never came to sit with them!

Also, are you taking the slack voluntarily or is it being forced on you? If it's voluntarily, either ease up (not your responsibility) or simply ask for help! This may be your way into the group.

Failing that, stick it out at least until Christmas. Maybe phone your temp agency to see if they can find something else after that.

Hope the helps

thermo66

God id say stay in your job, its a nightmare trying to get work. Can't you start off a topic of conversation such as a movie you saw in the cinema or did you see the x factor? Something that everyone's into. If they continue ignoring you after you then fk 'em tbh just bring a newspaper into work or go on the internet. No point banging your head against a wall if they are just going to treat you like sh!t! Just be civil and smile and say good morning when you go in, don't blatantly ignore them or anything. It will sicken them to see you getting on with things when they probably get more pleasure out of seeing you sitting there all awkward at the staff table.

Regarding the work.. why should you do their work? You will only be there for a while right? Just do your own work and if it falls to you can you not say out loud that its not your responsibility? They will keep doing it if you are going to keep picking up the slack. Seriously though don't stress yourself out because of it, it would be different if you were there permanantly.

I used to work with all women and I know the b!tchiness and the dossing that goes on.. one woman started asking me to go to the shop for her as she had forgotten her lunch (nicely i add), now the shop was a good 20 minute walk away up and back and i had a job that gave me more freedom to leave wheras she was stuck there all the time. So as a favour i did it the first time she asked, was nice to get out too but she started taking advantage then coming to me all the time then saying oh i didnt have time to stop at a shop, would you mind?? ' until i got p!ssed off and said no, i was busy. She soon got her hooks into another poor girl who wouldn't say boo to a goose and had her like a personal assistant. Point is some people are lazy assed spongers and if you allow yourself to be treated like a doormat they will gladly do it.

modest_marie

Lost123 wrote: »

Hi

I dread lunch and breaktime everyday i'm totally left out of conversation and its gotten to the point where i feel there is no point in making an effort. I don't want to have to change to fit in.

There is nobody i can talk to as my supervisor and the HR team are in the "clique-ey" crowd and i just feel so alone i count down the minutes to the end of my day.

Hi

I sympathise with you. I have been in your position for a few years a couple of years ago. Funnily enough it was in the area of HR that I felt most like this too.

Perhaps the People you are working with are just not like you. They don't share the same interests etc and don't laugh at the same jokes. It's horrible, and you start to feel like an outsider.

It is so so tough to go throug this. It really is. But try to get yourself through it while looking for work elsewhere. Try to keep yourself busy in the evenings doing emjoyable things to keep your spirits up. It's not a good time of year to be thinking of leaving your job. Try to get through it.

I've been there too, and now I work with People I get on much better with, and it makes such a big difference.

I know where you are, and feel awful for you. It's not a nice feeling, but it's also not a nice feeling not having any money!

Take care