Unpleasant Work Environment

Colours

I'm going to be back in the office where I work this coming monday and don't want to lapse into the passive agressive stupor which I have slipped into on various occasions before.


The backround is that I work as a PA in a multinational company but am actually employed by a contractor agency because roles like mine and certain other positions are supplied to the company this way. Not being employed directly by the company has lead to various forms of discrimination for contractors working there such as not qualifying for any perks or bonuses and not being elligible for any form of career progression. I liken it to an office version of Upstairs Downstairs between the permanents and the contractors.


The permanent employees are also a very stressed bunch as there are a lot of pressures associated with the way the company operates where all aspects of progression need to go through a frustrating and often nonsenical obstacle course of approvals and security processes and procedures. It is a typical occurance to see employees and contractors alike walk by me along the corridor or in the stairwell in a semi-stupor which I liken to the robotic trance state of the housewives in the movie "The Stepford Wives". There are also a fair few individuals amoungst these drones who exhibit signs of having various psychological disorders and disturbances.


The combination of these pressures, the systematic company ethos brainwashing and the corporate apartheid has created a really unpleasant and unhealthy environment in which to work. The obvious manifestations of this is rudeness, contempt, bullying both subtle and more direct, ignoring people, groups of people being loud and obnoxious and excluding a colleague right next to them in an obviously disrespectful and inconsiderate fashion and other types of uncivilised behaviour. There are also verbal altercations which arise every so often and insulting comments and remarks are openly made by workers about other workers.
As far as I can see, there is no code of conduct in place within the company and although I have made two complaints to our contracting account manager about how the environment was affecting me and even though she did take on board my concerns and discuss it with the powers that be in the company - some of whom are the very ones who are the worst perpetrators of the aforementioned behaviours - nothing has changed.


Many contractors have left the company in years gone by as they found the environment so toxic. Now in the current economic climate people are not so willing to walk away as there isn't another job they can walk into some place else. I've worked in this place for just over three years and have also contemplated leaving at various times when these goings on drag me down but as I don't have any formal third level qualification on my CV, my elligibility for other jobs is fairly restricted in an already restricted jobs market. So it makes sense on paper to try to hold on to my job.
All that I have described above is really just to give some backround to where I'm coming from because I've gone down the road of raising concerns and making complaints and it hasn't gotten anywhere. What I am aiming for now is to try to protect myself so that I no longer let all this disfunctionality in my work environment get to me to the degree I have allowed it to heretofore.


I basically want to devise my own emotional health drill to kick in to gear in myself when I start getting that uncomfortable and edgy feeling in work. So I'd appreciate if anyone can suggest any useful tips or advice on things to do - or not to do - to relax yourself when you're feeling threatened and uneasy in your workplace?
Thanks :-)

LegacyUser

Interesting post.

Indeed it doesn't sound like you are working in a great place.

Until the recession I also had an interesting job in a very competitive area and I would say the secret is to read people well and not take them too seriously. Of course I am on the dole now which this is maybe where I went wrong! While you obviously have high standards professionally, you won't get far if there isn't a structure there to support you so maybe you should focus on finding new position and keeping things calm til then. Its tough out there at the moment! But you sound smart so you'll probably be fine.

cafecolour

Look into going to uni come september. You could also try looking for another job in the meantime - even a bar gig or such could be worth it for your sanity.

Until then 'keep your head down'. By this I mean just focus entirely on your work and ignore the drama around you. Be cordial with people, of course, but don't engage, don't try and socialize, just get in and get out. Your supervisor sounds supportive at least.

Can you wear headphones and listen to music at work? One of the best ways to ignore your environment.

TitoPuente

If you find yourself being bullied, start taking notes of events, dates and times and be sure to have a papertrail of issues should you ever need to speak to a solicitor. My advice is to start looking for another job. You seem to be very good at coming to grips with the situation and recognising it for what it is... but you have to think about your own mental health at the same time.

Colours

Thanks for the feedback. Listening to the radio and music through my earphones sounds like a do-able option and something I'm going to try to incorporate into my general working activities as soon as I sit down at my desk. Not being able to hear what's being said around me is one obvious way of stopping me from mentally engaging with its content.

aurelius79

Speak with other employees, both contracted and permanent, and organize a walkout or some other type of protest. "Keeping your head down" doesn't help you and it certainly doesn't help those around you. Don't let the fat cats get away with this. Organize and demonstrate to improve the working environment for everyone. Contact the union, contact the media if necessary. Companies are less likely to just fire people left right and center if they are in the media spotlight.

Colours

Hi Aurelius, as contractors, we don't have a union that represents us. That's part of the "beauty" which contractors have for big corporations. One contractor has been with the company as long as twelve years and she has seen it all and her one tenet is that things will not change there and that the best way to handle the resultant atmosphere is to try to ignore it. Which is pretty much the same thing as not engaging with it as suggested above.

I have fantasised - as well as seriously contemplated - confronting the managers or other employees who I consider to behave inappropriately but I concluded that it wouldn't yield any useful result and instead would ostracise me further and increase my feelings of being intimidated. As regards rousing other contractors into staging a walk out, this is not possible as the multinational company where I work is like a global engine where the cogs keep turning and you're either in or you're out but the engine isn't going alter any part of its modus operandi for the sake a few peripheral articles such as its disgruntled contractor community.

I have concluded through much inner ranting and mental ruminations that either I leave the place and become a waitress or else take action and start doing things that will improve the way I feel about myself while I'm there. To this end another thing I will do is take more structured breaks which involve me getting up and taking a walk outside around the block at regular intervals.

dnme

Leave, goto back to college and get a qualification, you will thoroughly enjoy student life. May as well be happy, we'll all be dead long enough

Emme

Life is short. If you can, leave your job and start a full-time college course in September. I was in a similar situation to yourself and did a degree by night to keep me sane and give me a ticket to promotion but my company personnel policy changed and they don't promote people internally so I'm still stuck at square one. In hindsight I should have got out, got a bar or waitressing job and did my degree full-time. I can't afford to leave my job and do a masters and I will never do a qualification at night again.

My colleagues come across as being extremely narrow-minded and snobbish. Individually they're not bad people apart from one whiny designer-clad Southside princess but our boss is a very toxic person and fosters a hierarchal, nit-picking, unpleasant and back-stabbing environment to increase competitiveness and productivity. It's actually counter-productive because most of us spend the majority of our working day covering our backs. I used to operate an "open door" office policy where I was friendly and approachable but that changed when everyone else went off for Christmas dinner and drinks and didn't invite me.

I said nothing and didn't let it compromise my professionalism but closed my office door and changed the layout so my colleagues aren't encouraged to engage with me - no more friendly banter and definitely no favours. I will do what is on my job description and no more.

I am permanent - I don't think that being permanent or being outsourced makes a difference - it's your level in the office hierarchy that counts. I am also a PA and the lowest on the food chain in our office. Another PA in our company is doing a masters and couldn't get study leave, the attitude from those at the top is the likes of us haven't got the right to improve ourselves! The irony is that we work in an educational environment :rolleyes:

There is no point in confronting anyone - you'll only make things worse for yourself. Toxic environments like the one in your office are often an unspoken part of the HR policy just as bullying is often an unofficial management tool for keeping costs down. Make plans to start a full-time college course in September because you're wasting yourself on that lot. A PA is often the most under-appreciated person in a company.

xxlplease

Look for another job - it is not worth to sacrify your health and sanity working for people who will never recognise or appreciate you. Many of us learnt this lesson, we were hoping that we could find the way "to survive" or that things would change if we change our approach and relax etc. but it never worked...and it never will if our personal values are not satisfied in the work place.
p.

Colours

Thanks for all those suggestions. Back in the place and the same sh1te is at play. Felt myself lapsing into the old passive agressive ways today of exhibiting my frustration at being undermined in one situation and letting it out in another and then questioning myself on this and criticising myself on how my own behavior - like ignoring certain people, avoiding eye contact in the corridor etc - is not doing my situation any favours. It was ok though after I had finished for the day and was out in the open air and walking away from the building.

Just to clarify some things... I am currently plodding my way through an Open University degree as the ambiton is to teach. I have considered throwing in the towel in this job and becoming a waitress or working in a pub but financially this wouldn't be a sensible move and I'm in debt as it is and would be in a worse situation if I was on a lower wage working in a restaurant or pub.

Also I have low self esteem which I think does exacerbate and / or intensify how I feel in my current job environment. Having low self esteem makes me feel much more vulnerable and sensitive to inconsiderate social behaviour which may or may not be intentional and then I rate myself poorly based on the evidence of being ignored for some or all of my work day.

This is where I need to work on myself a lot. I have to be realistic about it as well and tackle it in a way that is likely to reap benefits.

All further suggestions gratefully received :-)

Agent J

Good work on the OU front. Its always good to know you are trying to improve yourself regardless of the crap situation you find yourself in.

No harm in looking for other work but lets be honest. It Janurary, in normal times its a bad month to be looking for work.

Ok, You cant change your working enviroment but you dont have to let it intrude on your outside personal life.

The low self esteem thing. Trying tackling that outside of work. How is your social life?(Although with an OU degree in the works i imagine that takes a hit).
How about your physical fitness/general health? These are all things which you can work on which are independant of your work place. If these can be put in line then your work life may not seem so bad.

I'm not kidding when i mention fitness/general health. If you follow a good routine then it can really take the edge of emotional stress. Bad day in work? 30 min run can work that right off and have you feeling much much better(30 mins is an aribartary time, hell 5 mins at the start will do, Wander over to the fitness forum or google couch to 5k).

Colours

Thanks Agent J - lots of sound ideas there. Cheers

Emme

Working full time and doing any sort of degree in your spare time is tough. Fair play to you. If you're going to stick it out make the degree your focus - the purpose of your job is to enable to pay your bills.

You're probably wrecked and have very little social life. Make sure you eat properly (that makes a huge difference to your mood) and get some exercise, even if it is only 30 minutes a day. If you can, get out for a walk at lunchtime - don't stay in the toxic office environment.

When you've done the degree and got your qualifications you can give yourself a big pat on the back because I'd say most of the obnoxious people in your workplace went straight from school to college and were cosseted right up to their graduation day. You will be able to say to yourself "I am better than those people because I got my qualifications the hard way". Not everyone has the tenacity to do a degree while working full time so again, fair play to you.

Colours

Hi just to say thanks Emme for your encouragement and suggestions and I really am plodding through my Open University studies, having had a few hiccups in previous modules and hence the money debt.

As regards the office environment which is back to its usual pace I've got to keep making that effort to take regular breaks away from the office and the building. I've been feeling my own unhelpful impulses and reactions rising up and have partially given into them at times although am managing not to go whole hog with outward reactivity to inner tensions as I have done before. But even still, when I feel that I've slipped there's an inclination to think that I'm right back to where I was before in terms of feeling powerless and pathetic in this open plan office. But I'm telling myself that setbacks like this are paar for the course and to keep putting in the effort to not moan or whinge too much at least.