Today is the first post for this blog. One part of my brain says "God, do we really need another blog?" The other part of my brains says, "Hell yeah, everybody should blog! There's room for everyone!"
Plus I feel my story and the things I've learned are
important to anyone who is working in a hostile work environment, yet feel like
they can't leave because of the economy, the job market, or because they just
feel like they don't have the skills to leave. Some people hate their jobs but
never consider leaving because it's what they know, content to complain and
complain and complain.
In 2000 I
started working for a company approximately 50 miles from my home. It was quite
a commute especially in L.A. traffic. But it was a good opportunity and the decision felt right. Plus, the building looked like
the Emerald Palace with expensive tile and custom sculptures throughout. I never worked in a building quite as snazzy.
I will never say the name of the company because it's not
important and you probably never heard of them anyway, even though they
believed they were internationally known. In the 12 years I worked there, I
only ran into one other person who actually knew of them.
Anyway, it seemed like a great company at first. It was a
professional setting and the people seemed genuine and nice. Then one day a
co-worker came up to me and said something I'll never forget. He said,
"This place is like a beautiful package all wrapped up in shiny paper with
a big red bow on top. Then when you open it, all you find is a big pile of
shit."
That’s when I knew I was in trouble.
I left two months ago in April, 2012 after 12 years of
bullies, gossip, harassment, and negativity. That being said, I am not a
disgruntled employee, ready to blast my former company behind the veil of a
blog. I am a grateful former employee. I'm grateful that I had 12 years of
learning about myself and (hopefully) becoming a better person for it. There
were times I failed miserably and made mistakes I wish I could take back. But I
did my best and at my darkest moment when I felt I had no recourse, something
in me awoke and I began to learn and learn and learn.
And now that I'm three months out of there and working at a great
company which I (cautiously) love (still suffering a bit of the PTSD), I feel
it's time for me to share some of the things I've learned about working and
coping day to day in the worst kind of environment. If you feel like your
situation is unique, I've got news for you – it's not. And if I haven't lived
it, someone else probably has.
Unlike other career bloggers and writers, I'm not going to
tell people to leave their dysfunctional jobs. You've probably heard the
rhetoric before. Many self-help
gurus and well-off authors will tell you – "Life's too short to be
unhappy." "Do what you love." "Find your passion and it
won't even feel like a job." That's great if you're a Kardashian or a
MegaMillions winner (pardon the oxymoron).
When you're supporting a family, paying bills, trying to
save for a weekend trip to somewhere, sacrifices are made and it usually starts
with "I need to work." And sometimes it may seem like a small
sacrifice. After a while it becomes very easy to go through the 8-hour motions.
I made an art of it. Until one day, I woke up.
I owe this to you. To all the people who start dreading Monday on Friday. I hope this will help you brave the fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment