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About as dysfunctional as it gets

Dear Dr. Mac, I work for a family owned company of 3 men and I work with 6-7 women in this office. I started out as a part-time file clerk and after 1 year was offered a huge “promotion” to another department, (by promotion, I mean increased work load, demands, and $1 in pay.) They chose me over all of the following because of my attention to detail, work ethic, and loyalty. Let me explain my co-workers: (she goes on to describe in detail all the dysfunctional components of each coworker and of the three bosses).

The bosses don’t fire anyone they just talk behind their backs and hope they quit. We are in a business that demands documentation) Ugh. Since, I asked for a raise because I truly feel I deserve it , explaining that I knew how much #6 made and they responded with an offer of a $1, which I took as a total insult.

I decided to get licensed and go somewhere else with management. I didn’t quit because I wanted a recommendation but at this point I am turning into co-worker #1 because of the resentment, I have started testing to see how much I can get away without doing… someone I don’t want to be…

Should I stick around until I get my license or just bail? I don’t need the job for money, just as a way to feel like I am successful part of society.

-Sadee

Hi Sadee, I enjoyed your letter and the individual descriptors of the characters in your story. If it was indeed a story from a book, I would want you to stay so that I could hear more and see how everything played out. Unfortunately, this is not a fiction but instead a dysfunctional work environment. Yuck!

The fact that you’ve recently observed that you are becoming the kind of person that you don’t want to be is telling in itself. If you cannot override this and stay true to yourself while you buy time to get your license, then leaving would be the thing to do. You don’t want to carry an emotional scar around with you to future jobs if you don’t have to. Also, if you attitude is indeed changing for the worse, the odds of getting a favorable recommendation from your current management decreases by each day that you struggle to be there. And finally, since money is not an issue, why put yourself in such a negative, energy-draining situation any longer?

Sadee, you have to choose your battles in life. So far, you have not convinced me that staying is a worthwhile battle for you. -Dr. Mac

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 10:21 am and is filed under Motivation / Morale. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

About as dysfunctional as it gets

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