One of our managers at work left about a month ago now, and so most of the supervisors within the company are on somewhat of a powertrip/struggle, whatever.....bad day....really really bad day today....

Although I don't believe that I would put myself on the end of 'powerstruggle' player, but I definitely was the target. I'm proud of myself for taking it as it came and dealing with it directly, but man almighty, if i could truly really say what I wanted each and every moment, ooooooohhhhh, id be fired for insubordination or something of the such!

Im going dancing , need to relieve some stress.

What happened?

Hey Puter..

What was the outcome?

Sherri

It was just one of those days that started with a simple issue and kept growing the rest of the day.

The hard part about it is that I have over 20yrs experience doing what is required for my job. It's something that I have on sooooooooo many occasions wanted to just walk away due to all the nonsense, as with today, only this time it was due to managers who are experienced in their departments, however try and tell me how my department is suppose to run. I am open to suggestion on making it more efficient and/or on saving money, anything that would strengthen the process in what I do, but when it comes directly as a 'you will do it', and it's something that I know will bring bad ramifications not only for me, but for the company, ah hell no!

So basically I was put in the middle of a tug of war between 2 managers who were battling it out for whatever, as much as i wish i can say i remained cool and neutral throughout the whole day, i've come to the conclusion, they are both donut dunking junkies and have lost their minds!

Lets just see how tomorrow goes, right now im good. I went dancing and came home to a wonderful man who makes all my worries of the day vanish when he holds me in his arms. aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

A tug like that is never easy, but i think you did the right thing by being neutral.

I was in the same situation a couple of years ago, and decided to do something about it. It was my boss and one of my colleagues who were having a verbal fight and somehow managed to draw me into it too. I gave them both a hard time, told my boss and the colleague how i felt. The choice of words was not the best, and i basically told them both to shut the f*** up and have their fight elsewhere, without involving other people. At the time i was pretty sure i would be fired, but my boss thanked me later, and said i was right, that they were way out of line.

I would not recommend anyone to do like that, but telling the truth mostly does calm people down. Perhaps the people at your work would realize they were way out of line, if you pointed it out for them.

Hey Puter..
Sounds like your day was a success after all. People do respect you more when you say your piece out of honesty. Neutral is the key..and its very affective..streamlining verbally with peace can calm the greatest cinflicts for the most part. It also promotes others to see how they are acting out and in this they settle down. Seems like you have capabilities to be what is called a conflict analyst. Keep up the good work..

Sherri

If it is someone with authority telling you what to do, repeat their instructions back to them and ask if you understood correctly, then tell them "I will do that, but I want you to be aware of the consequences, which are..." and then tell him that once you are finished, you'll be documenting what you did, why you did it, and the conversation you just had with this manager where you explained the adverse consequences and he ordered you to proceed anyway.

By doing it this way you are:
-Providing your organizatin the full benefit of your experience and knowledge (what they do with it is their business, not yours.)

-Not agreeing by implication with something that is wrong, and not being insubordinate either.

-On the outside chance this guy is right, and you were wrong or didn't have all the facts, you can still say you did everything expected of you.

-Letting a jackass fuck up and get recognition for it.

Stuff like this is a big part of why I figured I no longer wanted to be part of the 9-to-5 type workforce.

In dealing with day to day issues with work, i have learned how to take notes quick and efficiently, most of the time. But on specific issues, i make sure to have a back up, paper trail so-to-speak, and have even on occasion emailed the info to my personal home computer to make sure I always have a copy.

Although the suggestions here on how to work with the managers on this one were good, they were tried first, and when it was refused to put it in an email and/or memo to, in my suggestion, ensure that I would do it properly without misunderstanding, there was a flat out refusal to do that.

I have learned over the years to always watch my back, as much as possible.

You know its kind of disquieting to have to watch your back all the time but that is truth to the outside forces..Seems its dog eat dog..chew you up and spit you out type of mentality among workers, not all, but I have several friends who really go through it un-necessarily..I really feel for them too..

I could not work among people, been alone far to long..but if you have what it takes then all the power to you..because its what makes the world go around, sounds like your pulling your weight nicely..not easy to do..especially in an office setting..

Sherri

Hi Kevin..

I have always been ill tempered around other individuals who get under my skin..I have had several confrontations when I was younger and due to my over all attitude I won the bosses over. Enough was enough so I bailed out and went solo..although its not the highlight of my life..but my work has benefited my family and helped me grow as well. Dang..now I have just grown tired..well frick...so much for being self employed..

Sherri

well after all the trials and tribulations with work, it all came to a head on July 3rd. I had a tough decision to make when it came to either putting up with all the craziness or jump into my own pool of craziness and walk off the job. Well, im happily treading water at this time, so to speak.

Although I would have loved to tough it out a bit longer, that is exactly what I have been doing for the past year. I kept saying, just 2 more weeks, one more month, etc...

It was even to the point that my hubby advised, after I walked out, that had I not done it on my own, he would have gone in after me and dragged me out.

So for now, i'm enjoying the time with the kids, preparing for our trip and not looking heavily for another job. That will happen upon our return, and im lucky enough to say that I do have 2 companies knocking at my door and patiently waiting for my return from vacation.

Good for you!

They don't call it the rat race for nothing. Workplace politics and being in situations to work in teams with others who can be complete assholes both are great reasons to throw in a towel and cut ones losses in a job. Self-employment, if you can find a way to do it, can be very rewarding (mostly in non-financial ways unfortunately lol). If not, well, there are other jobs out there too, many of which will have less emotional drama attached to them than the one you left. It sounds to me like you have chosen to take a path forwards - even if you haven't yet selected the exact path it will be.

@kevmartin --thank you sincerely for the support. As tough of a decision it was to leave the company as I knew it would put them in a bind, but I was torn with the thought of having to go back to a one-income household, with the price of living so outrageous right now, it was a terrifying decision. I am however very fortunate to have a man who totally supported my decision and assured me that I did the right thing.

Our vacation is going to be a much needed break for all of us, although with the kids also being couped up in the car I will probably be in need of a vacation from our vacation, but it's something I so look forward to.