tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15494746541165792902024-03-05T14:38:32.426-08:00toxic jobsPersonal stories about toxic jobs and workplace woes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-88562346869808710362014-10-31T02:19:00.001-07:002014-10-31T02:23:37.158-07:00Sexual Harassment from Boss Leads to Job InsecurityImogen is 25 and works in a large corporation as a personal assistant to a manager with whom she socializes in a group but refuses to date one on one."I don't believe in workplace relationships," explains Imogen. "I think they are very dangerous and especially one that crosses the divide between staff and management.""If I accepted a date from my boss I would ultimately lose my job for no other Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-50466475813159802712014-10-20T21:53:00.002-07:002014-10-20T21:58:44.000-07:00Victimized then firedAfter working for the same employer for fifteen years, Ruth, 35, was victimized for two months by her manager before being fired and, because she has a bad situation at home to deal with as well, she is devastated.
"I recently lost my job but far more than that I lost my dignity and self-esteem, too, because for two months prior to being laid off I was victimized by a female manager who knew theUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-9820460407941591422013-07-06T00:21:00.001-07:002014-10-31T02:22:48.645-07:00Index A-Z Toxic Jobs and Workplace Woes
Abuse
toxic verbal abuse
Ageism
being young in an old workplace
being old in a young workplace
mom's army
battle of the generations
traditional workplaces
a relic from the past
Act your age
job competing with daughter
A glut of older women workers?
workplace dinosauresses
Rolling over the oldies
disgusted by older workers!
Agreements & Contracts
verbal agreement lies
read work Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-10772999143689759722012-12-25T23:26:00.001-08:002012-12-25T23:26:13.104-08:00Smokers exempted from Anti Discrimination Act?Carmel had just about come to the end of her tether in relation to harassment at work because of her smoking habit – especially when minority groups were being treated with utmost respect in relation to their rights – so she sought legal advice about suing her employer for harassment and discrimination.
“Well, did I get a shock,” says Carmel. “I was told in no uncertain terms that because Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-25906424011275645442012-12-25T23:20:00.002-08:002012-12-25T23:20:27.437-08:00workplace nicotine nazisCarmel maintains that if you smoke you can expect to be the target of nicotine Nazi discrimination at any workplace, anywhere in the world, and it is particularly rife in teamwork environments where everyone is supposed to operate like an homogenous blob."They may not wear brown shirts and strut around the office saluting each other," laughs Carmel, "but their common enemy is smokers and their Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-72400743846031754822012-12-01T23:51:00.001-08:002012-12-01T23:51:22.399-08:00A whispered good riddance?Beryl is 56, divorced, works in an office and lives alone after raising three children. She believes that workplaces have always been ruled by men, for men, and always will be - despite social change – and all she and a growing number of older women needing to support themselves have to look forward to is an early boot and a whispered good riddance.
"There has always been a predominance of olderUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-85757379249333533692012-11-21T22:57:00.001-08:002012-11-21T22:57:09.010-08:00the toxic bossWhen Olivia got fired from a sales
job the reason given was her consistent failure to meet sales quotas. An
impending firing was something she should have picked up on long ago from the
strange actions of her toxic boss, but what with one thing and another she was
totally oblivious of the fate awaiting her.
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“Because I had missed the early Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-25186462765595847882012-11-12T06:20:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.527-07:00don't take toddlers to work!Winnie, 24, is a single mother of a pre-schooler. While she has a great job bringing in a good income she is having a lot of trouble with reliable child care."On occasions when I just can't find a reliable sitter I have no alternative but to take Johnny to work with me," confesses Winnie. "But, after hearing what my coworkers say about this practice I won't be doing it again."Firstly, by bringingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-19976679819531789682012-11-12T06:18:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.525-07:00post-natal breakdown at work! Erin is 34 and chose to have a baby on her own -- a decision that raised some disapproval at her workplace -- and when she suffered a nervous breakdown after going straight back to full-time work a few weeks after giving birth her detractors seemed vindicated."I wanted to have it all -- a career and a baby -- but I just couldn’t cope," sighs Erin. "My son was very fretful, I worried about him Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-28756215660917789982012-11-12T06:15:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.528-07:00work commitments and lousy mothers Laura is a single by choice mom who managed very well until the day she was unable to attend her small son’s sports day because of work commitments and started to feel awful."It wasn’t the first time that I had been forced to put work before my son’s needs," admits Laura, "but it was the first time I had really looked at the disappointment on the little guy’s face and realized what a lousy Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-85119521605338172052012-11-11T18:16:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.536-07:00sunshine at home, doormat at workAnna is a pleasant caregiver with a sunny disposition who delayed returning to paid work because she feared she would never find the flexible working hours she needed in order to care for her 12-year old disabled daughter -- a task she shares with her mother who, unfortunately, is also becoming in need of care. "Although I certainly got the flexibility I wanted in my return to work job," says Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-54882062783692892912012-11-11T17:32:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.531-07:00finding love at workValerie is presently setting up home with Mr Right – a guy she met a work and still works with - and she’s very glad to have found such a treasure right under her nose after spending five years on the singles scene. She says that finding love at work is the best way to stay happy in your job!"After my early dating misfortunes," explains Valerie, "I started taking lots of time to get to know a guyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-7855878809384472532012-11-11T17:23:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.534-07:00the big end of town guys Hillary is a savvy business executive, divorced with two teenagers at home. Her work brings her into contact with the big boys in town, and she never ceases to be amazed at how blatantly some of them try to manipulate her."You've got to be a survivor to do what I do for a living," laughs Hillary. "And you've got to be aware at all times that they're going to use and abuse your femininity to Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-32284276348074817752012-11-11T17:14:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.529-07:00flirting at workWhat flirty Lily enjoys most about her job as a team-leader is coming to work every day and being waited on hand and foot by a team of hunky - well, some of them are - smart, adoring and willing guys who like her being on top at work."To be truthful, they do not actually wait on me hand and foot,” laughs Lily. “It just sounded good to say that. I guess I do tend to crow a bit in this job!" "I'm Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-70487902599772130382012-11-11T17:09:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.532-07:00visual disability discrimination Doreen is visually impaired and while she's not legally blind she feels she might as well be as far as everyone else is concerned, particularly recruiters, and in that respect she considers she has a real disability."Everyone in my family has poor eyesight requiring bottom of a bottle type glasses," sighs Doreen, "and being called 'four eyes' is something my sister and I grew up with, and my Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-82871782142591090842012-11-11T16:58:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:34.535-07:00being old in a young workplaceHaving raised two children to independence, Audrey, 45, is well aware that young adults see her very differently from how she sees herself or how her friends see her or how she really is - and being old in a young workplace is taking a toll on her."No matter how older women look and perform," explains Audrey, "to them we're seen as old and grey, dumpy, boring and technologically challenged - Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-66419782079146953202012-11-11T16:52:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:55.798-07:00mom's armyUnlike the classic British television show, the army Geraldine is concerned about is not comprised of doddering old male fogies, misfits and incompetents but it does have some glaring similarities. It has been pushed out of the mainstream in the workplace. It's beyond the pale. It's a joke. It's Mom's Army! “The 21st century Mom's Army I’m talking about comprises those born in the years before, Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-35026420807086593522012-11-11T16:39:00.002-08:002012-11-11T16:44:41.945-08:00mentoring leads to replacementLorraine is 46 and thought that her future as a manager was secure until she was assigned a new graduate recruit to mentor and shortly afterwards was replaced by her.
"This particular young graduate, Emma, was nice enough to me," explains Lorraine, "but it was clear from the start that Emma had killer instinct ambitions and when the company restructured she took over the type of work I did - Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-90663702615878512742012-11-11T16:26:00.000-08:002012-11-30T01:56:38.399-08:00project manager to clerkJackie had a good attitude and did all the right things to recover from the shock of being axed from a project manager’s position, but being 49 proved to be too much of a handicap in finding a similar position and she ended up in a lowly clerical job which is killing her inside.
"There were jobs being advertised that would have suited me," says Jackie, "but somehow I never got to first base and Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-9914901660707579882012-11-11T16:09:00.000-08:002012-11-11T16:09:01.809-08:00denied trainingWhile lack of training at a new job is something all ages experience, Elise believes it is more prevalent with older workers – and is especially a problem experienced by freelancers in contract jobs when it amounts to being denied training deliberately.
"When you are given no training or information when you commence a job," explains Elise, “you start out a happy and highly competent worker, andUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-13199600658936590222012-11-11T16:05:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:55.793-07:00being young in an old workplaceMarina has a lot of sympathy for young people entering the workforce because most workplaces are overloaded with the Baby Boom generation – born 1945 to 1965 – which, because of its incredible size, generated a fiercely competitive spirit and, having been booted out of her job by younger Boomers at 60, earlier than she had expected, she expects workplace ageism to get worse before it gets better.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-45387866985399047332012-11-11T15:48:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:55.797-07:00battle of the generationsPrue is acutely aware that there are very few organizations that actually favor employing senior women workers. Her workplace, like so many others, is largely comprised of the 21-35 age group with the emphasis being on 20-somethings and there is a real battle of the generations going on."If the war of the generations in workplaces is not overt," says Prue, "then it is covert as in excluding Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-74927150218953489312012-11-09T05:28:00.000-08:002012-11-09T05:28:05.323-08:00disgusted by older workers!Disgust by the young for the old is nothing new – we have all encountered it in our workplaces if not at home and it’s particularly hurtful when we don’t even consider ourselves to be old – and it’s refreshing, in a warped sort of way, for someone like Steffi to actually admit how all sorts of imperfections in others, including old age, disgust her and what she’s doing to ‘perfect’ herself even Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-90730157777070879132012-11-09T05:18:00.000-08:002013-07-05T23:37:55.803-07:00traditional workplaces The traditional workplace, according to Beryl, was never geared for older women workers, and male employers are blatantly discriminating against them because they refuse to accept that times have changed and that older women these days have no alternative but to continue working until they drop."Rather than getting a steady stream of bright young things taking over from women leaving work for Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1549474654116579290.post-63447053408542855272012-11-09T04:50:00.004-08:002012-11-09T04:50:49.105-08:00vampire managerHeather, 48, is a manager in a high profile public service department who freely admits to being consumed by a youth culture that excludes employment for people over 30. She's a vampire manager!
“I hire on youth and looks and personality rather than skills,” explains Heather. “I run my department on the cutting edge, so chances are that none of my new recruits would have prior training in my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com