I've had an absolute horrible experience with my boss today.
I have been hired for a temporary 6 month jo...
Hi
@isch, I wanted to just provide another side to the stories being told here. I only read the first page, but a lot of people seem to be telling you that the boss was clear in what they told you and they you need to either change or risk getting fired. (EDIT:) They may be right. I also want to mention, after glancing at other posts, that whenever you feel attacked it's best to take a deep breath and step back. :) Sometimes suggestions are just suggestions, and in being so, you only need to take what is useful for you and throw away what you feel isn't useful for you.
First of all, I want to say that I was in the exact same issue you're in. I worked for a government job with a lady who I'm pretty sure has been cranky for God-knows-HOW-long for no reason at all. Let me remind you that this was my first "secretary" or "clerk" position. My very first "big-girl" full-time job. My "boss" (I had to answer to her, but there was a whole complicated string of command) was a person who always seemed stressed when she came in, and I never wanted to bother her because it looked like there was something on her mind. She never said anything nice to me, and would only talk to me when I was doing something wrong.
Let me say that I was not always in the right, I came to work sick one day (because presenteeism is very much a thing when you're just starting out and saying "I don't have a fever, and I don't have the sick days to take off, and I'm going to look fragile and whiney if I don't come to work today") and ended up taking a nap on my lunch break. Now normally naps on your own lunch break are fine. What wasn't fine was that I took a nap on my lunch break in my office (which also would have been fine if the office they had set me up in hadn't been frequented by the probation officers I worked with because they stored other paperwork in there). I would have not been talked to if not for my boss walking by and noticing it. She called me in and berated me for it and told me it was completely unacceptable and that if it was in her power to fire me she would have already. This was two months into my job, and let me remind you she had never said anything good about my progress as an employee. At this point I had already gotten people telling me I was already doing my job better, and that they looked forward to giving me work to do because i would get it to them accurately, earlier-than-expected, and formatted properly.
I was lucky to get positive feedback from my higher level coworkers, being in an entry level position. I didn't do everything right, but I also didn't do everything wrong.
My boss was only specific about the things she saw wrong. I understand that I was wrong to nap during my lunch period, was extremely embarrassed, and never did it again.
However, there was one time that she called me into her office (door left open) to ask me if I hated her, and if I hated another lady in the office (who also didn't like me there because she thought I was replacing her). I balked and had no idea what to do. I felt attacked and confused, and the other lady eventually came in, and then I felt ganged up on. Let me remind you again that this was a government position in a community I had been quite eager to work in. I had a lot of panic attacks related to my job, and it took a major toll on my health. During this time I was experiencing symptoms while I was undiagnosed with PTSD, so it was hard because I was sick all the time because of my stress and anxiety and didn't know what I was doing wrong. I'd stay late a half hour without pay to finish up a report that someone gave me (on tape) to type up because they needed it the next day and my boss had "forgotten to give it to me until then, sorry" repeatedly, but then got yelled at for showing up late 5 minutes because my hour commute was snowy.
Sometimes people just suck, and workplace bullying can happen to anyone. I'm not saying that she's bullying you, but if you feel attacked and threatened I would recommend that you document everything that happens to you and the actions you took (whether they were right or wrong) on an Excel spreadsheet, and when you feel you have multiple instances of behavior against you and feel that you have been wronged, bring it to the supervisor above her and have them help you take it to HR. I don't know how that will go for you, I ended up transferring to a different location (the supervisor I was under said, to me while we were both in the room with her boss, "I don't know why you don't just quit, there was obviously no need for you to be here in the first place, we didn't ask for you, and it's not like you made a difference being here anyways.").
Like I said, sometimes people suck. Documenting every case in which you feel uncomfortable, threatened, attacked, or otherwise, is your best defense against people.
I learned from my experience and my boyfriend's mother (who worked in HR for YEARS), that Passive-Aggression is generally the preferred method of most workplace employees who wish to bully others.
TO ME, this sounds like a case that they (they because I don't know the gender) are either threatened by you, has something else going on and is taking it out on you, or has some various unknown reason that we cannot mind-read. Because regardless of the reason, they made you feel uncomfortable, from what I read in your text
I couldn't figure out what the heck they wanted you to do about it (you need constructive criticism, not blaming), or what you were supposed to take from that other than that she things you're not doing good enough. That's not the mark of a good supervisor, in my opinion, and you need to make sure you get the help you need in the mean time.
This might mean talking to your coworkers and asking for pointers, this may mean going to your guide (the coworker you said you've been buddied with) with a pen and a pad of paper, taking a
very big deep breath, and bringing up the points on which you were confused and ask if they have pointers, and if they can point you to the right manuals that your boss was talking about, and hang in there.
I did a lot of self-care on my days off and the times that I wasn't working to deal with this stress, so make sure you care for you however that looks like to you. Maybe it will go away when you "speed up," but I also wanted to address the stuff that other people might not be addressing,
maybe it won't. Mine didn't regardless of how well I did my clerk position. You need to be prepared for both scenarios.
Much love and hugs from my end. I survived this, others have survived this,
you will survive this, too.
