nasty tone in workplace

[Zoe Girl]

I think that the poop is hitting the fan or something at work. There is a lot of tension and tones that are horrible right now.

So today we had really poor weather. The temp was around zero and there was snow lightly coming down. Not a horrible storm but definitely a challenge. I got to my site super early and avoided most of it, then I had 2 meetings at our main office in the middle of the day. I left a few minutes earlier than normal and then the highway was moving about 10mph. There was no way I was going to even make half the meeting at that rate. So I called and left some messages. I got a call back 1 1/2 hours later, just as the second meeting was going to start from my new supervisor, remember the better one this year? Her tone was horrible. She basically said that the meeting was only once a month, very important, and I had to stop missing them. I was okay until the last comment when I clearly stated I have not missed ANY meetings. I missed ONE training for the week I did 35 hours of jury duty and did my job. Maybe I did need to hear the meeting was important but the tone was totally unprofessional in my opinion. Meanwhile my staff was scheduled to work Monday (which was a day without school so we had 'camp'). She was very sick and by the time she got in touch with the right person she was shredded verbally on the phone. Basically her job was threatened by this person and my staff thought she was going to get in trouble with me. Again serious, my staff did offer verification that she was seeing a DR, but the verbal shredding is not okay.,

So I have to have my one on one supervisor meeting with my new supervisor tomorrow, joy. We will see if I bring this up. She has been supportive in many ways, and I am not really able to shove down important things that I can express in a professional way. So I keep bringing things up. And yes. I am working on job searching on a consistent basis or working on the mediation program. However I am also realizing I probably just expect too much from the grownups I work with,

[sweetana3]

I think your last sentence is the most insightful.

[SteveinMN]

I think your last sentence is the most insightful.
Agreed. And people can have bad days. And middle managers in particular, IMHO, have it the worst because they get squeezed by upper management and by the people who report to them. I would not chalk up too much to this experience. Yet.

[Zoe Girl]

Agreed, but am keeping track of my work just in case. I understand the squeezed in the middle feeling right now with one project very much!

[rodeosweetheart]

Zoe, don't underestimate the impact of the weather change--we are starting winter here, too, not as dramatic as where you are, and everyone is testy and on edge, short of temper. We are animals, after all. . .

[Zoe Girl]

weather is interesting. I notice it in children all the time, but I don't give adults credit for being affected. Today i talked to the one who had the tone with me yesterday and she was fine. Didn't seem to be any issue, and the topic today was one I could be at fault for rather than yesterday when I considered that out of my hands. However our meeting today was changed and I am glad for that, usually I would take this more in stride but having to meet with someone today after that type of interaction makes it a little harder.

I must say i was super cheerful yesterday when it got cold and snowy. I really wanted to be living in the mountains right then, but cold snowy days make me so happy. I think I was alone in that feeling.

[Rachel]

I feel for you, Zoe. Love your last statement. Yes. Set the bar low for other people, stay positive and cheerful, correct the flat out errors or incorrect accusations, but build your "brand" as a problem solver and team player. Be wary of bringing up too many problems in one on one meetings with supervisors. Always start with something positive. Try not to be too reactive to people's bad moods. I try to remember this advice myself on a daily basis. It's not always easy!

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you, Work is getting pretty stressfull. I am trying to recall all the good stuff, but we have serious issues in the department. It is hard to figure out how to work with it. I have several things I cannot put off because they have real life effects to families, and not one person answered an email on Friday at ALL. So I am about to check my email and it looks like I got 6 emails. Hopefully they will be some of what I need. Otherwise I am feeling super stressed, I have no idea how I to get the job done at this point. I am spending some time mapping out what needs to get done ASAP. Some supervisor had the bright idea to put in 2 days of 'camp' during thanksgiving week at the last minute. That is awesome, considering not one of our camps has been fully staffed so far. I am leaving Tuesday on a train for my t-day trip. Monday and Tuesday are on our contracts but it is totally different to have a full day camp as compared to working in your office all day. I wish I felt I could trust people about all this, but then the same brilliant supervisor just announced she is taking those days off. Trying to not jump everyone in chain of command this week.

Meanwhile I got a great job tip and just did the cover letter. It is showing me what I need to do next if I don't get an interview. I need a lot more work in the grant process and buillding partnerships.

[Packy]

I find all the metaphors you kids use in office talk to be very entertaining. Here I thought real people that do real work were the only ones who seem over-reliant on clichés and idioms to express themselves, but I guess not. The white collar people have a somewhat different set, that's all. But, just as corny. Hope that helps you some. Thank Me.