Sorry I have been so behind on my blog postings. I am working on some new changes for Beyond254 that I will be unveiling within the next couple of months, so I have been really busy. But, I wanted to take time to comment on an article I just read today on a Wall Street Journal Blog called "The Juggle." The title of the article was Meritocracy or "Mean Girls." How Important is Office Popularity? The article really spoke volumes to me, because this explains the environment at my current workplace. As I was reading this article, it felt like I was reading about my company. Also, I read some of the readers' comments and it mirrors what I am going through. The gossiping, jealousy, back-biting and back-stabbing is very common where I work. Also, swearing is commonplace. The management team in my department does not even try to hide the fact that they play favorites. I remember after working at my current company a few months, we had a team dinner with one of the clients we were working with. I do not drink, so naturally I did not order a drink with my dinner. After the dinner, I went to the restroom and a female manager followed me. While we were in the restroom, she questioned my choice of not drinking and then she said something that totally shocked me. She said, "You do not drink, how are you going to fit in with the group?" I was so stunned I could not even come back with one of my sarcastic one liners. I was literally speechless!
I really feel that high school is never over. It is amazing to me that some adults can be so immature and let pettiness cloud their judgment. I guess that is why starting my own company is so important to me, because I want to be free of these toxic environments. So, what are your thoughts? Does this sound like your office environment? Let me know, I would love to hear from you.
Tip of the day - To cope with my toxic environment, I have found a few good, like-minded people on my job that I interact with. Also, whenever I feel that someone is trying to pull me into a toxic conversation, I try to change the subject or find an excuse to walk away. Until you can escape, just bear with it, try out these tips and just know that one day you will be free of this environment.
Very well said. The office politics and toxic environments are elements in the workforce that I don't miss.
Posted by: Disengaged Judi | March 04, 2009 at 03:35 PM
Hi,
My name is Matt and I am partial owner of e-ceramica network. We are a very strong company selling ceramics and similar products. I will get straight to the point. First of all, sory to write to you like this, I could not find the contact form on your site. Our company would like to connect with sites like yours using links. Would you maybe be interested in link exchange with our site: www.e-ceramica.com ?
Our site gets visited by few hundred of our partners each day and not to mention people who buy in our online shop: www.e-ceramica.com/ceramica-shop/ . So I belive we would both benefit out of link exchange alot. If you are interested in link exchange, please send me an e-mail on admin@sayeconomy.com .
Thank you for your time and keep up with good work, I liked it alot!
Matt
Posted by: Ceramica | March 13, 2009 at 08:59 PM