Office Politics

I was recently published again in the weekly! But before I reveal my little snip it, let me fill you in on my reason for writing it.

After being Laid off for 5 months and then finding a new job (and only loosing a dollar I might add), I am still quite bitter about being let go from a job that I loved. Well hold on, I take that back. I really liked the job I did. The person I worked with caused heavy stress, but it balanced out when I got free coffees, or lunches. True I did take some of that stress home and it wasn't very healthy, but the actual job was a good fit for me and after two years, I was learning how to not let the stress affect me so much. 

I decided last March to get my hair cut, which just so happened to be the same time the Executive Assistant decided to do the same thing. In the beginning we were very excited for each other. I found the curl whisperer in St. Pete and told her it would take three weeks to get an appointment, but I was doing it and she should too. Well she didn't. She went the week before me to some fluke in town. Needless to say her haircut came out horribe, making her head look like a mushroom top. We both cut off a lot of length but one cut was way better than the other, mine. She even said the very words "I like your hair cut better" to me. I kept trying to get her to go to St. Pete, but she never did. 

Four months later we were finally being hit by the "economic downturn" and needed to let go of someone at work. After a few months of making suggestions to my boss on saving money and cutting hours instead of completely removing someone from the picture, I was called down to HR. I was and I wasn't surprised, as at the time if anyone should've been let go, it should've been the girl that sat in the corner and never talked to anyone or offered help when it was needed. But hey, if they dont see you they forget you exist right! I was laid off and my boss was more upset than I was. Why? Because I wasn't laid off due to my performance or the fact that I had seniority, because I wasn't the longest running assistant. I was laid off because of politics. The EA, didn't like the fact that I was the spitting image or her 10 years, 2 kids and a better hair cut ago. She convinced the person I assisted for two years to get rid of me. It didn't take much after that, as the people downstairs never ask questions. 

Now if she would've just gotten to know me, the EA never would've had a thing to worry about. You see in my position, my boss would've had to move up to the EA's position for me to even be able to advance within the company. Not only that, but I have what I like to think of as much higher standards than the EA. Meaning I never would've gotten to where she was by doing the things she did and is currently still doing. I had no intentions of "running her out," and personally if I would've known ahead of time, I would've argued the point.

I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy my time away from the workforce or do not like the job I have now. I do wish I had a bit more to do here, as you can tell by this entry, I have quite a bit of time on my hands. However, I am saying that I was completely wronged in that situation and have every right to be upset by it. I sometimes wonder what I'd say if I ran into any of them in public, I also wonder why I shouldn't march in there and demand my job back knowing the things that I do. Mostly though, as in a lot of lifes situations, I wish I knew then what I know now, because I would've had all the power to fight them on it. 

So that's that and this is what made it to the paper:

"I'm ticked off because I was laid off — not because of performance or seniority, but because the executive assistant was jealous that my haircut was better. Office politics are a slap in the face to those who actually abide by the rules!"

It's the PG version as I originally submitted the explanation of how she made her way to that position. At least people read it and hopefully, there are more eyes open to what actually goes on between the walls of an office. Without even knowing the facts, and just knowing it was wrong, I'd like to thank all of the people at the office who voiced their opinions on the decision. I'd also like to thank my ex boss who didn't leave me in the dark on what happened, although it didn't take much.