I remember posting somewhere some time ago that I did not like hanging out with coworkers. I used to and there's a few that I considered and still consider friends. But I realize that people you work with are for the most part, just that, coworkers. There's no sense of loyalty. I had my fair share of stabs in the back. And I was never too trusting, because that's just the way I am, but they would still find a way to try and hurt me professionally or personally. So it made me even more cautious and thick skinned.
When I started working at this place a year ago, I came in not wanting to deal with anyone. I was there to do my job and not mess around with people I worked with. Just avoid the drama. And it seemed to work for a while. I saw everyone else hanging around and being friendly with each other and nobody really liked me. I guess they could sense the resistance. Quite frankly, I did not care too much.
Well it all boils down to... I changed my mind. Who changed my mind? Simple. Management. I'd like to say I had a leap of faith and I trusted at least one of my coworkers, but it wasn't like that. I saw without being the least bit biased, how people were treated by management here. And then I realized why the tight bond amongst most of them. I also realized that my previous employers may have also made the backstabbers I dealt with. Because in the end, we all go there to make money and feed our families and live our lives. There was a lot of people that were just plain mean or ambitious, but for the most part they were made that way to survive.
The place where I work now is the most unprofessional place I have ever worked in. Management, for a lack of better words, is fucked. The main person has no spine and the next on chain of command is a real tyrant. The kind of boss that looks for errors to have an excuse to yell at you and if she cant find one, she will make one up. I know what it's like to manage a team and it's not easy because you will never make everyone happy. But this person not only cannot handle it, but is really mean spirited and a bit of a moron. Not to mention possibly senile and/ or forgetful. So she takes it out on everyone. Many times I felt sorry for her. Not anymore. She turned my heart to stone when it comes to her. Just hopeless.
Long story short. I decided to give my new coworkers a chance. Well, new meaning about 6 months later. And I got a nice surprise. Of course, there are still some people I wouldn't trust. But a small group of people I work with have turned out to be quite the opposite of what I was used to before coworker wise. While they may not be my best friends, they are good friends. They're good people. I'd like to think that if I ever left this place, I will keep in touch with those who I've become close to.
So, unlike others, I do like to admit (sometimes) when I'm wrong. This time it makes me happy to be wrong.
