Published on 12, July, 2020
I work in IT support in a relatively senior position and my current role is based at a company that has a culture of mismanagement and blame, where certain incompetent managers have coasted along for a long time while the "minions" with a good work ethic pick up the pieces and make sure projects / services / fixes are delivered.Certain others are quite abrasive and like to throw their weight around but don't like it when challenged and will bully / attempt to force out those that do - all of which said management are blissfully unaware of, or just ignore.Recently I was given the role of specialist in relation to some WiFi equipment we provide to a few clients as the previous expert had left the company for similar reasons to why I ended up having a meltdown today.During this project I've had to constantly chase a member of the professional services department that should be managing the following aspects of it:
Add to that the fact that for the last install I did, which was in Birmingham, no-one had booked a vehicle so I had to contact a manager who requisitioned me one, only for that to be taken back by this member of prof. services who then forced me to drive a Transit van rather than give up the company Mercedes when I was the only person going and had no cargo.This to me makes very little sense, I find it likely that he clawed it back just because he wanted a comfy ride. The other two members of staff he was going with were taking another smaller van but if they've used the Transit all passengers along with cargo would have been transported efficiently.Instead they give me a massive van I have no experience driving which ends up getting scratched as I have to navigate multi-story car parks in it.More recently I'd been assigned a job elsewhere to install and configure their Wi-Fi solution but as usual the company assigned me a bunch of other things to do which supposedly took priority, the other things turned out to be way more complex to complete and so a solution wasn't found for over a week and involved senior development staff.A colleague and I booked two appointments to sit down and plan the installation but because of the unexpected and complex issues with my initial task we simply didn't have time.So now issues have arisen with the installation and now according to my line manager my competence has been called into question by my department manager, who has instructed my line manager to now manage a this project.This morning in the kitchen at work a member of staff asked me how I was, which sent me off on a rant. Halfway though my department manager walks into the kitchen [apparently looking for tea bags], which I perceive as an attempt to covertly monitor my rant so I let rip on him and became quite shouty and intense to a point where he apparently thought I was going to punch him.I'm just tired of all the backstabbling, pointless politics, the air of superiority that certain managers [including him] give off.Basically things have been building up for the past month or two because I've been placed in an environment of absolute chaos and have been expected to deliver perfection, plus my dept manager insists on professional standards and yet behaves like a petulant child in certain scenarios.I think he's an Aspie himself if I'm honest as I've noticed a number of traits included a complete lack of awareness of how his behavior destroys others' morale and have informed him of this to his face.I spent an hour and a half in a non-formal meeting basically telling him everything that's bothering me and he stated that I can't hide behind my condition and that I can't pull that card.At the same time he apparently wants a happy work environment but is completely unaware of the fact that it's currently toxic to a point where a significant number of people have left or want to leave in the near future. I told him to go speak to the rest of my team and answer the question "why does half the helpdesk want to leave?"It's a bit odd in that he presents ASC traits and yet subscribes to the view that behavioral issues such as mine are made up and are just a meaningless label.I challenged him on what he knows about my condition - he knows only what he's briefly read a few paragraphs on from this site.The guy seriously annoys me - sometimes he's amiable and you think he's alright and the next time he'll be dismissive, condescending or petulant so then I think why do I even bother.I went home for the afternoon and we're having a meeting next Tuesday morning to discuss my future. Initially I was going to leave but after discussing it at length with my missus I've decided to try private counselling / CBT (I had a bad experience with a NHS recommend counselor, who just wound me up because she didn't seem to offer anything constructive), as long as my department manager agrees to take long hard look at himself as well.New management is starting soon so he'll be gone so I kind of wish I was able to bottle it but he makes me so angry I just couldn't control myself.
Once my brain notices what I perceive to be a pattern negative behaviors, toxic behaviors or in-competencies it starts essentially creating a database of infractions until it gets to a point where I have a meltdown because I just don't understand how these things are allowed to continue.Is this sensory overload?I'm not affected by lights or sounds, just peoples behavior.
SciFiGreg said:Once my brain notices what I perceive to be a pattern negative behaviors, toxic behaviors or in-competencies it starts essentially creating a database of infractions until it gets to a point where I have a meltdown because I just don't understand how these things are allowed to continue.
I do this Greg, I wish I didn't as it causes me no end of problems. Mine can end in a meltdown but more usually a shutdown and me shutting that part of my life out completely. I've done this with friends, relationships, work, bands all sorts. In a way sensory overload plays its part as I cannot stand the feelings intense associated with conflict, which is something I deal with really badly. Depending on the severity it can take days, weeks or even months for me to get over one of these episodes.
I see people as little Wii models with a whole list of measured attributes attached to them along with my history of interactions with them. When they start to become chaotic or unreliable my model gets fuzzy and I become wary of them. When they prove themselves to be nasty deceitful pieces of ****, my ability to communicate with them reduces - my head is so full of what I REALLY want to say that being polite gets very hard. I remove myself from the arena and go and have my meltdown somewhere private (like in a noisy plant room). I might look a little rude at the time but it saves me from just shouting **** OFF over and over again until I can't shout any more. That would be a little more tricky to explain in the middle of the office.
I have zero tolerance for specific negative traits in the workplace these days.
If a member of staff is selfish, incompetent, a pisstaker or a bully over a protracted period I will automatically minimise my contact with them to only when absolutely necessary as part of my role.