Leaving the Worst Job Ever

A while ago I wrote about my Worst Job Ever. If you remember the management feedback I gave them, you’d know it was a pretty horrible place to work. I had to get out, and I did.

I don’t remember having much of an exit plan, just an urgent sense to get away before their demoralizing tactics took hold of me. I could see the effects on the other employees, who had health problems and no confidence, and seemed generally depressed.

I recently found a letter I’d written, presumably when I left the job. Here’s what it said:

Recommendations for Improvements at ♦♦♦♦♦

1. [omitted for confidentiality brevity]
2. Standardize management
   It is not the intention of any employee at ♦♦♦♦♦ to “ask ♦♦♦ if ♦♦♦ says no.” The problem arises because employees are confused about the roles of ♦♦♦♦♦ management. Some guidelines for employee/management relations would clarify the roles of both managers for employees.
   Another problem arises when conflicting instructions are given by members of the management team. Again, employees need to understand the roles of both managers so that they can be confident they are performing as expected.
3. Trust the employees
   All employees at ♦♦♦♦♦ are responsible and accountable for a share of the workload. It is not the intention of any employee to abuse ♦♦♦♦♦ equipment, policy or procedure.
   A case in which employees feel distrusted is in the perceived reluctance of management to provide email for employees.

(OMG, we did not have email?!! It was 1998!)

The funny thing is: I can’t remember if I ever gave this letter to them. It’s possible I simply wrote it for myself as a coping mechanism, sort of like Agent M’s recent unplugged letter.

At any rate, I know that I considered that bridge burned and never used this particular job as a reference or on my resume.

Was it a waste of time? Back then, I thought it was, because it caused me a lot of stress. But now, I can tell you what I’ve learned:

• You can recover from these types of experiences. I used to get angry every time I thought about a certain management team, but since then had completely forgotten about it until I found these old files!
• Don’t lose sight of what you know is right. Do whatever you can to remind yourself that this work environment is not normal or acceptable. In my case, I wrote this letter.
• It’s ok to burn a bridge now and then. I would have been inauthentic if I’d tried to smooth things over. I had a hunch that managers this dysfunctional would never be needed as references, and I was right!

What have you learned from your worst job?