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Drained and traumatized.

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Anonymous

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Drained and traumatized.

I was working at a company and loved my job until new management came in, followed by another wave of new management, and again. The turnover in management happened four times in about a year and a half. By the end of my tenure, I didn’t know what was expected of me anymore and requested additional training and other directives to help me understand their expectations and meet their requirement. They denied my requests. I was also physically violated at work by a male manager whom I reported promptly to HR. My efforts to retain employment were met with a devastating ultimatum: PIP or severance in exchange for my resignation. The sales manager remained employed. Being back on the hunt has not been fruitful for me. I signed an offer making less so I could at least generate income but I feel like my skills are being completely wasted. It has been very easy for me to attain employment in my field in the past but now I feel stuck. Anyone else having problems finding work in tech?

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  1. Shelly Edwards

    first, if you were harassed or violated in your workplace and reported it, but were then punished, you may have a strong legal case against that employer, especially since the offender is still employed. I would consult an attorney and file a complaint with the dept of Labor or EEOC immediately. That’s illegal. Aside from that, the employment market is tight right now. Many people are struggling for find jobs. Just keep searching and the right one will come along.

  2. Anonymous

    I consulted my lawyer and decided to negotiate my severance. Going through court is an exhausting, time consuming process, where your entire character and work is attacked and criticized for months. Sure, I could have made more money but that would’ve been at the expense of my mental health. Women who are assaulted are clawed down to their very last fiber in cases of assault when it’s taken to court. Frankly, I couldn’t handle that, even with a good lawyer.

    I’m focused on healing myself and job hunting. I guess I feel like the journey moving forward has also been arduous.

  3. Mislyn

    I would say you have a lawsuit if you were physically violated. If the company knew this happened and did nothing about it that makes it even worse.

  4. Anonymous

    I consulted my lawyer and decided to negotiate my severance. Going through court is an exhausting, time consuming process, where your entire character and work is attacked and criticized for months. Sure, I could have made more money but that would’ve been at the expense of my mental health. Women who are assaulted are clawed down to their very last fiber in cases of assault when it’s taken to court. Frankly, I couldn’t handle that, even with a good lawyer.

  5. Anonymous

    Your post goes in several different directions, but what jumped out at me was "physically violated". If I'm understanding you correctly, please go to the police ASAP, and possibly a lawyer if the PIP or severance offer was a result of your report to HR, especially because (I think) you're saying the offender remained employed. Once you constructively deal with the trauma, you may find the job hunt a bit easier/more tolerable.

  6. Anonymous

    I consulted my lawyer and decided to negotiate my severance. Going through court is an exhausting, time consuming process, where your entire character and work is attacked and criticized for months. Sure, I could have made more money but that would’ve been at the expense of my mental health. Women who are assaulted are clawed down to their very last fiber in cases of assault when it’s taken to court. Frankly, I couldn’t handle that, even with a good lawyer.

  7. Anonymous

    My heart breaks for you. I, too, was assaulted [not at work] but I wanted to tell you you are brave and have the right to heal with whatever decisions we choose to move forward.We don't owe any explanation to strangers on the internet. I understand that you wanted to explain, but as we heal, it's important to remember there are no lessons from the actual abuse, only healing to restore our lives.

    I hope you know the crime this employee committed against you is probably going to take time to restore trust, especially after the company tried to cover it up.

    I'm so sorry you're having to deal with aftermath of someone's insecure and disgusting behavior. One step at a time, you're doing the best you can.

  8. Anonymous

    Yes. Every job function is having challenges. Dont forget that this year alone over 250K qualified people have been impacted by a layoff and are also looking. It's very different than anything we have experienced even the Recession years 2008-2010. Hang in there.

  9. GirlBossanova934974

    I started working in Tech back in 1998. By 2001-20002, there were huge layoffs, much worse than today! That being said, I myself stay as far away from Tech as I can get these days. I wouldn't even look at Tech today and I recommend you do same. Tech is now the bastion/home base of the bad actors and bad actresses. Layoffs by the thousands done by cutting off people's building keycards. CEOs handing themselves $240M bonuses as they fire 11,000 workers. Organizations in a constant state of out of control office politics and infighting. Not a shred of moral fiber or long term thinking. People stick around for the money. The fact that your company had a new management team every few months is no surprise! Assaults going on? No surprise. Find an industry like insurance, health care, or infrastructure and you will probably do much better.

  10. Anonymous

    I never thought of it that way, thank you. That sounds like good advice!

  11. GirlBossanova934974

    IF you are on LinkedIn, you have probably seen one TECH horror story after another coming down your feed for the last 18 months. Such and such company fired 500 people via email. 10,000 fired via cutting off building access. 1,200 thrown out like bread crumbs off the kitchen table because Wall Street is now rewarding this sort of stuff. JUICE THE EARNINGS for 2-3 quarters and all is fine......Really? Do you want to live with your job constantly in harm's way? A reasonable person doesn't need that sort of stuff. PS: You don't read these horror stories coming out of the rest of Corporate America with the exception of a few dozen let go from this office or that office.

  12. Anonymous

    Everyone! You are not alone... and I would also add that if it is less than a year from when you were forced out make a formal complaint of sexual harassment to the legal authorities in your area. The company is required to do an independent investigation of these situations and to protect the person who was abused. Clearly, you are not regretful of being out of there but take the time in the role that you are in to add skills so that you can get back in the saddle once the rough market we are in settles down. Good luck and keep the faith!

  13. Anonymous

    I am so sorry you're dealing with all of this. I have been on the job hunt since being miserable in my job for the last year. It has been emotionally and psychologically exhausting. Multiple interviews and projects with auto-generated rejections weeks later. It's not just you. Hopefully better days are ahead for us all.

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