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I am currently seeking insight regarding a few concerns in my workplace.

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Anonymous

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I am currently seeking insight regarding a few concerns in my workplace. I notice sometimes when I ask the top performer in our department questions sometimes I get pushback as if they either don’t want to help or as if I’m too concerned with certain tasks, when I’m just wanting to learn more on certain procedures.

i notice it sometimes with my boss as well. I don’t go to her often at all, but when I do, I feel the way she talks to me and addresses me is different than other employees in the department. I am more on the reserved side and usually stay at my desk and work most of the day but am polite and respectful to my colleague. Our office is very political and lax. Most people are older and it’s all women. I’m not sure why there is a lack of respect for me when I’m just trying to learn everything about the job and be productive. I notice you get respect and are favored if you’re either very young (20s), over 40s, a minority, or got hired because you know people there, or you kiss butt. I saw a group of minorities today introducing themselves to each other but they were not talking to anyone of a different race than them or introducing them to other colleagues which I felt was just odd. I definitely have gone out of my comfort zone to be more social with both my team and other departments. We don’t have metrics, performance plans, or meetings within the department. To learn new things you usually have to read an outdated policy that you still get told you did something wrong even if you follow it. Not to mention not everyone learns by reading. Some people are visual learners or auditory. For the most part I have a good and decent relationship with my boss and most colleagues aside from these things. It’s not as stressful as a corporate job, but would anyone recommend staying here to someone in their 30s? I mainly came here wanting a career change and to move up, and recently HR advised they won’t let me move up because I’m 3 months shy of being here two years to move to another department. I feel it’s just because I’m not favored in all honesty but that should not take away that I work hard, am productive, and am a top performer on my team aside from two other people that have been here longer. I don’t want to jump from job being in my 30s but I do not want to stay if it’s not worth all of this? I want to move up but I’m not sure when that will happen.

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  1. Anonymous

    Hello: There could be several reasons why they do not help as much as you request. (1) They may feel that you retain the information more if you grind through it yourself (2) Individuals may be pinged from many people for help and are limiting how much they help each person (3) People may feel you are of the age that you should already know the items [hit the ground running type of attitude] (4) Their personality is not of the helping type. There may be other possibilities but those spring to mind. I would suggest waiting for the 2 year requirement that you mentioned before doing a job change or looking for other work. You can use the 3 months remaining getting ready for the possible change [online learning at work etc.]

  2. Anonymous

    I definitely agree with you! I don’t retain as much from reading, and the reason I usually seek help is because I know the policies are outdated. Seems like a lose lose here sometimes with learning new things. I’m not the fastest learner, but I feel speed alone shouldn’t discredit my work ethic since the department isn’t concerned about speed but more of efficiency. I am consistent with my numbers and still look at them.

  3. Anonymous

    Instead of approaching with a negative mindset try being a bit more positive. The workplace has many challenges especially with people. You will need to find a way to work across all generations and functions. Find your strengths and advocate for yourself. Relevance is key.

  4. Anonymous

    Not sure what you mean by having a negative mindset. These are just observations from many years in the high-tech field.

  5. Anonymous

    Okay, first, can you help me understand why this was relevant to the rest of your post: "I saw a group of minorities today introducing themselves to each other but they were not talking to anyone of a different race than them or introducing them to other colleagues which I felt was just odd."

    With that out of the way, can I ask how you go about seeking guidance or asking questions? Do you schedule time with these individuals that are you seeking to learn from? Or are you randomly popping into their office, calling them up, etc.? I ask that because while I most definitely try to be helpful when possible, I like to be prepared for conversations, not just someone Teams me or randomly pop into my office when I'm not expecting them. Also, when you are asking questions/seeking guidance, are you asking the same thing over and over again? Are you taking notes when you do talk to them?

    With regards to what HR told you about moving to a different department, is there a written policy they can point you to that says that you need two years in one department before moving to another (having some sort of guidelines for moving to a different department is not unusual)?

    If you are wanting to move up/be promoted, schedule a meeting with your boss to explore this. Ask them what the potential is for doing so, what do you need to do/work on in order to be considered, that sort of thing, don't just randomly pop in. And be prepared for the conversation. Prepare what you want to say, what you want to ask, who you hope to get from the meeting.

  6. Anonymous

    Everything I posted is a concern I have at my workplace. A lot of discrimination goes on and I’m not sure as to why. The job is very lax so me and other coworkers will go to her office or someone when we need help and don’t usually get pushback. The times I do try to schedule something with my boss like today, I never got a response and got ignored but meanwhile heard other colleagues going to her office asking her for help and laughing. She doesn’t pay attention to emails or her computer even though it will say she is online and not away. So the scheduling doesn’t seem to work or really be a requirement from how things usually go there on a daily basis. I don’t ask the same thing over again because I do take note of it during or after the conversation. There is a written policy regarding the requirements in moving up and the timelines however I know of other colleagues that have moved to other divisions in less than their two years with the company so I feel it’s more about who you know. I have had a meeting with my boss before about moving up and she said she is working on getting everyone trained on everything and when it’s in the budget we will get pay raises. It’s more general terms of speaking so I’m not sure if I should keep trying but she does say she has to run it by the director on the budget.

  7. Anonymous

    I would suggest you hear yourself when you ask questions. You may be off putting others by the way you are asking. There are ways to ask in a curious tone, and there are ways you ask that is accusatory tones. If you do not know the difference, then ask someone who doesn't know you to listen to you. It's not about being favored, it's about being respected. You have to earn that. If you haven't talked with others politely or your tone isn't pleasant, they will dodge you.

  8. Anonymous

    I do treat people respectfully and have done this before. I have yet to get negative feedback.

  9. Anonymous

    Even if I did have a tone that wasn’t the best, it’s still no excuse for the other person not to remain professionally. I haven’t gotten dodged necessarily, but when I follow procedures I get told I’m wrong by my boss. When I take time off which is rare I notice I get attitude from her the day or two before and I don’t call out often. I’m not sure why that would bother someone. If procedures are outdated the employees shouldn’t be blamed for following what’s written if we have no other direction on how to do things. My boss is not very involved and stays in her office.

  10. Anonymous

    This sounds like an unprofessional environment like you said. Another poster wrote and I agree that sometimes we just don't fit. It's really hard when you have procedures and noone follows them, then you're stuck trying to follow them but get different behaviors. Frustrating for sure. If you ask questions, and you're not getting help or noone wants to answer them politely then I say get yourself on LinkedIn, add your resume, and find a way out. City, county and state jobs are notorious for hiring managers who are terrible. It's a cultural mindset in my opinion as I work for the state. People are hired to manage who are terrible. And poor direction because they do not have any or who they report to doesn't care. Hang in and hopefully you will find a new opportunity elsewhere soon.

  11. Maria Felton

    When it comes to a workplace there are different ways of addressing concern to leadership. For your boss you might want to find out the type of business they are and how they like to be approach. There are trainings out there on how to deal with difficult bosses and coworkers. I wish you the best of luck.

  12. Anonymous

    About moving up your company clearly has a policy about internal movement that is either written (read your employee handbook) or unwritten that might include the 2 year requirement. It seems fair to me. As for the political things you describe, I would suggest you be true to who you are and be yourself. Try as much as possible to not read into how others interact when you are not a part of the mix IE: minorities. then you can focus on how to get what you need from your side of collaboration and interaction. To get what you need when you are speaking to your manager or the high performer that you mention. Best would be to email them ask in the email for the help that you need. If you get no reply from either or both to solve what you need bring HR into the conversation and let them know that you are wanting to be the best you can be and are missing some things to get there that others aren't able to share because of timing or their other deliverables. Get them to help you show you how. If they don't help then clearly you are not in an environment that suits you professionally. You will at that point have to think about the possibility of leaving to go where you can get that helping hand when you need it.

    If they do respond favorably ask them if you can perhaps have a weekly touch base where in a 15 minute "standup" short meeting you can go over things that are unclear or need advisement. Calendar it and if you don't need that time for the week, release the time to respect their time and give it back to them. It's a simple way to not interrupt their ability to get things done. It isn't the high performers responsibility to train you up on things, however your manager should be more open to it. If they aren't again, this may not be the match for you. Good luck.

  13. Anonymous

    Thank you I will consider doing this!

  14. Anonymous

    OP above: glad I could help! Keep us posted here on how things go...

  15. Anonymous

    Just do your job. Doesn’t sound like you haven’t made any connections which is a drag because it sounds really clicky. Not sure what your life outside work is like but it sounds like you need some friends and a social life. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to schedule a one on one with your boss to get questions answered and ensure that you’re not interrupting. Have it on the calendar weekly if that works for her. Good luck

  16. Anonymous

    Thank you I will see about scheduling a one on one. I recently talked to her about wanting to move up and learn more and if I need improvement and she said no that I do good. It’s just so lax it’s hard to know and she gave me very generated answers .

  17. Tami Cannizzaro

    Hey There, Sometimes an organization is just not a fit. It's possible that you hired into an organization of "friends and family", people that had connections prior to joining the organization. And they may keep that well-hidden at work, yet you are seeing that as they gather together. I had an experience where I didn't realize that my colleagues were hired mainly because they were friends/acquaintances of the owner. May or may not have met the requirements of the job either. It literally took me a year before I figured it out. Nothing a person can do about this except to put your head down, do your work, stay as long as you are enjoying your work and your accomplishments are adding to your resume. At some point, you will decide it's time to leave.

  18. Anonymous

    I definitely agree to your point Tami. It’s a county job within a small county. I left a corporate job to avoid micromanaging and hoped this would be a better fit for me but most people that are respected here are either older than me, know people, or kids butt. I am opposite of all those things. I interviewed and earned my spot without referrals. Maybe it’s time to look elsewhere. Thank you for your understanding.

  19. Anonymous

    In workplaces, not everyone who is supposed to be training you or answering your questions is cooperative. The other posters provide good advice about scheduling times to ask questions, and grouping your questions together so you ask them in one meeting. If you're not doing this already, find different ways of obtaining the information you need. Contact other people in your workplace who know how to do these tasks. Maybe there are people who used to do your job before they got promoted. Read online whatever is available about procedures, rules, best practices, examples. If you use databases or software, are there support teams within those companies who can answer questions? If your company has separate depts. or personnel for IT support, Accounting support, research and library type services, etc., contact them if your questions could possibly be answered by them. If appropriate, consider training classes outside of work to give yourself that extra advantage. Put together your own curriculum and include things that will give you confidence and strong skills. Wishing you a bright future.

  20. Anonymous

    The resources are all in an outdated one note that I get told I’m wrong all the time when that’s all we have to follow and management is not updating it. Maybe it’s time to leave? I’m getting tired of getting attitude and told I’m wrong when I’m following what’s written.

  21. Anonymous

    Are you trying to find the answer yourself via job aids or procedures first? Do you ask a lot of questions? How was your last performance review? I'd encourage you to do some introspection on how you are performing and how many questions you may be asking. If it is few and normal and your performance is fine, then it may be another issue.

    I, myself am a bit reserved and it took time to build relationships with my colleagues. It usually took a work trip, common interest, or working on a project together.

    Regarding your comment about minorities only talking to one another: People of color often walk into a workplace where nobody looks like them and immediately feel out of place. Building ties with others is not out of the ordinary or a bad thing.

    Is there anyone you trust that you can ask for open and honest feedback?

  22. Anonymous

    That’s my main concern. All the procedures are outdated and not updated because every time I do follow them I get told I’m wrong and attitude from my boss on how I shouldn’t have done what I did, then I explain to her I was following written procedure. If upper management is too lazy to update them and is quick to blame their employees for simply following what’s written no matter how old, maybe I should leave then?

  23. Anonymous

    It’s a county job so it’s very diverse as far as minorities. I sit by 3 of them so technically im a minority where I’m stationed at

  24. Anonymous

    Currently there is no one I trust anymore. I do socialize more than I used to but it has not been reciprocated like how I do with them and I don’t want a one sided relationship where I’m doing all the talking to get to know them and help them

  25. Anonymous

    The high performers are intrinsically driven to accomplish as much work as possible- they enjoy producing and are eager to take on additional projects. They may feel as though you are trying to take some of their work away or that you are out of your lane. These folks are typically highly valued by the company.

  26. Anonymous

    They like to help people and all our colleagues go to them. This is just new behavior I have been getting lately, and then she mentioned to me that I was quiet today and didn’t come over. I just feel the place is not professional and there are no standards here so you never know what you are really supposed to be doing.

  27. Anonymous

    this place is lax. When I try to schedule anything or email o never get a response. Everyone that has questions for our boss just goes in her office so I’m not the only one that does this. I assume it’s okay because of these things but I do not go in there often.

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