Nasty situation at work (long, sorry!)

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-01-2003
Nasty situation at work (long, sorry!)
2
Sat, 01-10-2004 - 12:41pm
I've been at my job for almost two years. People tell me to be grateful I'm at least working in this lousy economy, but I have a hard time feeling grateful about a situation where I'm on the wrong end of a double standard.

Part of my job is to print medical reports from a database, attach them to the claim forms, and mail them out. Yesterday, my boss emailed me that she wanted to "reiterate" that I'm not supposed to use the database but to hand-copy the originals that we get from the hospital! I went to her and said that I had never, in two years, been told this, that any needing hand-copying were flagged by charge entry, and that otherwise the database was fine. She said I'd been trained wrong (and two years later she notices this?). I do know what brought it up. She got a complaint from one billing rep in my department. This woman has worked there almost as long as I have, and waits until this week, when I'm already so overloaded that I'll have to pull at least three hours of overtime, to complain to the boss about it, tacking at least an extra hour a day onto the process. I don't know for a fact, but I'm as sure as I can be that this woman is the same one who complains to the boss every time I make the least sound (not exaggerating), causing me to get in trouble for "distracting" people. Others in the department can make as much noise as they wish, and that apparently doesn't distract her, but if I so much as hum along with my Diskman, she complains and I get into trouble. I literally can't make a sound.

The other night I dreamed I was force-feeding myself claim forms and strangling on them. In the dreams I kept thinking, "there has to be something better to eat than this." My therapist (thank God for him!) said he didn't need his degree to figure that one out.

I'm looking for a new job ASAP. I know what the economy is like, and I know that there isn't much of a market for fat fiftysomethings, but I got this job against the same odds. There has to be something better. I can't take the thought of another ten years of this!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-15-2003
Sun, 01-11-2004 - 1:39pm
Sorry sweetie

I didn't see this last night. Please accept my apology.

I agree that you absolutely need to start to look for a new job. I can't believe that they never noticed that you weren't hand writting them until now!

Can you talk to any supervisor or anything about this woman being on your case? That sounds completely unfair that she does that to you.

Anyway, sorry to have missed this post.

Take care

Pamela

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2003
Sun, 01-11-2004 - 9:34pm
hon,

the one thing i can say to do is go talk to your boss.

assuming they're approachable enough & willing to listen.

bring up the fact that both you & this woman have worked for about the same amount of time (dont bring up any good or bad things which may have transpired between you two). just bring up the facts.

then state to your boss that you think she's attempting a personal attack of which you have been unaware until of late.

if you bring this to your boss, he/she SHOULD/may talk to both of you seperately THEN talk to you both together to attempt to get things resolved.

if, AFTER you've spoken to your boss, your boss does NOT do any "follow up" - take it higher hon!

but DO continue to look for a job elsewhere. beging networking, & look online, the classifieds, job boards, etc.

and i wish you luck in your search!

Sue.