AIBU most workplaces are awful?

[IWorkInDilbertsOffice]

Really fed up with work at the moment. I've been working for 20 years. In that time I've worked at several places, and apart from a few exceptions they have all been horrible places to work. Bitchy colleagues, bullies, psychopathic bosses, unfair practices etc. Aibu to think most workplaces are awful?

I'm not saying work should be constant fun and everyone has to be lovely all the time. I'm a good employee and get on well with people. I simply want to go to work, do a good job, maintain good working relationships with colleagues and go home. Talking to friends, a lot of them are also having similar problems at work,

Hopefully I'm being unreasonable and my experience is the exception. Rant over!

ilovesooty - well that’s your opinion.

Out of interest, how do you suggest I get “fixed?”

You're right OP.
I've worked in around 100 offices over 25 years. Plus a few shops before that.
They're hotbeds of malignancy and empire building. Full of jobsworths or "not my job". The nastiest, laziest and least competent are usually in power and if you don't kowtow, you're not going to last. Even if you're competent, professional, hardworking. You know, those undervalued qualities...🙄
I've been in 3 offices where folk were good to each other. One is the place I'm currently at. Great colleagues. But DIRE Management. It's like the recruiter told them that competency was optional. LA so enough said really.

Doesn't matter where you work, there's always some twat who will ruin it.

I've been in 8 workplaces and 1 was truly toxic - overrun with insecure bitches, bullies and melagomaniacs. Some nice people but bad, hunger games type environment can bring out the worst in people.

The rest had a mix with mostly normal lovely people. Currently the people make it marginally tolerable but I don't enjoy my job nor like the management

I love my job. Working at it for well over 30 years. Not in the same place but in the same position...primary teaching. I enjoy it every day and although l have worked in a good few schools l found all the staff ok and some wonderful.
I treat everyone the same and l don't get involved in all stuff outside my own remit.
And it's not pointless. Most of my work in recent years has been in Special Needs and its pretty important. ( even the parents are fine!!)

The modern workplace is hell that people give each other to modify a Satre quote

I think it’s because we’re sealed in and kept with a bunch of people and it’s intrinsically against our nature

I run a business with dh so I love my job and my colleague!

We do work hard though to make sure that the employees are happy and enjoying work. I don’t really count annual leave so they can take as they want/need and always make sure they have a pay rise every year.

I have worked in several areas prior to setting up our own and it can be an awful atmosphere from just one person.

Btw I always previously believed our workplace was what you made it but having worked in a local place where the conversation was absolutely disgusting and shocking I vowed never to return

The idea situation is to work for a big international corporation

My workplace is constrained by PIs and targets, endless policies, and CPD, but I do love my colleagues. I have gained at least one proper friend (who I remain in contact with) from every job I have had, including my crappy new-graduate job over 20 years ago.

Kahlua4me

Out of interest, (being nosy) how does it work out with not counting annual leave? Is there some sort of unspoken agreement about what a reasonable amount of leave is?

I work in a very tiny contact centre (as in 12 staff) and its ok. Manager is lovely, people all get on, v little stress and no work to take home
Would I rather laze in bed, watch box sets and spend my days riding my horse? Yep but for a job, it's decent

I work in a very tiny contact centre (as in 12 staff) and its ok. Manager is lovely, people all get on, v little stress and no work to take home
Would I rather laze in bed, watch box sets and spend my days riding my horse? Yep but for a job, it's decent

What Iwantacookie said, if I spent more time brown nosing management I'd be much better off.

The people who aren't managers are almost all lovely though.

I've had 2 jobs with lovely people. I had one job for years. I loved it, everyone was lovely it shut down throughout the recession. I never knew badness in the workplace, my job now is mundane but everyone is lovely. The 10 jobs in between omg they were traumatic. After my first job closed I joined their competitor, the supervisor sabotaged my work, trained me incorrectly on many things, bullied me, until I was sat in the M.Ds office with her smirking across from me, I eventually left. I couldn't settle in a job for years.
I'm comfy now but know I could do better.

I love my workplace. I’ve had 7 ‘proper’ jobs and only 2 were unbearable. I left them both quickly after 4 months and 8 months.

don’t really count annual leave so they can take as they want/need and always make sure they have a pay rise every year.
How can you not count annual leave ?
You do give you staff 28 days ( including bank holidays ) that's the minimum .

Not all workplaces are bad. My current work place is dreadful. So much so that I'm in the process of taking this well known organisation to court for disability discrimination. Unfortunately, they seem to have systemic issues discriminating against disabled employees. The irony being that this is an organisation that people in my situation, seek advice from.

I love my job, my colleagues are lovely. What I hate is the actual building, rooms, offices, everyone I work with is so bloody messy! But that’s not your point.
I think if you’re felt this way about every job you’ve had, you’ve either been very unlucky or you might be the problem. Are your expectations too high? Do you generally like people or are you someone who would rather work solo?

I’ve outgrown my job. I’m just so so bored doing the same thing every day and frequently run out of stuff to do. Plus the apprentice that sits next to me literally does nothing all day, unless picking his spots and eating crisps counts as work. It’s a bit bizarre that we took him on considering 3 of our team complain about running out of work but there you go.

Finding a job with the same flexible school time hours is the holy grail though... so I stay. For now.

Genuinely never worked anywhere bitchy, I've worked in I think it's 8 places since being 17 and not one of them was "bitchy". I've always worked in quite small teams and since university in a specific field which I think just attracts nice people! The people I've found difficult to work with are always in other departments. I remember friends saying how bitchy admin roles in the local council were, I always felt like that was an extension of high school in my home town.

I’ve worked in one shitty place where everyone was up their own arse, sly, bullying, bitching behind backs and piling work on you.

Now I work for the nhs and there’s the odd arsehole who is lazy and selfish, but most of us are in sync and work around each other really well. We have a great laugh, everyone has such different personalities it’s a great place to analyse people, learning to be open minded and just accepting those differences.

I think a lot of workplaces are as you describe. Not all, though.

I've been working for over 40 years and it's a mixture. Some are good, some bad, most a bit of both.

In every job I've had, there have always (without fail) been a few bad eggs with huge egos and poor people skills.

Having said that, the majority of colleagues have always been lovely. In my current job the same applies, but the bad eggs have just resigned, leaving only the awesome people! So I'm very pleased about that.

I've worked in some shitty places where everyone was a dick and out for themselves. My current job is a mixture though, about 50% of my colleagues are genuinely lovely people that I enjoy being around.... the other 50% are complete knobs, the management is incompetent at best and downright dangerous at worst, they spend hundreds of thousands on their own vanity but won't provide budget for essential training (like gas safe and H&S essential courses for engineers!).

My manager is a waste of space who claims 60+ hour weeks but actually works maybe 5 or 6 hours a week... most of that watching Netflix at her desk before claiming our teams work as her own and belittling us.

I'm counting down the time until I can leave and start my own business to avoid all the shitty office politics! I have 2 options and 18 months to figure it all out.