To be so hurt and upset by this

[Shaminon]

I have had to resign from my job due to what can only be described as impossible management conditions. It felt very like being manoeuvred out of a job. It's been upetting I've got another job to move on to.

It was my penultimate day today. I wanted to make good and leave on a personally positive note as I've worked closely and well for a number of years with my colleagues. I wrote everyone in our small team an individual card to say thank for the time together and left some presents and sent a goodbye email to saying I'd left cards and I wished everyone well as I am not sure who will be there on my last day.

Our team leader wrote a response to this saying my contribution was 'unique' and that I had a 'fun and smiley persona'. It was copied to the whole team.

I really hope that the word 'persona' was a typo for 'personality' as otherwise I'm at a loss as how myself or the whole team are meant to not interpret this as that she is calling me a fake.

Aibu?

Op, I hope your last day goes well. I think once you've been out for a few weeks, and settled in your new role you might look back and cringe a little.

Yes, she likely was biting her tongue when she wrote it. Clearly there have been significant issues, between you and management, it's why you're leaving, so they will hardly be gutted you're going. So she's played the game, even if she doesn't mean it.

Giving gifts the day before you leave , writing personal cards, then actually emailing everyone to say you're doing it smacks of massive attention seeking, let's be honest you could easily have done that the last day and sent the email then, and I suspect you were hoping it would prompt or guilt trip them into doing something for you today in return.

Because leaving is a massive deal for you. And you want to feel it's a massive deal for them, that you'll be missed ans they are gutted you're going and blame management.

I'm sure you'll get a lovely send off from your team, but do remember that it's always going to be a bigger deal to you than anyone else. Tomorrow everyone will just get on with it.

I don't think there is any suggestion the colleagues gave been mean so notes or gifts for tgem are not a work 'persona', they are genuine.

Being polite on the face of unfair, possibke illegal activity on the part of her employer is not a persona, it is a choice of how to deal with something.

OP if I had lost my pension because someone unfairly pushed me out of my job, I'd look at constructive dismissal.

Work colleagues can be fabulous and in my life three have becone genuine friends.

But I've worked with 100s of nice people who were only ever colleagues. I would not worry what they thought of me after I had left the work place.

I might also assume they her English isn't great and she used persona for personality. It might sound a bit like she was having a swipe too to be honest "unique" isn't an unambiguously positive description and can be a passive aggressive way of insulting someone.

I feel for you and I get what you’re saying and why you are feeling like that .
I really hope you can put this behind you and move forward in a better job and nicer work environment

In my work place it is normal for the team to provide cakes etc, then a card signed by all who wish to and donations from all staff (who wish to) t9 buy a present. But other work places may be different of course.

The person leaving doesn't buy gifts/cakes/cards, it's the other way round. I've worked in many many places and this is always the case.

OP, you sound like hard work.

If you react at work they way you react on here, I'm not surprised your co-workers think you're fake.

Agree with what @MuchBetterNow said.

Sorry, I should say Work colleagues can be fabulous and in my life about 10 have became genuine friends. But I worked with hundreds of others. What I meant was once they leave work and I leave it etc I don't mind what ex colleagues think of me.

Sadly I think she probably did mean it unkindly. She doesn't sound unique at all and her personality sounds unpleasant.

I think you're just upsetting yourself in the long run here tbh OP. Whether she did or didn't mean it in the way you ate worrying she did, clearly there are issues at work- not everyone has to like you. They work with you and likely don't even really know you. Peoples work personas are usually not their home personas, though I don't that as a dig in this instance regardless. Her saying you made a 'unique' contribution maybe but not that.

Being treated badly at work must have been awful but I would leave all of it behind entirely since its negative and start anew. Analysing this isn't going to do you any good.

Drama llama

She used the word correctly and it doesn't have to be negative.