To feel so stupid ? New job problems

[nereef]

I started a new job last Wednesday.
12 of us started and I hate it.
I'm quite a shy person.
All I wanted to do was come in,learn the job and crack on.
First day we had to stand up and talk about ourselves for 5 mins (fair enough ) then they did a presentation on the company.
They got everyone to read a paragraph each out loud to the rest of the group(seriously felt as if I was back in school,I was stuttering my words and didn't take in any info as I was concentrating so hard not to get my paragraph wrong)
Now the beginning of each day and end of the day ..they do a quiz.
We have to get in teams of 4 and when we know the answer (we have to mooo like a cow and say the answer)
Now tomorrow it's a dance off.
This is a contact centre for a well known mobile phone company.
I feel so stupid doing all this.
They are wasting the day with all this rubbish instead of learning the company products.
I would have learnt more if they had gave me a manual.
Aibu here or is this ridiculous?

OP is there nobody you can mention this to? Tell them you are suffering massively with your anxiety and you will not be made to perform these fucking idiot tasks as they're affecting your mental health?!

I used to work for a place like this in derby and omg it was awful it really was like being back at school

That's ridiculous. I work in a contact centre and there's none of that shite, our manager tried to get us to do a zoom catch up and we all went WhatsApp works just FINE thanks
Sometimes we have daft things like cutting out snowflakes to decorate at Christmas or would you rather have monster munch for feet or hands emails but that's it
It's a tiny team, we all get on and they recruit carefully to make sure of that. I would (and could) happily tell my boss to piss off if he tried any of that all of us would

Been in a group situation a few times when I outright refused to do what the facilitator wanted us to do. On each occasion someone else followed up by saying "no" as well.

I refused to sit on the floor on one training course because Im disabled/arthritic. Another attendee said she was also unwilling to do this as she thought it was "childish".

Ive also been in situations where someone tried to morally blackmail me by telling me I was "letting down the team". My response was that I was not put on the earth to function in a random group of people."

I also outright refused to give to staff collections which I think are a racket. Another women who had opened her bag to give something then closed it and said that she was not going to contribute on this occasion as she did not know the person.

Once you begin refusing to be pressured and bamboozled the more empowered you feel.

Yabu as you posted this the other day

EE ought to be shamed for this, utterly appalling. Now I know they make their employees moo like a cow and have dance-offs, I shall make sure I never use them. I sympathize, that is awful @nereef.
I worked in a similar sort of company early naughties where they used to make us dress up in school uniform. I would have hoped this sort of shit was well over. I would get out.

Seriously? You have to moo? That is so weird! You have my sympathy I would hate this.

I dont know; I'd say this is pretty common in the sector. I worked in a call centre when I was younger and they constantly did stuff like this. It was a very young workforce with a lot of travellers and a high turnover.
I think it's not an easy job, can be high stress and there is a need to destress at the end of the day. It's not for everyone and it sounds like you might not be the best fit for it. You wouldnt be the only one-I didn't like it, but did it until I found something more suited. Some people loved it, of course!

Bloodynhell it's like fraternity house entrance tests for dick heads - is this Epsilon Epsilon Mu ... 🤡🤡🤡🤡

That sounds horrendous OP. I would hate this kind of thing being imposed on me and probably wouldn't be able to stay at the job. I suppose it's all in the name of "team building" and "cohesion" but I wonder how effective that actually is when it's only catering for extroverts and clowns!

I'm introverted generally but have great people skills if I'm left to it myself (and my job involves a lot of working with people). This wouldn't be an appropriate induction for my personality at all. Saying they have any kind of focus on "wellbeing" is absolutely ridiculous if they're forcing people to do things like this.

If you do leave, please try to tell the manager the reason why - that it wasn't to do with the job itself but the induction. That is the only way this will ever be sorted out for those working there in the future. How do your colleagues feel about it, out of interest? Do they think it's degrading too?

@Loopylobes

This sounds like training you to be controlled and abused. If it were happening in the context of a relationship, you'd be advised to walk awa PDQ.

You are being exposed to pressures to adjust your personal boundaries and accept things you wouldn't usually so that you will be easier to push into behaving badly in your day job.
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This.

Talking to HR is a really good suggestion. That way if they let you go, you will be able to access benefits easier.

If you would rather not, can you get signed off by your Gp? Hopefully then the company will let you go.

As pp have said I would arrive early or stay later one day and speak to manager and just tell them of this experience. As a manager I would be mortified our training team were doing this and this was someone’s first impression of our company. I get that they are trying to be “fun” but there is a line and it sounds here it’s been overstepped especially if you are getting anxious and want to leave.

I'd have to leave. What utter hell.

You just know that a consultant somewhere has got a lucrative racket in coming up with this crap. Anyone on here need a new patio? I've got a spade!

You need to leave. This would seriously affect my mental health in a very bad way.
They will loose good staff this way.

This is my idea of hell. Not a job I could stay in I'm afraid.

Look this sort of thing is all bollocks obviously but I don't think posters are being helpful.

If you want the job, put your game face on and join in with as good grace as you can muster.

Alternatively you can resign. I see no other alternative.

If your anxiety or MH is so bad that you cannot cope with this sort of team building crap, then it is unlikely you will be able to cope with being shouted at by dickheads ringing up EE to whinge about their phones not working.

If you think you can do the main job and only need to get through the training, if I was you I would just suck it up. Pretend you are in a play and are acting out a person who would do this wacky stuff. There's a saying about 'being in the world but not affected by it' can you find a friend in training who you can buddy up with? You could slag the training off at break times and drop each other looks when the weirdness goes up a gear. Just power through, we all have to do things we don't want to sometimes.

This sounds truly horrific and humiliating. I am sure you aren't the only one in the group who feels like this. I would find it really hard to continue. Hopd you can find something else.

Jesus. Horrific. I wouldn’t do it.

You are definitely not being unreasonable. How awful, sounds like an awful company to work for. I hope if you decide to leave you find something else soon. Hope you slept.

@THisbackwithavengeance

Look this sort of thing is all bollocks obviously but I don't think posters are being helpful.

If you want the job, put your game face on and join in with as good grace as you can muster.

Alternatively you can resign. I see no other alternative.

If your anxiety or MH is so bad that you cannot cope with this sort of team building crap, then it is unlikely you will be able to cope with being shouted at by dickheads ringing up EE to whinge about their phones not working.

Are you the trainer?

Julie or is more “user-friendly” than Ranvir? Why is that? Yes, it is 2021.

THisbackwithavengance, for someone suffering with anxiety it isn’t just a matter of putting on your game face.

What awful bullshit nonsense.

If you really need the job, go in a bit early and say you can't take part in the dance off (for gods sake) as you've got an issue with your joints, mobility, back or whatever and you don't want to risk an injury.

Take deep breaths before any 'performance' type stuff. Remember there will be others there who hate this sort of thing too. Find them and commiserate.

I did call centre work for a bit and we had to do some stupid stuff in training but we didn't have to do anything like that. Car insurance and for a bank. Maybe ring an agency and see if they can find you a different position?

Have you done call centre work before OP? Because all of this is just setting you up for the crap you have to deal with from customers.