Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To feel so stupid ? New job problems

167 replies

nereef · 02/03/2021 20:50

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 posts:
SionnachGlic · 03/03/2021 09:00

I would not let the opportunity of paid employment go without speaking to HR/ Management. This organised fun sounds not only ineffective but also ridiculous with the mooing like a cow. What is the psychology behind it, that you leave your inhibitions behind or just exert control over you? I don't have anxiety but I prefer discourse in a normal environment not taking turns around a room kind of thing & definitely not this kind of carry-on. Go to Management & explain you are very happy to do staff training but you are uncomfortable with some of the training methods. You may find support...but if ypu don't & decide to leave, then at least you'll have tried to resolve before just quitting.

nancywhitehead · 03/03/2021 09:06

@nereef

Thanks everyone I've quit. made a decision last night and feel so much better this morning. Will now be looking for more office based roles. I have administration experience so hopefully will find something. Even if it's just on a temp contract. Thankyou for making me feel like it wasn't me being OTT
Well done.

Did you tell them the reason?

Now that you've left you have nothing to lose by popping them an email/ call with the reasons. It might save someone else from this situation in future.

Nith · 03/03/2021 09:08

Yes, please tell them the reasons. People who come up with this bullshit always smugly justify themselves in the name of team building, staff wellbeing etc: they need to know that it's breaking up teams and harming staff wellbeing.

TwatWaffleTwinkleToes · 03/03/2021 09:08

What is the psychology behind it, that you leave your inhibitions behind or just exert control over you?

The cynic in me says the purpose is the weed out anyone who is not prepared to "just do as they are bloody told", i.e. to be left with employees who don't care or cannot afford to care what they are asked to do, because it'll never be as embrassing as moo-ing for a living Angry

redswinger · 03/03/2021 09:10

There is so much bullshit staff/HR initiatives. We run our own business and when I see the crap that is out there for staff, I howl with laughter...I do wonder at the idiotic nonsense companies fall for and I do also wonder if someone is getting a back hander or doing their mate a favour.
We've just moved all our phones to EE - this kind of crap does put me off them - sorry you had to endure this.

Roselilly36 · 03/03/2021 09:16

You poor thing, sounds rather humiliating too me, I am sure most people wouldn’t enjoy that kind of “fun” either, like you say all you want to do is learn the products and get on with the job, without a load of embarrassing nonsense.

Hopefully things will calm down, but 7 weeks of that, not sure I could stand it. Perhaps they have been watching too much wolf of wall st.

AtSwimTwoBerts · 03/03/2021 09:19

I had similar many years ago. After 2 weeks I said outright "I'm not going to moo or dance etc" (the equivalent). They tried to jolly me into to it but couldn't make me and just ignored me through the rest of the training.
I only lasted a few months in the job anyway.

Roselilly36 · 03/03/2021 09:22

Just read your update OP, you have made the right decision, even my DS who’s nearly 20 thought it sounded bloody ridiculous. Good luck OP, I hope you find something else more suitable very soon.

Brefugee · 03/03/2021 09:22

Good luck!

TrickyD · 03/03/2021 09:30

Actually, I thought it sounded rather good fun.

HUCKMUCK · 03/03/2021 09:31

@nereef

Thanks everyone I've quit. made a decision last night and feel so much better this morning. Will now be looking for more office based roles. I have administration experience so hopefully will find something. Even if it's just on a temp contract. Thankyou for making me feel like it wasn't me being OTT
I've just read your whole thread and I feel so relieved for you!

Hope you find something suitable and non bonkers soon Flowers

Camphillgirl · 03/03/2021 09:34

@nereef

Thanks everyone I've quit. made a decision last night and feel so much better this morning. Will now be looking for more office based roles. I have administration experience so hopefully will find something. Even if it's just on a temp contract. Thankyou for making me feel like it wasn't me being OTT
There it sounds like all that stupid team building actually worked for you...YOU QUIT.

If I have to do that stuff I pretend I am somebody else (Davina or Holly W) and they take over doing the silly stuff. On the good side, you said you were shy, well you had enough confidence to quit good luck in the next job and take everything you learned from this rubbish experience and use it to your advantage.

ScottishStottie · 03/03/2021 09:35

With admin experience it may be worth signing up with a temp agency?

My brother signed with a temp agency between jobs and got regular work, that on multiple occasions led to a longer term contract.

MuddleMoo · 03/03/2021 09:36

Horray! Good luck with the next role Flowers

Dailyhandtowelwash · 03/03/2021 09:41

OP, this wouldn't make me anxious at all, but I would find it deeply infantilising and frustrating. It's not good team building either, unless the aim is to unite you all against the company (maybe that's the hidden agenda?). It's very hard to combat without being seen as The Wrong Sort of Person, particularly when you're so new, and pursuing any sort of formal response is very stressful indeed. Do try though to talk to your manager about how anxious this is making you and explore whether there are any alternatives to this training programme.

Ranvir to Julie is overt racism and it's a shame that person didn't feel able to report it. I realise in reality lots of people put up with lots of discriminatory shit, including me, but it never gets better if no consequences, does it?

I used to work, many years ago, in a public service, which members of the public could call. It wasn't considered customer service back then, just 'answering the phone', and the service was a bit of a magnet for difficult people, so the manager told us not to use our real names. On the wall, there was a list of all of our selected pseudonyms so we could work out who someone had actually spoken to if they called again - we went to town on that and our very ordinary little home counties service employed, from memory, a Hieronymous, a Gandalf, a Fernandina etc. That was probably a bigger team building activity than anything EE are up to.

longtompot · 03/03/2021 09:44

@nereef

It's going to sound silly but when my anxiety is creeping in..I get this weird feeling like I can't swallow. Tonight I feel like I'm having to concentrate when drinking incase I can't swallow. I know it's all this crap setting me off
My anxiety causes me not to be able to swallow. It started a few years ago out of the blue and although now under control, it's still there. It really is the weirdest thing, not even being able to swallow small amounts of water. If I was working somewhere that made me do the team building stuff they are making you do, I'd have to leave. Sadly, to me it does sound a way of weeding out those who won't be able to be firm on the phone calls to customers.
Dailyhandtowelwash · 03/03/2021 09:44

Sorry, I took ages to post that so I see you've quit. Good luck with other roles; it sounds like even beyond the training period you would have struggled with the culture of the company and would always have felt quite miserable, which would be so bad for you.

longtompot · 03/03/2021 09:45

Ah well done! Just seen your update! Onwards and upwards @nereef

CatalinaCasesolver · 03/03/2021 09:45

Sounds utterly horrible and degrading I'm not surprised you feel anxious.

Blufandango · 03/03/2021 09:46

Join the union and talk to the rep. You will not be the only one who hates this.

Blufandango · 03/03/2021 09:47

Well done for quitting, I hope one of the other new starters talks to the union, they tend to be good at EE

CatalinaCasesolver · 03/03/2021 09:48

Just seen your update well done, sometimes you just have to walk away, I've done this a few times and never regretted it.
Good luck for the future!

Ugzbugz · 03/03/2021 09:56

Even though I work in corporate bullshit, I hate it and this is why, I mean how and why are people paid to come up with this embarrassing crap?

I agree its like being at school, its embarrassing, humiliating and pathetic. I pray my son never goes into the world of this utter corporate nonsense.

EnchantedOcean · 03/03/2021 09:59

This sort of nonsense seems to be popular amongst the big 4 accounting firms too. Ridiculous IMO.

ErickBroch · 03/03/2021 10:01

A dance off????? I would have left immediately. I don't blame you! Right call.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.

Swipe left for the next trending thread