Hi All,
For context I am 23F and work in a heavily regulated industry. I recently passed my exams and obtained my qualification allowing me to officially work unsupervised.
In January, I relocated home and started a new position within this industry that I had no prior experience in. It was a small business and it became immediately evident that senior colleagues didn’t have time to train me in, and I was allowed work unsupervised from the start which goes against the guidelines. In my previous job, I wasn’t even allowed send an email to a client without a senior colleagues approval which would be standard procedure.
I raised concerns that I wasn’t fully comfortable with this and highlighted errors I made as a result, owning up to my mistakes, but was reassured I was more than capable and that the mistakes were easily rectified.
I have a very strong work ethic and a can do attitude, I also have excellent communications skills which transfer to my customer skills positively. The managing director has said on several occassions I am a very valued team member.
However, I have a work colleague 38F who constantly undermines me in my position. She has been there several years and recently became a manager of a different department (not mine) but she has no work ethic and is incredibly lazy, several other colleagues agree. We raised this with the managing director after one horrible Wednesday and the managing director advised this colleague was not in office to help me but train in a new member of staff.
Despite not being my manager, she constantly critiques my work and makes me feel really uncomfortable. The big issue here is she is the managing directors “golden child” who really can’t do any wrong (despite doing a lot of things wrong).
She usually works remotely but has been in the office with my manager and I this week. I kept missing calls from a physiotherapist yesterday and the managing director was aware I had my phone on me and would be nipping out to take this call providing I wasn’t with a client, she was more than understanding and said I do not need to notify her about taking phone calls and should always prioritise my health. My colleague decided to tell me that I shouldn’t be on my phone and said there was talks years ago about staff putting their phones into a locker during their shift despite taking a call from her daughter moments previously. Her tone was horrible.
Once she left, I advised my manager I felt uncomfortable by her comment and stated she creates a hostile environment. My manager said ‘what was that about’ agreeing it was out of line, but her and the colleague are somewhat friendly so she told me to let it in one ear and out the other.
This colleague is clueless and not up to date with the guidelines. Somehow, she found a file I worked on yesterday and sent me an ‘FYI’ email and told me I was wrong to issue a client refund. I emailed back, CC-ing my manager, advising of the guidelines (5 days to issue refunds) and asked for clarity on procedure as I have always worked this way since day 1 without being critiqued. My manager replied advising I was right and the colleague gave a half arsed apology saying procedure must have changed. Procedure changed years ago (before I was even in the industry), not months so she should be aware, again displaying how incompetent she actually is.
Everytime she’s in the office I feel like I am being watched constantly. She somehow locates files I work on and emails ‘FYIS’ about things I’ve done wrong telling me to fix the problem rather being helpful, and advising me how.
We recently had a meeting about bullying and harassment in the workplace and we both attended the same session. The managing director preached about how approachable she is and how she has an open door policy but I experienced first hand any issues retaining to this colleague are simply brushed under a doormat.
AIBU to feel this is intimidation in the workplace?
I have decided to keep all emails stored and a book with time/dates of incidents with this colleague. A friend of mine in the same industry let me know they’d be hiring for a position in August (I more than likely will get) so my plan is to stay until August and then leave, but explain to the managing director as to why I am leaving. I am going to refer all incidents to my manager at the time as I know they won’t be correctly handled (as shown) as support it was highlighted prior to my exit.