Resilience, workplace and mental health

[oliviabenson2]

Last year I took a contract role and was told they were sure it would be made permanent. Job role was extended twice, I only had positive feedback but in the end my contract was not made perm and they decided to give the full time graduate intern a perm position instead. It was devastating and handled really publicly (I felt). I found out subsequently from the recruiter that they had fed back to her that I had made ‘tons of mistakes’ yet I had had only positive feedback and genuinely can’t think of any mistakes that I had made. Unfortunately due to Covid I have had time to overly dwell on it all and a) it is sending me slightly mad b) has damaged my confidence.

The only thing I can think of is that half way through the contract I witnessed quite astounding racist incident in the office towards an admin assistant from a senior director and told my direct line manager l, the CEO. The senior director was the main liaison point with the recruiter so wonder whether he bad mouthed me as a revenge.
I appreciate I can’t do anything now, but the fact that that I have taken it all to heart so much is a worry and I wondered if anyone could point t to any books about resilience in the work place etc.

Thank you if you have read so far

how long ago was this? If it was under 3 months then you can still make a claim for discrimination. You can claim harassment because harassment does not just cover the recipient of harassment but anyone who witnessed it and felt intimidated or uncomfortable. I speak from personal experience as someone who witnessed racist behaviour towards a junior colleague - you can make a claim if you witnessed it. You can start the Acas early conciliation process yourself for free and use this to get a settlement agreement and more positive reference. If not, then you can choose to take it further - to tribunal - if you so wish. I used the Acas EC process myself successfully.

Did the graduate intern get your job? What job was it?

I would take the 'tons of mistakes' with a pinch of salt. If they had told the recruiter that it would go permanent and it didn't they are probably just trying to dig themselves out a hole. If the intern got your job, I would assume it would be because they were much much cheaper.

Do not let this knock your confidence. Look at it as a lucky escape. There are some hideous employers out there at the moment. Nurturing and caring for staff seems to have gone out of the window.

Put your energy into finding a new job rather than dwelling on this. It does not warrant your time and attention.