Mudslinging in the Office

After reading CAG's posts regarding some slander going around the office about her, I was inspired to write about this topic.

I happen to work in a field where females are in the minority. If you speak to my manager, however, he'll tell you something entirely different but the fact of the matter is - women just aren't prevalent. I'm not going to sit here and cry about injustice or anything but I know that I have to work harder, be tougher, whatever.

I know that my silliness and friendly demeanor are perceived by some negatively - but its also been one of my greatest strengths. I hate to say this - as much as I hate people sometimes... I'm a people person. This helps in my line of work and most of my business contacts love me.

Last year, I experienced my first real dose of how being a woman around here can be shitty. I was going for a promotion that quite honestly should have been HANDED to me on a silver f'n platter but instead, I had to jump through hoops and do a song & dance for management. I was pissed and confused since I had been an asset to this group for several years. I possessed the knowledge of all the systems and even was one of the few who helped launch the products. Why am I not getting promoted? I turned to my mentor for guidance.

She gave me some great words of wisdom and acknowledged that its a tough environment for women. I agreed and thanked her for her help.

Then I got kicked in the back. I won't say stabbed because it wasn't that serious but the kick still hurt. I had found out from another manager that my mentor was in fact giving me negative reviews. Wha...?! None of this was conveyed directly to me. What's the deal?

So whatever. I got promoted but it wasn't a pretty ride to get here. I guess what really hurt me the most was that I felt betrayed not only by my own mentor, but by my own gender. All of the women around here agree about the challenges we face because we have vaginas where babies sometimes fall out from... so you'd think we'd unite and back each other up, right?

WRONG.

Its the woman around here that are the gossip-mongers, mudslingers, back-stabbers, and overall turds. And its infuriating! I guess the viewpoint around here is that there are only X number of positions for women so we're all scrambling to kick the others out of the way.

CAG's situation has me super pissed and I told her she should take her grievances to HR. See - on top of the overall hardships women face in this industry... when you add being young and single to the mix, forget it. You're screwed. Ever since a ring was put on my finger, I have seen how perceptions about me have changed and its absolutely ridiculous.

CAG is being accused of trying to seduce a young engaged fella... a fella whom she's friends with outside of work. Where is this accusation coming from? Because she talks to him. Oh no! The scandal! She MUST be trying to break up his engagement because she's single and has boobs.

Do you guys see this in your workplace? How do you handle it?

Yarg! Stupid Group Lunches!

So I'm going to be a whiny brat for a minute.

I hate group lunches at the office. Hate them. Why? I work with a group of some of the cheapest mofos I have ever met. Even so - I'm generally too polite to cause a stir and suck it up to OVERpay my share just to keep things kosher.

I've pretty much hit my limit today. Why did my $8 sandwich end up costing me $16? oh yeah, because I'm paying for a portion of everyone else's meals, the appetizer that you didn't even SHARE and your drinks! Fun fun.

Assholes.