If you’ve been keeping up with my work saga, I have another installment for you. A brief little recap: I left my previous job of 12 years due to toxicity and a lack of opportunities. Where I was is where I would remain. No moving up in position or pay. My manager at the time told me if, for some reason, this new job didn’t pan out that, he would hire me back. The direct quote was, “If it’s 30 days, 90 days, a year - it doesn’t matter. If yours is already filled, I’ll create a position for you to return to.” So, off I went to give this new opportunity a go. Only the onboarding was terrible. No one knew anything. The person training me was disliked by everyone. No one was listening to my suggestions. And after my first week, I had no idea why they had hired me.
Fast forward a month, and after minimal training and several hours of LinkedIn learning - they terminated the person who was supposed to train me. Suddenly they expected me to handle all of the accounting processes for our organization and two others. This was on top of regular duties. We lost our Assistant Vice President to a different school that week too, and the Executive Assistant I was looking forward to learning more from moved out of her role. Three team members from different divisions started helping me navigate the chaos, but they also had their own jobs. The instructions were, “Just keep the lights on.” There were filing cabinets and boxes stacked taller than me. I didn't have the credentials to complete tasks through our main accounts, and no one had any process information. The only accounting resource we had couldn’t touch our financials because our foundation didn’t want to pay for those services. Then I had different university departments reaching out about scholarships and grants that I had no clue about. And the motto from our President seemed to be, “Just figure it out.”
I reached out to my old boss, but the answer was, “I wish I could hire you back, but….” So, much for that, huh? Two weeks later, I was informed they had posted a receptionist position. It would appear that they wanted to hire someone else for less pay. Which is fine, and I don't blame them. I did leave after all. It just made me question my previous boss’ words. And whether anything that was said before I left was even genuine. I guess it's true when they say as an employee, you're replaceable. I was a little bummed, but I figured there was a bigger picture I wasn’t seeing yet. And did I really want to dive back into a toxic work environment? Anyway, I decided to move on from the idea that my previous employer would be able to help me out. And by the end of January, there were more dumpster fire days at this new job than not. Some afternoons I went home to cry. I felt like an idiot and completely incompetent. Then school started back up, and I began to stress. Though, if I'm honest, I looked forward to the days I had a class because they got me away from the office. Kind of sad, huh?
Thankfully, at the beginning of February, someone was hired to help me. And she’s been an enormous blessing. Before she came on board, though, two remarkable women stepped up and had been helping me pretty much every day throughout this whole fiasco. And it was such a huge difference to work with people who lift each other up. They're ready whenever I have questions or need to bounce some ideas off of them. On rough days, there’s chocolate or coffee offered, and a “Let’s sit down and work through this together.” When I talked about my strengths and weaknesses, they listened. And we’ve talked about getting me back onto the career path I want once the dust settles. Because even if it means that I transfer out of this role, they want me to be happy at my job. And that’s what helps me get through most of my days.
While the meetings may feel like they never stop, and I still don’t know what I’m doing half the time, I think I’ve found my people. The work environment is one that I enjoy; it's just the job I'm having difficulties with. So, I’m chugging along. I know it won’t feel this chaotic forever, and I have a great team around me. The hope is that everything will smooth over after a year, and we’ll have more of a routine. Or maybe a new opportunity might arise? Whatever it is, I know I have people in my corner, and that’s such a great feeling. So, for now, I’m just hunkered down. I’m doing the best that I can, and that’s all I can really do.
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