Post # 1
Member
1133 posts
Bumble bee
Long story short, I hate my job and it’s made me hate the field I work in. I’ve been at my current job for 8 months. It was originally a contract position, 32 hours a week, 4 days a week. DH got laid off permanently on Christmas Day last year from his full time salaried job, and has been working minimum wage part time retail jobs ever since. While I get only $1 over minimum wage, it is in my field, and helped pay our bills.
When I got married in May, we moved and since this job isn’t on a bus route and we only have 1 car, I asked if I could work 2 days a week at home and 2 from the office. This has helped greatly with our bills and schedules.
Some issues arised on my day off and I received a nasty email this morning scolding me (this happens every time, once was in person and he talked to me like I was a child and made me out to be a complete idiot). Then he tells me I no longer am able to work from home and I have to be in the office every day now. I don’t want to post too many details in fear of someone I know finding this, but there are other things verbally that have happened.
I should mention I got this job through an employment agency, who because the contact ended with them, I am no longer with but have been emailing them again to see what they can do for me.
Has anyone had to deal with a toxic work environment? My issue is now, if I quit, I lose 70% of our income. On the other hand, if I keep this for now (I signed a contract until Sept 30), I have to take a cab here daily which will cost us an extra $150 a week.
Anyone been in the same position before? There is no HR unfortunately.
Post # 2
Member
336 posts
Helper bee
To be honest, not every company is flexible enough to let their employees work from home, especially if the reason is “bad commute” and not something more serious. I’m not trying to sound harsh, but arranging for your transportation to the office is your responsibility – not your boss’s. It sounds like there have been some inconsistencies in your work (as you described Facebook posts not going through). It doesn’t necessarily matter if it’s your fault or not; your boss understandably expects you to fix the issue in a timely manner. However, in your defense your boss did not provide feedback professionally. He should not have sent you a nasty email, yelled at you or spoke to you condescendingly. In addition, it was inconsiderate of him to not ask you about your wedding (though in my experience not all guys in the workplace like to talk about these kinds of things). But a toxic boss? I think he’s been quite lenient letting you work from home. In his mind, he thinks you’re more productive in the office. If you can talk to him professionally about why those Facebook “errors” occurred and why they won’t happen again, perhaps he will change his mind.
Post # 3
Member
834 posts
Busy bee
Maybe my definition of a toxic work environment differs greatly from yours? To me it just sounds like he punished you for something that you were supposed to do and didn’t. I know things happen, but if you know the Facebook post don’t go through sometimes, then maybe you should back frequently as it is your responsibility. He is upset because he pays you to advertise accordingly and it wasn’t done. Your work environment sounds pretty nice to me, so I don’t really know what to tell you there.
As far as you not liking your job and it not paying enough, only you can change that. My recommendation is to totally surprise him. Go above and beyond for him. Make sure all your duties are done, on time, and exceed his expectations and in the meantime apply for every job that even remotely interests you
If you choose to leave, you will need a decent reference and he may he decide to let you go back to work from home.
Post # 4
Member
1037 posts
Bumble bee
If posting on facebook is your responsibility then you need to check if it posted properly, even if it’s your day off. Especially if it’s something like facebook, you can check that from your phone.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable that he wants you to work in the office from now on, because usually if a company lets someone work from home they have proven to be extremely reliable because it really is a special perk.
It does suck that you are not happy with your job right now, hang in there until you find a new job!
Post # 5
Member
6013 posts
Bee Keeper
- Wedding: October 2019 - City, State
Scorpio88: I’m sorry you feel bad but this doesn’t sound “toxic” to me.
In fact it sounds like you got a lot of flexibility. What they are asking of you is not unreasonable. In 99% of jobs it’s your responsbility to work out your own transportation. Usually when you get to work from home it’s because you can be relied on even when you aren’t physically in the office. It seems as though you just dropped the ball on the posting and now he has lost trust in you. that would happen at any job regardless. I would love to see what your version of a nasty email is. And yes you are being punished for not doing your job. Which is also to be expected. And by punished I mean you are losing the freedom you were generously given.
I think it sounds like you have a supervisor who expects to have a reliable employee. that’s it.