Hi all,I will try to keep this as concise as possible!
I recently started a new full time position with an organization I’ve worked with for over 2 years as a freelancer. I’ve always loved the team and the work, which is why I was over the moon to get offered full time employment in a role I felt comfortable in, in a space I also felt comfortable in, good jobs aren’t easy to come by in my field and city. And for the most part, I am still pretty happy and proud of my work so far. The team is small, there are 4 of us in a VERY small office, there’s a director, my supervisor (at least for now, used to be my mentor) and myself and another staff member. The fact that my supervisor has helped me a lot in my career as they used to be a mentor has clearly made for a very clear power dynamic even if I have achieved success or a similar status at this point in time… I get complimented on my work quite often and perhaps this is starting to rub them the wrong way, I am still unsure about that part…
Both me and this other staff member started a little over a month ago at the same time. This other individual is brand new to the organization and role and perhaps for that reason is quick to get overwhelmed. Now, I should say I myself still have a lot to learn, I have not received any sort of onboarding documentation… we’ve had so much thrown on our plate these past few weeks I know my supervisor has not really had time to train us both fully so I’ve been kind of winging it for the most part and doing what I know how to do. But at times I have started to feel aimless and also VERY MUCH ignored. The office politics are starting to frustrate me quite a bit.
Our director is always busy and doing his own thing … and I THINK has noticed this weird dynamic happening and would support me as well, I just have not taken anything up the level yet or figured out how to phrase things without making things much much worse.
I should note: this other new employee is best friends with some of my supervisors friends and I think there is a bit of a pressure to impress them and NOT piss them off for these reasons. They have a very dominant personality and has no qualms with stating what they are upset with or don’t like which is much different from me… but it’s obviously intimidating to others. There is a show being put on with this other new coworker when they’re around as well… and they are being talked to MUCH differently. When they walk in in the morning it’s “good morning darling!” and when I do it’s silent or asking to make coffee lol.
This other individual has had their hand held every day and when I ask a question I get ignored or brushed off entirely. When they ask a question it’s “let’s sit down and chat this out” and when I do I’m sort of told to just… figure it out. “Sleuth it” or even google it lol. They are treated like a princess and the star of the show.
I’m the baby of the group (if you can say that), I’m 30 and everyone else is 40+… it has been a stressful environment for a large number of reasons. I’m definitely a bit more introverted, I never command or dominate a room, and that is not working in my advantage at the moment but I also have just really not wanted to step on any toes and it’s not who I am. Everyone else has a very big personality and this other new coworker has complained about a number of things since day 1 so as it stands there is a laundry list of things that has been changed/adjusted to suit their needs and anxieties:
\- Desk moved and office rearranged to suit their personal needs
\- New chair and other office equipment
\- New air conditioning system
\- Reworking of their job duties to relieve the stressful or unenjoyable tasks…. to name a few.
A few times I’ve gotten very annoyed because I get brushed off at any mention or question. A couple weeks ago I got very stressed because I had to run a meeting that I never got briefed on how to do or what even happens in the meetings typically, and I was feeling very aimless and stupid. When I brought up these stresses to my supervisor the response I got was to “see how I feel in a few months if I like the job position or not”. Today I brought up one other thing that I found a bit stressful and was told “well you won’t be able to do this job then”…. when the other new employee complains about things that stress them out every single day and they get accommodated… no questions asked, whether it be a new chair for comfort or a task that they find overwhelming.
Now I have done my best to stay silent and not make much mention of how this has been stressing me out but I am getting treated with very little respect and I know I may need to take it up a level but since it’s such a small staff I don’t want to step on any toes. I know my supervisor really wants to be friends with this new staff member and feels a certain need to cater to them because they want to be friends and whatnot but I am getting treated like chopped liver and even worse if I bring it up.
I’m fantastic at what I do, but it’s still nice to get some guidance sometimes and of course respect when I’ve been there a little over a month. Some days are great… but god forbid I bring up anything that is frustrating ME specifically or talk about how I’ve been feeling.
Any advice on how to proceed?