The Piece of Work
I worked for a small company [there were three of us, myself included]. The office is located in a
less-than-desirable neighborhood, and is constantly inundated with vagrants.
I accepted the position as it offered an opportunity for financial and personal growth.
I was advised in the interview that I needed to be patient, and understanding as the company was
getting on its feet and still had some things to get together. I understood, but should have
thought about the patience thing a bit more. I had two requests when I was hired - a security
system and direct deposit.
When I started, I had no desk. I had no computer and no printer. However, I was expected to type up
documents and print them out. Finally, I would just use my boss's computer to get things done.
Eventually, the computer ended up on my desk, but my desk became a communal desk and I was perpetually
kicked out of my desk so my coworkers could work. As time progressed, they each had their own desks
and computers but preferred mine. This was frustrating as all of my paperwork would get shuffled around
and I would acquire random pieces of projects that made no sense.
When I would do things, my boss would triple and quadruple-check everything, perpetually questioning my work.
When I would confront him about it, he wouldn't pay attention. He was unable to hold a conversation with
anyone and focus on what was going on - he would simply continually repeat the same moot point continually
until the other person got frustrated enough and ended the conversation. In his mind, he was always right,
and incapable of making a mistake.
He would never follow through on things, and was perpetually losing paperwork that had pertinent
information on it. When this happened, it was my fault because I should have known better. My boss
was also perpetually convinced that SBC and UPS were out to get him and would continually turn off his
services just to spite him. [The reason the service was interrupted was because he didn't pay the bills].
I was in charge of ordering samples and literature. If we were low on anything, I was accused of not
doing my job. When I did order replacements, I was accused of taking advantage of the system and abusing
our privileges. There was no happy medium.
My boss also had nervous twitches including a continual throat clearing, a nervous tick, and the
inability to sit still - he was always stomping his feet, tapping pens, or slamming drawers shut.
In addition to his physical tendencies, he also trusted no one. Everyone, no matter who the person was,
was out to get him.
When I started coming into my own and bringing in money for the company, I was promised commission.
However, I was berated because clients only wanted to deal with me. He was offended that his staff
was more knowledgeable than him about anything and would perpetually butt in on any conversation to
prove this. If I had solely worked on a project, he would call the client up and have the exact
conversation I had had with them. He would triple the work for everyone that did business with us,
which greatly frustrated customers.
I was never paid my commissions. When I brought up the subject, I was told that I needed to do my job
better [given that I was continually set up to fail, this was an impossibility] and that his bills were
more important. Until his mortgage was paid up, I wasn't getting paid.
There were discussions of a merger with another company, but I was never privy to any of the information.
That was until I had to type up the business plan. The plan included someone else in my position, and my
position being obsolete - and my boss didn't think anything of having me type this up. The merger never
happened, but I started a job search that day - it was an accelerating factor.
The next day I came in, my desk was rearranged, reorganized, and I had no idea where anything was located.
My boss had come in over the weekend and was using my desk [because he didn't want to use his computer]
and decided he didn't like where I had things organized. I spent three days trying to figure out where
things were located. The same day, I also received a lecture about not vacuuming the office.
There was no vacuum located in the office.
Finally, I had had enough mental abuse and started a job search. Luckily, the search came to fruition
quickly, and I accepted an offer from a different company. When I told my boss that I was quitting,
I was blamed for everything that was wrong in his life [because he was incapable of ever being wrong]
and that I quit intentionally to sabotage him and his business [because he trusted no one].
I got lectured for telling people that I was leaving, even though all I told them was that I received
another offer. I was told that I was too impatient [two years is apparently not a long time to be patient
when you work at a community desk and don't get paid] and that I was stupid. It was this point in time
that my boss would break out into fits of rage for no apparent purpose, and subsequently blame then on me.
As my two weeks came to a close, things went from bad to miserable. I had all privileges taken away from
me - the phones, all files were moved, and I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone. I did my job the best that
I could during this time, created a manual about how to do my job, and drew the business I could handle
to a close or to a point that they could be undertaken by someone else.
When I packed up my desk, the box was searched. I was questioned about the snacks that I had packed
up and my coffee mug - he thought they were his. He argued with me over a box of oatmeal that I had
bought earlier in the month that he swore was his.
At 5:00 on my last day, my boss asked me to train him how to do my job. I graciously told him that I
had to leave and my time was through, but I felt guilty. I stayed for twenty minutes, during which he
gave up on learning how to do my job because it was too difficult. I was again blamed for his future failure.
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