Posted on by wherethejourneytakesme

dEAr diary ~ collEAgues…who’d have ’em

A bit of a mad day today.  I arrived in work quite early this morning and was met by a desk covered in flowers and presents from colleagues for my birthday tomorrow ( I won’t be at work tomorrow as I don’t work on Thursdays).

I was quite touched and know that I will miss them all when I go.  The flowers are all at home now and in water and I will open the cards and presents tomorrow.

But then…we had a slight upset at work – I cannot go into detail here – but I did wonder if I was at work or playschool!   I suppose it can be hard to accept changes and some of my colleagues in the team I supervise had already decided they are not going to like the new person and have already found something to complain about.

It is all a bit childish really and a little premature I think.  After only three days I found the team’s attitudes a bit difficult to understand but I expect sometimes it just takes time to accept a new personality with new ways and new thoughts.  I actually like my replacement quite a lot and I can see past that initial compulsion new people always seem to have to need to make an impression.  I know I would have enjoyed working with her had I been staying.  She is disappointed I am going and worried how she will get along with a team who are finding fault with her already!  I didn’t leave work until after 7pm tonight as she was so upset by the incident.  I feel bad for her.

I finally got home, had tea and the minute I had finished we had a visit from my friend (who is also a vicar) with another card and gift for tomorrow.  We had a little chat and caught up with the news.  We have many mutual friends who are presently retiring or downsizing or just moving within the area and spent some time catching up with the progress of each of them.  We also established that we are not moving for the foreseeable future and neither is he!

At nine o’clock we had time to relax but it has been a full on day with mixed emotions.  The same colleagues who had showered me with gifts and best wishes had been so different with the new lady.  Puzzling!

I am glad I will be off work now until Tuesday (I am allowed to have Monday off in lieu of my birthday day).  I am hoping everything will have settled down a bit by then and that I will still have a replacement.

Thank you to all the comments from my blogging friends who are offering me such good advice and keeping me sane at the moment – I am so grateful and taking it all on board.

Welcome to new follower Dar (from An Exacting Life) one of my favourite blogs – if you want to read about a book review – this is the site!

Take care  x

8 Replies to “dEAr diary ~ collEAgues…who’d have ’em”

  1. And a Happy Birthday from me when it arrives 🍰🍷
    I’ve been meaning to pop in and say hello for a little while now – no advice from me on how to tackle work issues, I left all that behind me many years ago however I wish you luck with whatever you plan to do with your life after finishing working your notice.

    Take care
    Cathy

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  2. Happy Birthday. One of the delights of working for my husband and being self-employed is none of those work colleagues not getting on issues, or having a boss telling me what to do. Husbands don’t count as bosses! I’m sure after a while they will get to know your replacement and come to appreciate the qualities she brings to the team. It must be hard for them to have both of you in their at the moment stretching their sense of loyalty to you and if they don’t it won’t be your problem as you’ll be off having fun and doing just what you want to do. Enjoy your day.

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    1. Thank you for your comment Penny. I must say I had not thought of the ‘split loyalty’ you mention – that has actually made me stop and think. Although for two of them to go and complain directly to the management after only 2 days is something I have not experienced before, however the two in question are the very vocal members of the group and tell it like it is. I can see some bridge building required next week – maybe I will organise a team meeting so we can thrash things out a bit and hopefully uncover whatever insecurities are surfacing.

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  3. Oh no. Poor woman. I hope she sticks it out. They are probably really sad that you’re leaving and finding the changeover difficult. It’s good that you stayed and reassured the lady replacing you, but a pity that you needed to. Hopefully, by next week things will have calmed down a bit.

    I think all new employees feel a bit of pressure to perform well in a new job, I know I did, but I didn’t really want to change anything for a while, as I didn’t want to step on too many toes.

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    1. I hope she is still there on Tuesday when I am back at work! I was thinking to myself has it always been like this or has there been a shift at work in the recent years where it is becomming a bit of a challenging place and people do not get along anymore.

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  4. Maybe a bit of pop psychology, but I remember when a close colleague of mine was leaving the workplace (with my full support as she had a great opportunity), what shocked me was how much irrational anger I felt after she left. Didn’t know where it was coming from, but I suspect it was from the loss of someone who I had worked closely with and who I cared about. There were few other coworkers with whom I shated that kind of rapport. Luckily I had a great boss, and he just allowed me to vent my feelings with him. Perhaps this is some of what your team is feeling at the moment. They can’t get angry with you, but it’s a bit easier to take it out (albeit foolishly) on someone you don’t know yet though.

    Enjoy your birthday and look forward to the day you don’t have to worry about crazy coworkers! XO

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