I have been working full time for the last 7 years. It has been a sweet and sour journey. I have worked on different platforms, acquired fast friends, good supportive seniors who still back me with their references. I am really lucky and respect them a lot.
And there are those young ones, freshers, straight out of college. I have to counsel them on so many things; they even call me at all unearthly hours for suggestions. From a broken relation, to buying a new ipod, they talk about everything.
I have also faced hostile colleagues; psychic ones, whose main aim is to harm people. I sometimes wonder what leads them to behave as they do.
It was my second job and a new girl joined. She had a beautiful face and an overtly friendly behaviour. We were a large team and as is usual in a team we tend to judge any newcomer. What struck everyone was the force with which she wanted to enter the mainstream discussion. We decided that she was not welcome to be a member. I know it is bad, but it always happens. Within a short time there were some drastic changes. Our Project Leader resigned and some old heads married and left for greener shores. I took a break. I joined back to find that the same new girl with more power. But she was not fit for the new role. It was like giving a loaded gun to a child. The new boss was all praise for her. The timing was bad; I was pregnant with frequent mood swings. The hormones were at foray. I really had a tough time, dealing everything, but I battled with resilience. My strategy of not giving in, escalating and involving the higher authorities worked well and the problem was solved. It took a long time but I picked up some very important skills during that time. Patience, negotiation, communication, team building, trust issues, and I am thankful to that girl for being a part of my professional life. That was another time, and when I remember today, I smile, because I had successfully dealt with the situation, much to my satisfaction. A good management lesson learnt!
In my present job, I had to put on with a rather opinionated lady. She had a word on everything I did. We were at the same level and I did not quite approve of her high handedness. It put me off and I decided not to be friendly with her. At the same time, I sometimes wondered, what people were thinking about my team spirit. In a new company and with so few female employees, I was already not on talking terms with a female employee. This time, I again decided to follow my guts. Recently I heard, she has resigned and I am left to wonder why she had to do it, with all her grand plans of building up a team of her own and making me her humble follower. Another lesson learnt, trust your instinct, most of the times, it is correct.
In all these years, the scale is always balanced, there are either people whom I don’t get along with and slowly realise that they are not quite popular and people who are good, some of them popular, or the quieter ones, with whom I have a good relation.
But this time I am facing a new problem and still do not know how to deal with. I have a new cubicle neighbour. He has suddenly become very friendly and has started commenting on everything, from my lipstick shades, dress sense, food, and whatever else I do. He is trying to invade my privacy. He has sent me an invitation to all the chat ids I have; I still don't know how he found out some of them. He has even given some very off hand tips, like controlling my husband according to my whims. I still don’t know how to react; I have never faced this problem all my life. First, I tried to avoid him, with a cold stare or a mild nod. But it seems he is not getting my message and thinks that these are cues for him to advance more. And I thought that 7 years is a long time to learn quite a few professional lessons. Perhaps I will smile when I overcome this, but for now life is surely becoming miserable.
