You might be wondering why I haven't posted in well over a month. Since my last post I have quit my first job out of college and been hired to work as an executive assistant to a doctor/scientist at a local hospital. It may sound silly, but this whole transition thing has drastically changed my daily attitude toward going to work and my notions of how people act in the workplace.
I like to think that not everyone knows how awful my last job was as a bilingual paralegal at a law firm. I sincerely hope that my opinions and complaints didn't permeate all of my social interactions. But, as can be imagined, those close to me definitely were aware of my unhappiness.
Here's what it breaks down to: I had a horrible boss for nine and a half months of my life. And when I say horrible, I mean disgusting, inappropriate, mean, nasty, you name it.
Micro-manager to the core, this man would eavesdrop on my phone conversations and correct the words out of my mouth, citing my tendency to be "too nice" and "too polite." He'd watch me go to the bathroom in disdain, as if how could I become unchained to my desk on his time? I'd arrive in the morning to answer the phone to his screaming voice-- how dare I include the subdivision of an insurance company when addressing an envelope? That's not the way the mailman wants to see it and certainly I was going to lead to the ultimate poverty of each and every one of his clients because the mail would not end up in the right place on their behalf.
Maybe I most enjoyed when he called my cell at 9:30pm on a Saturday, only to grill me about my caseload, or when he'd ring me just as I left the office, shrieking about my unacceptable behavior of forgetting to take a file out of the file cabinet. "Completely unacceptable," he'd say, "and it's going to be noted in your personnel file." Yes, my personnel file, the one that was so far buried under all of his disgusting mess that he wouldn't be able to find it for evidence if he decided to sue me for royally ruining his life.
Sometimes dealing with this irrational man even became funny. When he took his week long vacation to the Caribbean, he called me the first day at 4:15pm, right before our office closed.
"I want you to call me at 4:15 every day for the rest of the week," he explained. "You didn't do that today, but that's OK because I didn't tell you to."
Right. I forgot that I was supposed to develop mind reading skills in college.
Anyway, that's over and done with. I've moved on to a much better place, where I find myself surrounded by cheerful coworkers who invite me to happy hours and lunches. (It should be noted, however, that my former co-workers are amazing and we've stuck by each other through thick and thin-- love you both!) I have also learned to appreciate the subtle gestures in life: I smile internally every time my new boss politely requests my assistance and I appreciate each and every time he thanks me for my help. I'm no longer told "JUST DO WHAT I TELL YOU," but rather spoken to respectfully, as if I'm a real person.
When I think back on it, I realize that beyond learning a lesson in how to treat and manage your employees, I'm mainly happy that I got the last word:
One Monday, well aware that the evil presence in my life was waiting god-knows-where for his car to be towed, I decided to give him a call to announce my departure. He wanted, of course, to know why I made my decision, and I explained that it was because of his lack of any sort of common decency toward me.
"I really don't appreciate you saying things like 'You don't remember who this lawyer is? I should send you to go be a waitress so that you learn how to remember things!'"
It's like dude, I got a college degree, and from a much better school than you ever went to, so you can stop insulting my intelligence right now. K thanks.
Unsure of how to respond, he made some sort of sarcastic comment about how he hopes that I "have a nice life" but that I "have some growing up to do."
My response?
"I hope you treat the next person you hire better than you treat me."
I proceeded to clean my desk, being sure to discard of my thousand newly-printed and expensive business cards that he just had printed for me.
Karma's a bitch, aint it?
XOXO,
RC
