I am a frustrated employee. So frustrated it has reached a point I could blow off and loose it. But I am not going to do that, I am going to disguise my bitterness with sarcastic replies. I’m still in control of my life, I just dont know how to read people’s minds. Hypothetically that is part of my ‘job description’ but it beats me. Just this morning, I was gratified by my new ability to be able to answer questions promptly as often required of me, I said I dint know…and that is where the trouble begun.
You know you are unhappy at work when you arrive at the office every morning scared as sh*t because you know what’s coming at you. As a result you look for every excuse to have ‘alone time’ so as to avoid coming into contact with your boss and generally procrastinating things because of the emotional distress you know you will have to deal with. Its not healthy. I have ‘the more the merrier‘ attitude so I prefer to get lost in the crowd whenever I’m too tired to deal with issues. However, I work for a small firm where its my duty to practically take care of everything..which means I cant run away from my ‘problem’. So I have to find a way of coping, I just dont know how at the moment.
THESE ARE THE COMMON SIGNS OF UNHAPPINESS AT WORK
Spending Sunday night worrying about Monday morning: I never sleep well on Sunday night because I’m worried about going to work on Monday morning. My job is very stressful so I always have to prepare myself for the psychological torture well before Monday morning.
Focus on the money: If you don’t like your job, you will mostly focus on the salary and perks. When we’re unhappy at work we get a lot more competitive. Its simple, when work doesnt give us happiness and enjoyment we want ot get something else out of it and what else is there but good compensation?
Countdown to after-hours: You know you are unhappy when the first thing you do in the morning is calculate the number of hours until you can leave the office. Ironically, this makes the work day feel even longer.
No friends at work: This speaks for itself. Woo unto those who work in a Company with only two employees and one of them being the boss, which simply means no-one to socialize with apart from your work load. Studies show that workplace engagement is one of the factors that predict happiness at work. I pre-occupy myself with planning for after-work activities that way looking forward to dealing with people who don’t suck the energy out of me. It’s actually good to have people to talk to about the chaos at your workplace…this is not the case for people working in small firms.
You dont care about anything: Things can go well or they can go bad for your workplace, either way you dont really give a damn. This is the point I have reached, doing my work mechanically and letting go of any emotional attachment to my workplace. I’m way too de-motivated to even care what happens, I’m just expecting the worse. When you’re unhappy you care mostly about yourself and not so much about the workplace…I mean, what value to I get at the end of the day apart from constant criticism.
Small things bug you: Small annoyances become irritating i.e someone taking the last coffee without brewing a new pot, loud bickering or even someone sitting on your chair! Once the life and motivation has gone out of you, You become cynical, tired, uncreative, negative, depressed, stressed or even sick! When you are unhappy you have much thinner skin and a short fuse, it takes a lot less to annoy you.
When one is unhappy at work you are prone to experience physical stress symptoms. Many people think that sometimes you’ve just got to STFU and take the sucky job because you need the money. Its unfortunate for an economy like ours that bosses dictate and bully employees because they have the power…at times its OK to stand up for yourself. Leaving a bad job may cost you some money but what will keeping it cost you?
The risk of being fired is the biggest axe a manager holds over employees heads. 
A boss may be unpleasant(but of-course they all delude themselves that they are the most pleasant persons to work with), always complains and never acknowledges a job well done. People live in fear of being fired and therefore they tend to;
- Take crap
- Accept bullying and harassment
- Mask their real personalities
- Hide their real opinions
- Accept low/ unfair salaries and horrible working conditions
- Kiss ass
- Avoid complaining about any problems they see
It is especially hard working for an Ego Maniac. These are the kind of bosses who initially appear charismatic, kind and understanding but get to work more with them and you will get enough crap to write a damn book! They have unrealistically high standards 
and end up focussing on details and small stuff to even see the big picture. They come across as fussy and hyper-critical and find it much easier to criticize even tiny faults in others than praise exceptional performance. Its good to work for an over-achiever on the grounds that you will learn alot from them but some bosses just take it too far. They can never be wrong. Try telling them until you’re sore in the face but they will still disregard you on the basis of ‘a person of my calibre cant do that‘. At times I believe they need to see a doctor and get professional help on how to take it easy. They are so sure of their own talents they often have a huge sence of entitlement. After all, they are perfect, so why shouldn’t they be treated differently from everyone else? The rules that apply to others simply dont apply to them- atleast in their own minds. Honestly, they are self-absorbed, highly opinionated and total pains to work with because they think they are never wrong. Their way of doing things has to be the right, right? Unfortunately the rest of us just see them as crazy bosses with little grasp on reality.
I have spent sleepless nights tossing and turning, thinking of how best to deal with difficult people and I have come to the conclusion that we simply cant. The best bet we have is setting boundaries (which obviously they don’t respect) or ignoring them which is totally impossible when dealing with a micro-manager. So I withdraw emotionally and use sarcasm as a coping mechanism. 
This morning I was told “you don’t want to take responsibility for your actions because you’re protecting your ego” and I said “I dint even know I had an ego in the first place. Thanks for pointing that out, there wont be a repeat of the same, how stupid of me!.” All the while I knew my ego had nothing to do with it because I couldn’t care less about my status, I am just here for the money. Anyway, I deal with difficult people by letting them think they are right when in reality I think they’re overly crazy and need professional help.
Workplace bullying is here to stay, 
we just have to find ways to avoid all the drama and the people that cause it. But at-least I get to learn how NOT to treat employees from all this crazy encounters in my workplace, so I would make a good boss one day 🙂
I have been hibernating over the past 2 months while waiting for call backs from interviews I have had. And while hibernating and having all the time to myself I have come to learn a few thing about me that I didn’t even know!! According to this personality test I did for one of my interviews I found out that I am a Harmonizer 😀 This is kind of strange because I have always termed myself a fighter!
I like to treat myself well every now and then. I have a passion for fashion and enjoy expressing myself in a different way everyday. I started working out…and I don’t mean going to the gym. I jog around the estate every morning, go swimming at-least twice a week and dance like a crazy person when I am alone in the house.
But in all honesty, all this activities just leave me hungry and I end up eating more than I would have if I din’t exercise so maybe I should just keep calm and let nature take its course.
The true mark of success is having a stable job, a happy home and great friends.
AkinyiViv 
