Sorry you had a bad experience at your last workplace place Catlover. Good on you for ending things positively even though I'm sure you felt lousy. You know, I think you find those sorts of people just about anywhere you work but some places are worse than others. I am retired and do volunteer work and one would thing when you are working with volunteers in agencies that serve the needy, you wouldn't find that sort of pettiness but not so! I've found a few difficult people there also. One woman was particularly difficult when I first started this gig but over time it smoothed out. I did take some toughening up on my part. I had to decide I wasn't going to allow her to interfere with something I was enjoying doing and I think once she saw she wasn't getting under my skin (I'll admit I had to fake this for a while because she did annoy and frighten me at first :-), she gave up. We are friendly now but I wouldn't choose her to go to the movie or dinner with

Anyway, of course you are feeling skittish after a bad experience but maybe you'll find a place to work that is a bit friendlier than the last and maybe you've had some insight that this is, sadly, the nature of just about any workplace. Unfortunately those high-schoolish people are still running around in adult bodies (!) and some acceptance and developing ways of managing things on your part is necessary for the greater good of employment.

Best wishes to you.