I’m not really sure where to post this, but here seemed a good option!

Yesterday, I was called in to my supervisors office and given a “counseling”. I was told there were several anonymous employee complaints about me. The complaints were: (1) My attitude is off-putting. (2) I do not enforce staff compliance, such as only two employees allowed to be on break simultaneously. (3) I do not interact enough with patients.

I thought I got along well with my co-workers and patients! I had no idea anyone was complaining about me behind my back. It was embarrassing, to say the least!

I struggle with social interactions (Diagnosis of agoraphobia without panic disorder, PTSD, and RAD), so hearing this was a big hit to me emotionally because I thought I was doing well. Now... I feel like everyone is whispering behind my back, and humiliated that I didn’t realize I was disliked.

Today, I did my job to the best of my ability, and kept to myself. I did not attempt to socialize, kept things as professional as possible, and just focused on the tasks I needed to complete.

How do I move forward emotionally? Although, I held myself in check, all I wanted to do was hide and cry all day long! Every co-worker I saw, I wondered if they were one of the alleged “several” that complained about me and could feel my heart rate increase and face begin to burn from embarrassment.

I should add, I only work directly with 4 other employees (and I am their direct supervisor). I am the lead nurse on a dedicated COVID-19 Unit (38 bed unit). Facility wide, there are 6 individual units, 1200+ employees, and +/- 900 patient capacity. I have no way of knowing if “my” employees complained, or if the complaints came from other facility co-workers (whom I do not have direct interaction with since my unit is isolated from the rest of the facility.