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933127
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Default Nov 04, 2020 at 07:48 PM
  #1
This was my first full time job after graduating from college with a degree in Accounting. I had an interview at a mid-sized government contracting firm. My interview with the Accounting Controller and the two other accountants felt odd. They did not seem to have read my resume at all. The Accounting Controller had a thick accent and thought I majored in Accounting and Computer Science. My resume clearly stated I minored in IT. The other two accountants also did not seem to have read my resume either. Within 20 minutes on my way home, I got a call that they’d like to hire me, the recruiter told me the job position was open for quite some time and they really needed the position filled.

When I started my first week, it was a mess. One of the accountants (her name was “V”) gave me a very quick training on the accounting software they used, the base period funding for gov’t contracts I had to keep track of, tracking payments and issuing checks for subcontractors and some payroll related tasks. I had absolutely no past experience. Training was not very thorough and many other nuances were not covered. So I asked the other accountant (his name was “E”) and the Accounting Controller for help on things I did not understand. The procedure and steps they told me to follow were completely different from what “V” taught me and as a result I made quite a few mistakes.

Within my second week I would ask questions/clarifications. They would be either too busy or irritated with me. They would tell me to study my notes and figure things out with the materials I was given. I would study my notes and the materials available. There was a lot of technical stuff about government contracting I needed help with. I needed an actual explanation and step by step instructions. “V” told me it was not possible, I need to be able to figure these idiosyncrasies myself and I need to “think” for myself. I followed her advice and tried to self teach myself and did my job. I made a lot of mistakes. I was called in to meet with my three coworkers, they were furious.

“E” told me I need to do and follow what I am told. “V” told me I need to respect the system, open my mind, think critically, stop examining things under a microscope and asking bad questions, think about the bigger picture and make connections. The Accounting Controller simply told me to watch my mannerism and the way I talk to people. The critique was very harsh and did not really help me.

I got slightly better 6 months in but still made mistakes and struggled at times. I got a lot of unwarranted criticism during that time. Whenever I made a mistake, “E” and “V” would interrogate me with questions as to what happened. When the answer I gave them was not what they wanted to hear, they would become enraged. “E” mocked me when I stuttered once and told me I reminded him of Dustin Hoffman from the movie Rain Man. Dustin Hoffman played an autistic man in the movie. “V” would yell at me and asked me if I had a learning disability. Both “E” and “V” hated it whenever I paused and collected my thoughts before I answered. They told me to stop zoning out and I looked stupid whenever I did that. In one incident I had a hard time understanding what the Accounting Controller had told me due to her thick accent. When I asked her to repeat the instructions, she slammed her hands on the desk and asked me why I was so difficult to work with.

9 months later I was getting a lot better with a lot less mistakes. I overheard the three of them talking about their personal gripes about me in a conference room as I walked by. Among them were my social interactions. According to them I had a strange distinct blank stare whenever I was spoken to and before I answered questions. It annoyed them because I looked like an idiot. Few days later I was called into the Accounting Controller’s office, the HR lady was there as well. I was told to sign a Performance Improvement Plan. In the plan I was to perform my duties without asking for any help, I was told if I needed to communicate with my three colleagues, it had to be through email only.

I naively signed it; I wanted to prove my coworkers wrong. During my 1 month Performance Improvement Plan, I was written up for very petty things. I was written up for not understanding my tasks when I asked for a quick clarification on a particular expense and whether it was considered billable under a particular gov’t contract. I was also written up for not following orders/unable to do my job when I noticed something unusual about a payment remittance meant for a government contract coding. I brought it up to “E”, he told me to come back later he was “tired”. Moments later the Accounting Controller stormed into my office and yelled at me for not being able to do my job. “E” looked into the case, I was right, the payment remittance coding was not correct. There was no apology.

I failed my Performance Improvement Plan and was fired. I found a new job 2 months later, which is still my current job. In my current job I was given step by step instructions how to do my job, no one asked me if I had autism or made any other unwarranted advice/criticism about me.

Was my previous job a toxic workplace? They simply hired they wrong guy?
Was I in the wrong job?

What do you guys think?
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Default Nov 04, 2020 at 09:33 PM
  #2
Dear 933127,

You've had such a hard life. I can't even imagine what you have been through. I wish I knew enough to offer you an insightful answer to the questions you pose. Hopefully other wiser people will see your post and offer you helpful opinions!

Sincerely yours, Yao Wen
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Default Nov 05, 2020 at 07:30 PM
  #3
It was a terrible toxic place. Just awful. I can’t believe they get away with bullying and harassing new employee.
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Default Nov 07, 2020 at 10:31 PM
  #4
I would have arrived with two buckets of water one for'E' and one for' V'

Move on with the new normal grounded position they will still be there in years to come, just forget them!
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Default Nov 08, 2020 at 03:52 AM
  #5
Its a shame asshole contracts cant be signed by bad employers.

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Default Nov 08, 2020 at 05:51 AM
  #6
Its a world of abuse at work and school wt bullies and power. Women or Men, if you dont "fit", you get look at negatively.

Try to not take it personally in a negative way . ... its a tuff world. I heard many in Supervision post have a bit or lot of sociopatic treats. Its a power play .
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Default Nov 16, 2020 at 11:49 PM
  #7
Quote:
Originally Posted by 933127 View Post
This was my first full time job after graduating from college with a degree in Accounting. I had an interview at a mid-sized government contracting firm. My interview with the Accounting Controller and the two other accountants felt odd. They did not seem to have read my resume at all. The Accounting Controller had a thick accent and thought I majored in Accounting and Computer Science. My resume clearly stated I minored in IT. The other two accountants also did not seem to have read my resume either. Within 20 minutes on my way home, I got a call that they’d like to hire me, the recruiter told me the job position was open for quite some time and they really needed the position filled.

When I started my first week, it was a mess. One of the accountants (her name was “V”) gave me a very quick training on the accounting software they used, the base period funding for gov’t contracts I had to keep track of, tracking payments and issuing checks for subcontractors and some payroll related tasks. I had absolutely no past experience. Training was not very thorough and many other nuances were not covered. So I asked the other accountant (his name was “E”) and the Accounting Controller for help on things I did not understand. The procedure and steps they told me to follow were completely different from what “V” taught me and as a result I made quite a few mistakes.

Within my second week I would ask questions/clarifications. They would be either too busy or irritated with me. They would tell me to study my notes and figure things out with the materials I was given. I would study my notes and the materials available. There was a lot of technical stuff about government contracting I needed help with. I needed an actual explanation and step by step instructions. “V” told me it was not possible, I need to be able to figure these idiosyncrasies myself and I need to “think” for myself. I followed her advice and tried to self teach myself and did my job. I made a lot of mistakes. I was called in to meet with my three coworkers, they were furious.

“E” told me I need to do and follow what I am told. “V” told me I need to respect the system, open my mind, think critically, stop examining things under a microscope and asking bad questions, think about the bigger picture and make connections. The Accounting Controller simply told me to watch my mannerism and the way I talk to people. The critique was very harsh and did not really help me.

I got slightly better 6 months in but still made mistakes and struggled at times. I got a lot of unwarranted criticism during that time. Whenever I made a mistake, “E” and “V” would interrogate me with questions as to what happened. When the answer I gave them was not what they wanted to hear, they would become enraged. “E” mocked me when I stuttered once and told me I reminded him of Dustin Hoffman from the movie Rain Man. Dustin Hoffman played an autistic man in the movie. “V” would yell at me and asked me if I had a learning disability. Both “E” and “V” hated it whenever I paused and collected my thoughts before I answered. They told me to stop zoning out and I looked stupid whenever I did that. In one incident I had a hard time understanding what the Accounting Controller had told me due to her thick accent. When I asked her to repeat the instructions, she slammed her hands on the desk and asked me why I was so difficult to work with.

9 months later I was getting a lot better with a lot less mistakes. I overheard the three of them talking about their personal gripes about me in a conference room as I walked by. Among them were my social interactions. According to them I had a strange distinct blank stare whenever I was spoken to and before I answered questions. It annoyed them because I looked like an idiot. Few days later I was called into the Accounting Controller’s office, the HR lady was there as well. I was told to sign a Performance Improvement Plan. In the plan I was to perform my duties without asking for any help, I was told if I needed to communicate with my three colleagues, it had to be through email only.

I naively signed it; I wanted to prove my coworkers wrong. During my 1 month Performance Improvement Plan, I was written up for very petty things. I was written up for not understanding my tasks when I asked for a quick clarification on a particular expense and whether it was considered billable under a particular gov’t contract. I was also written up for not following orders/unable to do my job when I noticed something unusual about a payment remittance meant for a government contract coding. I brought it up to “E”, he told me to come back later he was “tired”. Moments later the Accounting Controller stormed into my office and yelled at me for not being able to do my job. “E” looked into the case, I was right, the payment remittance coding was not correct. There was no apology.

I failed my Performance Improvement Plan and was fired. I found a new job 2 months later, which is still my current job. In my current job I was given step by step instructions how to do my job, no one asked me if I had autism or made any other unwarranted advice/criticism about me.

Was my previous job a toxic workplace? They simply hired they wrong guy?
Was I in the wrong job?

What do you guys think?
Friend, that was beyond toxic, that was psychotic. Thank goodness they fired you, and you are somewhere that is treating you better. They didn't hire the wrong guy. They had no clue how to train or manage people, and they did a disservice hiring someone who would need some training and guidance.

As a manager and employer myself, it can be a challenge to train new employees and give them the time to learn. It can be hard not to let the stress you feel as a manager or employer/business owner seep out into your interactions with an employee, and sometimes they do, but what you experienced wasn't a boss under stress. It was just terrible management and leadership.

I'm sorry.

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Primary Dx: C-PTSD and Severe Chronic Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder
Secondary Dx: Generalized Anxiety Disorder with mild Agoraphobia.

Meds I've tried: Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Effexor, Remeron, Elavil, Wellbutrin, Risperidone, Abilify, Prazosin, Paxil, Trazadone, Tramadol, Topomax, Xanax, Propranolol, Valium, Visteril, Vraylar, Selinor, Clonopin, Ambien

Treatments I've done: CBT, DBT, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Talk therapy, psychotherapy, exercise, diet, sleeping more, sleeping less...
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Default Dec 04, 2020 at 12:51 PM
  #8
It all depends on how you was in the job, your performance wasnt great, maybe you was in the wrong job, or it just wasnt your day.
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Default Dec 05, 2020 at 03:47 PM
  #9
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Originally Posted by Prycejosh1987 View Post
It all depends on how you was in the job, your performance wasnt great, maybe you was in the wrong job, or it just wasnt your day.
I feel like to say who could perform when you're being potentially tormented. triggered and mobbed.
And after the two months honeymoon period it's get's openly obviously tricky.
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Default Dec 05, 2020 at 04:17 PM
  #10
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Originally Posted by ShaneG View Post
I feel like to say who could perform when you're being potentially tormented. triggered and mobbed.

And after the two months honeymoon period it's get's openly obviously tricky.
Agreed. Also, regardless of performance the OP asked for guidance to do the job better and was targeted for it.

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Primary Dx: C-PTSD and Severe Chronic Treatment Resistant Major Depressive Disorder
Secondary Dx: Generalized Anxiety Disorder with mild Agoraphobia.

Meds I've tried: Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Effexor, Remeron, Elavil, Wellbutrin, Risperidone, Abilify, Prazosin, Paxil, Trazadone, Tramadol, Topomax, Xanax, Propranolol, Valium, Visteril, Vraylar, Selinor, Clonopin, Ambien

Treatments I've done: CBT, DBT, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Talk therapy, psychotherapy, exercise, diet, sleeping more, sleeping less...
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Default Dec 14, 2020 at 12:51 AM
  #11
Quote:
Originally Posted by 933127 View Post
In my current job I was given step by step instructions how to do my job, no one asked me if I had autism or made any other unwarranted advice/criticism about me.

Was my previous job a toxic workplace? They simply hired they wrong guy?
Was I in the wrong job?

What do you guys think?
You should/will need to process the emotional trauma from all this. This was incredibly toxic, yes. None of this was your fault, I repeat none.
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Default Dec 14, 2020 at 06:56 AM
  #12
Quote:
Originally Posted by 933127 View Post

I failed my Performance Improvement Plan and was fired. I found a new job 2 months later, which is still my current job. In my current job I was given step by step instructions how to do my job, no one asked me if I had autism or made any other unwarranted advice/criticism about me.

Was my previous job a toxic workplace? They simply hired they wrong guy?
Was I in the wrong job?

What do you guys think?
Having sub-contracted with my local city gov't, and with an international company, YES, you were in a toxic work environment.

It doesn't surprise me that they gaslighted you from the start by improperly training you, and not communicating with each other about what E and V told you to do.

I found that gov't jobs are THE worst b/c those people can't be bothered to properly train new hires. They are too lazy, too apathetic, and too stuck in their ways to care enough to train new hires.

And it doesn't surprise me that they made you sign a performance plan. Never do that again. Those are set up to sabotage the person on the plan. That's why they create it. They need a legitimate reason to fire the person, so they create these "plans" which are ludicrous because they are impossible to follow without being penalized.

Glad you found a better job. Never ever work for any gov't contractor again. Now that you know what type of work environment exists for them, avoid them like the plague.

I experienced the same thing. I was hired to support a sales team. However, they were in another building and I was in the basement in another building all by myself, in a cubicle. No one else was around me. It was really toxic.

I could only use instant messages to communicate with the sales team. They picked off myself and the other hired 6 temps, one by one; firing each of us after "creating a file" on us, where they made up petty lies, gaslighted each of us, and fired us before our contracts ended so that they didn't have to pay the temp agency fee required.
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Default Dec 16, 2020 at 08:01 AM
  #13
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alive99 View Post
You should/will need to process the emotional trauma from all this. This was incredibly toxic, yes. None of this was your fault, I repeat none.
Very good advice given.
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