Problematic work situations

[Yellow]

Hi everyone,
I am stuck in a work situation and I am pretty angry about it. I am finding it hard to figure out how to deal with this situation.

My supervisor (and the director) think that I am irresponsible, that I need to "step up." I am not going to blame the director for anything because whatever she knows is biased because my supervisor told her so. Anyway, I do not think I am irresponsible. There is an issue that I wasn't even aware of (because it wasn't communicated to me properly) and now it has become a huge problem for my supervisor to deal with. She thinks because I did not take care of it the way she wanted me to, I am irresponsible and not taking my job seriously . I should also mention that the project this is about went VERY well, despite of me being sick and unable to make it on the main day.

I believe I am very responsible and committed, may be even more than I should be. Two days before the big day, I got sick and had to call paramedics. I did not want to go to the hospital because I knew it will take long and I had work next morning. There was stuff that I had to take care of for the big day. After the project ended, I was invited to a meeting with my supervisor and director to talk about my performance and I was asked to step up because I did not do something exactly how my supervisor wanted me to.

Now, a couple other facts:

-Every time I went to see her, she was worried about something and she tried to tell me something, but I was not sure what it was. I always felt under appreciated and pushed after meeting with her. This was her trying to tell me how to work on a part of the project with NO clear instructions. I can see that she was trying to be nice. But in being so, she failed to give me clear instructions.

-Also, this is the first project that I worked on, with her. She just started working here last month. The supervisor before her, was in NO way like her. He was awesome!

- After only the first project, and after noticing one thing not going right, she took the matter to the director. I do NOT think that is appropriate. She did not even talk to me about it!

-The conversation with the director was directed at my lack of responsibility . There wasn't much space for me to talk about how I was feeling about all of that. I was not asked for what I think.

-The most annoying part of it all is, she did not consider that there might be other reasons why things did not happen the way she wanted them to. She concluded that I was irresponsible without giving a single thought to how well the event well. I did all the work for it!!

-Also, I am a student intern here. This is a part time position at school. They know and I know that this is a learning opportunity for me. I want to learn. I know now why she wanted me to work on that a certain way and I have no reasons to not do that next time. However, I had reasons why I did not do it her way (which I didn't even know about and had completely different judgments) this time.

I am pissed that she did not even consider that there could be other reasons why it did not happen the way she wanted it to.

Now, I am angry and I want to talk to her. But I don't know how to go talk to her calmly. Part of me wants to talk to her in the tone she talked to me in. Urgh, I don't want to make this job situation any worse.

Please tell me what would be a professional, mature manner to tell her that her judgment of me makes me feel like my effort, my commitment to the job, my honesty, my sense of responsibility, my determination at work has all been disrespected. That I feel disrespected as a human being for not having asked what I think about this situation and been told to "go home and think about it."

I am sorry this ended up being such a long read.

[ns123]

So far, what you've written, sounds to me like she's already made conclusions about you. And she's not interested in how you feel or how you see the situation. She just wants you to do as you are told. She will tell you how it is, and how it goes, and you have no input. This is what your post sounds like to me.

So, my question is, is this the kind of person you want to continue working for? And if you do have a conversation with her, so far, based on your own words, it does not look like she's open to any input from you. Evident by the meeting with her and the director, they did not give you a chance to tell your side of the story. They just laid down the law.

If you want to keep this job, you are certainly free to talk to your supervisor about it. Based on what you said, it doesn't sound to me like anything will change, but that's just me. I may be wrong about that.

If it were me in your situation, I would have a conversation about it. And request a meeting with her and director again. Make sure your side is heard. Tell her that you were sick. That you called the paramedics. That you did go above and beyond, but because they did not see it, they did not even consider ask you. Just one conversation. Instead, it was judgment and conclusions. Not understanding. Instead they chose the think the worst, and that has taught you a valuable lesson. And then, I'd resign.

All business problems are people problems - and when you have a boss that does not value your opinions or listens for the whole story before judging, that's not a supportive environment in which you can learn.

[Yellow]

Thanks for your input, ns123.

If this continues, I am not going to continue this job. I am going to have a talk with my supervisor and let my director know what I think my supervisor failed to consider. If after talking to my supervisor, I don't see that it is going to get any better, I am going to talk to my director too. Or maybe I will talk to her regardless of how it goes with supervisor.

There are 4 student interns here and we all feel like there is little respect for us. Even though, the place we work at tries to maintain a reputation that students are their first priority, we are facing these situations. This is the first time I personally had to face something like this. But now, I am thinking, all four of us should go talk to them.

Also, I like this job. It gives me opportunities to explore beyond my comfort zone and learn a lot. It is a contract for this academic year. I have about 5 months left in this job. I know this will going to end soon. So, I am not worried about keeping or quitting. I want to do what is in my power to bring it to their attention how they are not working well. It is, after all, for us students. It is the student center at my school.

The only thing I am confused about is how to not be disrespectful to my supervisor in response. I am angry about the situation and I am finding it difficult to control my emotions and sound professional.

[Yellow]

Woohoo, they fired me.