I started a new remote position and was flown down to Florida to meet my co-workers and boss. My first day in town a group takes me out to lunch and immediately begins trash talking a coworker who wasn’t in the office that day. It was regarding how she raises her child and then was followed up by comments about how there is not father in the house, just 2 mothers.
One the way back to the office my boss asked me what I thought about boys having pedicures. I said “I think its just like boys having manicures” trying to evade the conversation. She continues to explain how awful it is that this coworkers son has glitter nail polish on his feet and sometimes wears a purse and her own child can’t understand it because ‘boys don’t wear purses”. She went on to bring up the “don’t say gay” act and how wonderful it is because kids don’t need to know about transgendered people.
Moments after we returned to the office I was approached by a coworker regarding the St. Louis school shooting (since that is where i am from). She then went on a rant about how the world is getting worse and showed me a Tucker Carlson news clip of a “cross dresser” dancing inappropriately at a high school. She explained to me how disgusted she was with these people. Then tells me their coworker wonders why her son has so many problems when his “parents are lesbians”. I didn’t know how to respond so i said nothing.
This was just day 1.
Day 2 – the same coworker found out that I own a home with a woman (I didn’t share this with her). She was very concerned and asked me to explain my living situation, how our living spaces are separated from one another, and wanted me to detail the layout of my home so she could understand our living situation. It was very clear to me she was trying to confirm my sexual orientation.
I was really triggered by all of these interactions because I am not like minded in any way with them, I just met them and it was all INCREDIBLY unprofessional. I feel really strongly that I need to find a new job even though i just started this one. I wont have to see these people but 1 week or so out of the year, but knowing they are who I am dealing with I am not sure I can stay here in good conscious. I still have the rest of the week with them. I don’t know if I am overreacting by wanting to leave as soon as possible but I just don’t know what to do. I am in total shock by the conversations that were just openly happening.