Hi,
I feel the need to bring up a matter that's been concerning me for some time. I regret not bringing it up before our conversation on Friday (where you informed me I am to be laid off at the end of June). It's been bothering me for some time now.
Several times you have dropped hints that you would like me to do things differently. I have been uncertain how to approach these problems since they were never aired candidly. Due to my mental health problems, which you are aware of, I'm not able to parse through innuendo.
My concerns mainly stem from the change in the environment that I have noticed over the past few weeks. Previously, I had friendly relationships with everyone on the staff. Over the past few weeks, that has changed. This leads me to believe that you have aired your concerns about my performance to the others who work in the office.
As I have said many times before [my workplace] has literally changed my life. The accepting and encouraging atmosphere greatly boosted my confidence and self esteem. To have that change in the last few weeks of my employment is heartbreaking to me. I will walk away from this a better person but I am sad that the wonderful things I experienced here will be tainted by this experience.
While I have only a few more weeks here, I am uncomfortable allowing this situation to go on. Due to my PTSD and other mental health disorders, I am unable to withstand a great deal of stress. Situations that would normally cause a small disruption in a person's life can cause me an overwhelming amount of consternation. I need some resolution so I can continue the next few weeks without being overwhelmed by anxiety.
Please schedule a time when we can sit down and discuss this one on one. Thank you for your efforts.
Sincerely,
DeCryingShame
BACKSTORY
I got a new boss a couple of months ago. She was my coworker and was promoted to the position. I thought it would be an easy transition since we were friends (so I thought) and I'm usually able to work out problems with others respectfully. However, as I said above, she seemed to instead allow irritations to fester and instead of discussing them with me, it appears that she discussed them with everyone else instead. I have known her to gossip.
I work for a nonprofit that makes an effort to create a supportive environment for their clients. In turn, it's been a very supportive work environment as well until recently. Shortly after my boss began dropping hints about me, I noticed a change in the behavior of my coworkers. The encouragement and appreciation I had gotten used to transformed into stony silence. Nothing in my behavior changed during that time.
I would like to do everything in my power to fix the problem and soothe over the relationships. As I said, this place made a powerful impact on me and I don't want to walk away from it like this if I don't have to.
In spite of that, I also want to cover my ass. I'm wondering if I should copy the higher ups on the email. I'm also thinking of sending out an email to my coworkers that doesn't name any names but does tell them I'm concerned about the atmosphere and asks them for feedback. It would be a way to possibly get information from them or just allow them to open up to me about it, if they are inclined to.