So I am stoned on a Thursday morning as I do sometimes and this memory pops in about my former boss and what he told me on the first day of meeting him. Picture the scene. I'm meeting a new boss. I've been there and hired from the previous boss. I want to make a good impression on the new boss because it's very important to not only get extra perks but to me I really don't want a hostile work environment. I also expect him to want to impress us. The job is parking enforcement for the city of Salem circa 2015.
The first thing he says to me, and he is former Washington national guard drill sergeant, is you remind me of one of my platoon mates (idk, soldiers, I don't remember the phrase used) and I can't stand your face because you look just like this insubordinate kid that was under my watch.
And I don't know what the fuck to do with that information. Apologize? It was a horrible beginning to what became a toxic work environment.
My overall point is a workplace can turn to shit because one person with any multitude of personal problems or chip on their shoulder or just an overall garbage human can make work become a hell. These types of traumas added up have burnt me out from their workforce and I haven't had the mental energy to work since 2020. I just chill at home unemployed because I just don't want to spend my life under somebody like this. Well, also I was fired for insubordination, but by his own admission my face reminding him of someone he hates didn't fucking help on top of my rather candid personality that does not fucking fit in or vibe well with a drill sergeant.
I just needed to get this off my chest to what I think is a community that understands the nuances of why American work culture is just so toxic. I only have a couple jobs in my history that were meh and the rest were just mind numbingly terrible that I have compartmentalized the traumatic memories of them.
Doesn't help that I chose parking enforcement, DMV and umpiring as some kind of trifuckta to make me want to die a young age.