"Looked Over "

Being a victim of downsizing I had been lucky to be able to sustain a living until my current career came along. I had researched the company thoroughly and had heard nothing but good things about it from people who knew people that worked there. It was everything I was looking for. A company that promised opportunity, believed in its employees and offered compensation for being a top performer.

Well after a year and a bit of working there these are the events that have conspired: I have applied for 2 positions and received none. The first time I lost out to a guy that had no experience, but was favored by the manager. She was later fired and he moved out of that position because the company was not happy with his performance, so he got a new team. They then gave his old position to a guy that had been with the company for 3 weeks stating they figured this was best because the other guy screwed up so bad a new face would be good for that area. I could understand that. Things were a mess in that area. Although the new guy started off good, now that area is worse then it ever was. A week after, the other guy vacated his spot. On the escalation desk he was given the opportunity to help out with training. Shortly after that the trainer position became available and once again both of us went for it. Well he of course got the position even though [people who attended] the 2 training classes he taught, came out as if they had known nothing. This was because after speaking to several agents that were in his class we found out he had been giving them long lunches, breaks etc. Of course no one can say anything because management won't believe it and will tell us "That can't be true".

The frustrating part about this is the fact that I have more experience than my job allows. I took a pay cut and a drop in position to work for this supposed great company. I have even recently been informed that because my performance evaluation was done incorrectly and even though I was a top performer for last year, that I will not receive a raise after all, because of the category I was put into. I have even been told that I did not deserve to be put in that category and not to worry because no one pays attention to those anyway. Well, more than once that evaluation has come back to be held against me. I guess part of the problem stems from [the fact that] I have more experience than the program manager and site manager above me. I just wish they would be smart enough to recognize me as an asset and not a threat. They certainly do when they get in trouble and need me to help bail them out.

Frustrated Going Nowhere

[This letter has been edited for legibility]

Dear "Frustrated Going Nowhere",

It certainly sounds like you have some legitimate grounds for feeling frustrated. You seem to have landed in a firm where Office Politics is played far too frequently.

Just writing this letter is an important step to have taken. When we are caught in a position where we feel victimized by management making arbitrary decisions and ignoring our contribution, the frustration that results needs to be ventilated.

Dr. John's column is one place you can take those feelings. But you might want to look at other places to go as well. Is there a trusted person you have worked with in the past who can act as a mentor in this situation. Someone who knows you may be able to offer some advice.

Another possible avenue is your companies Human Resources Department. You may have resources there that can be used to help bring your situation to the attention of management. Or there may be some things that H.R. can advise you on about how to get ahead, despite the poor management decisions made to date.

Finally you might want to look at another move. If this seems the best course of action to take be sure to get some counselling about how to present your short stay at this company when talking to potential new employers.

We have a lot of fun here at "Office Politics" with the counter-productive things that people do in the workplace. When you are caught by those sorts of activities and lose out on promotion possibilities there isn't much fun to it.

I wish you well. Thanks for writing.

Dr. John

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