A couple of years ago I had a job in an office where I worked for just over a year. There were about 40 regulars in the office, and I'd say about 3/4 of them were men. For my role I would sit in my own separate little room near to the entrance. I would see everybody come in and go out so had frequent interaction with them without being in the middle of it all, which was nice.
But I started to hate it there, over time. I was completely left out and the victim of chauvinistic humour. I didn't flirt with any of them because I focused on my work and so I got called a lesbian. I went on a holiday and when I got back they commented about how they'd been hoping I'd gone to Haiti (around the time of the Earthquake there). They would put a palm to their face anytime I went over to ask something. And loads of other stuff.
My role depended heavily on collecting information from some of the guys and for a number of reasons they weren't always willing to give it to me. I had to get firm with them, and they didn't like it. Then they'd all go out on this same night every week for drinks. I was never invited unless it was a corporate event. I wouldn't have minded, but it felt like everybody else was invited! Worse yet, it felt like they all tried to keep it a secret from me... whispers and shifty eyes. I don't really understand why it was. I never did anything to anyone there, and was always nice to everybody.
I think ultimately the reason I was never invited out was because they didn't like me for some reason and I must admit, I think the reason they didn't like me was because the majority of them were having marital problems and would use these 'nights out' to get off with one another, as happened many times. I think they just thought I was too 'prim and proper' for any of that, plus I took my work quite seriously and maybe they thought I was straight-laced and well-educated (I don't mean to sound like I'm blowing my own horn, but most of the people who worked there had no further education and I think just saw me as "one of those annoying graduates")
It was quite horrible working there actually. I often came home in tears.
But in a way it was one of the best things to happen to me as it spurred me to go travelling. I think, had I been alright there, I would probably have taken the lazy option to just stay - knowing what I was like at the time. But as it happened I went off and did something special and as far as I know they're still there. The whole thing showed me that in every difficult chapter of life, there is always something we can take away or learn from it. These things put us to the test and sometimes they kick us into taking action to make things better. If life was easy, we wouldn't ever appreciate anything or try to make things better for ourselves. So thank you, HorribleOffice, because whilst you made my life a misery for many months you actually did me a massive favour as well.
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