An associate of mine just started working for a company as of this week. He told me he can't stand it there. For one, no one looks him in the eye when they speak to him. And second, his new boss treats and talks to him as if he was just a tool. My friend thinks it is extremely poor firm to be spoken to in such a way. He said, "they pay me for my expertise, not my dignity."
This reminded me of every company I ever worked at. When you get in, you immediately deal with the same archetypes; the jealous guy who is afraid you'll steal his job, the boss who treats you poorly because he is paying you, the socially inept underlings that are reluctant to talk to you, And the person who thinks they are better than you and constantly wants to test your bonafides.
Perhaps it's a tribal mentality. Until you achieve some weird right of passage, you are not treated as an equal in your latest position. But on that first day, you are sized up. And it gets awkward.
The worst case of first day weirdness for me, came about two years ago. After getting introduced to everyone in the office, one person came up to me when no one was around. He said, "I know you have a lot of experience, your new, but I'm the electrical engineer around here. It has to go through me first. You better talk to me first before you do anything." I just said, "good to know," what else could you do in this situation? Afterwards, I avoided him at all costs. Self proclaimed gurus and office bullies make every day unbearable. The best strategy, by the way, is to ignore them.
What first day nightmares do you have?
Cabe
