Leaving my job as an Administrator, and taking a job as a General Office Assistant, which is, basically, an Office Junior, has felt, in part, a mistake. I could no longer stay at my administration job. It was a very toxic workplace, which made me feel mentally ill. My manger did not believe in people taking a mental health break/moment, as her sister has Bipolar and has never taken an afternoon, day or week off work for mental health reasons, therefore she said that no one else should ever require to take a mental health break. The director also could not understand why I, physically, was unable to talk to my manager, when I would rather take my own life than come back to work. I sat in a room and told them both so, and they said that I was acting like, "A silly child." I had already been looking to leave the company, and had casually been looking for jobs, on and off, but this made me determined to leave.
I had a few interviews at other administration jobs, but I was never the person that they picked for the job, despite feeling as though I did well in the interviews. The only place that offered me a job, is where I am based now. I have returned to a solicitors. Although it is a different law firm, the job is identical to the previous Office Assistant role that I had from 2018-2022. It is less money than my administration job, and I now have to use a considerable chunk of my money on public transport, but at least I am away from the toxic workplace. My only worry is that I have a sinking feeling that I have taken a step backwards, career-wise. I mean, it is a step down. When my current manager interviewed me, he said at the time that I was overqualified for the job. My day-to-day activities and responsibilities are even less than when I was at my previous law firm, but I could never return there either, because the toxicity there was even worse (with a member of staff telling me that I did not deserve my job, and nobody wants me to exist).
So, here I am… sat at my desk, for a very lovely company, feeling like I do not belong. My supervisor is lovely, and I feel as though I get along fine with my manager too. I have only been here four weeks, but after my second week being here, my manager said to me, "It's like you have been here two months, not two weeks." It is a shame that there is not some magical position that they could invent for me. At my old solicitors, I was, "Donna-in-training." Donna was the name of my Office Manager, but as Covid hit, they made all of the office managers redundant. During Covid, I was doing my job, the other Office Assistant's job, the Office Manger's job, the Archivist's job, and the two Receptionists' jobs, but with only being paid an Office Junior salary.
At my new workplace, there is not a lot to do. It is very quiet, most of the time. It has given me the opportunity to work on my mental health, over the last four weeks. I am very worried that here will always be quiet, though. It is not as if I can work my way up either, because my supervisor and manger are very settled here. I am old enough to be the mother of the person working my job, but it seems that the only job I am able to get is this job.
- Josie -
