Mean Girls

by Katrina
(Oregon)

I started working at a test engineering facility several months ago. I got along with everyone really well except for two girls. We were all assistants and there were only four females total among a workplace full of men. Starting my first week there, I got nasty emails, glares, eyerolls, and other lovely behaviors from the two girls. They were actually girlfriends, I found out, and for some reason they were working in the same department even though couples are supposed to be separated. Well, apparently that wasn't the only thing they got away with.

I reported their behavior with our contracting company along with the one other woman who was there. They had also been harassing her and plotting to get her fired, which I had heard them say during my first week. The manager with the temp agency was very sympathetic and agreed that their behavior was unprofessional and uncalled for. She agreed to talk to the manager.

The next day she came back and said that our manager told us that we're all temps, and if we don't like something, then we're free to leave. He also said that while there's fights sometimes, we're one "big happy family" at the end of the day.

Their behavior continued to alternate between condescending and ignoring, and when I would ask them for help with something, which my boss told me I should do, they would ignore me or tell me to go look elsewhere. As time went on, some of the other managers absolutely loved my work, and I came to find out that they were working against me with MY manager. Eventually, they framed the other woman there, accusing her of various things that were completely untrue, and she was fired.

Soon after that, I put in my two weeks because I had found a better job. However, I didn't stay because one of the girls sent me this nasty email basically stating that she saw a blog I had written, on my PRIVATE Myspace no less, and had forwarded what I said about her to our manager. I found out that soon after I started, they had made a fake account to spy on me. So, I just left there, because if my manager refused to do anything about harassment, and now stalking, there was no reason to finish out my two weeks.

In situations like that, I think leaving is really the only option available. My manager had no backbone and let the assistants run the place, in fact, choosing who would be hired and doing underhanded things to make the people they didn't like leave or get fired. He also told my supervisor that in choosing another assistant, he should choose someone who gets along with the girls over someone who is intelligent or skilled.

Suffice it to say, I'm very, very glad I didn't spend one more day there.