as said previously I’m a nurse, which means the overwhelming majority of employees are women. Gossiping, being unauthentic, cattiness and passive aggressiveness is a daily occurrence.
My current unit: there are 2 men that seem to be completely stoic (I don’t know what word would describe them better): they ignore drama and jabs, even if directed at them, they are punctual with their pauses, I mean really, 30 minutes and that’s it, and can ignore when other coworkers lazy around, even if it means they have to be the ones doing most of the work, extra work they don’t receive any extra money or recognition for.
I am writing in awe, because as much as I’d like to be this thick skinned, I am not. The feeling of being treated unfairly rubs me the wrong way really fast. My strategy so far has been to lazy around so much as my direct coworkers, even if they’re part of an established group at the ward I don’t belong to. They’re the ones supposed to be showing me around and teach me. If they don’t work, why should I?
I believe this is a trait of mine, something nearly impossible to change, it would make more sense to change the setting than trying to change me, to change jobs. I don’t know how to play this game where I am, in a workplace where most employees are women.
But my question remains to all of you who are this thick skinned: how? I don’t understand it. Don’t you find it tiring? Doesn’t it make you feel like shit when you go back home? Don’t you feel taken advantage of?
As a welder turned machinist, is it really so hard to act like an adult as an adult? I’ve seen a bunch of different shops around my area, and hands down the old heads are the worst when it comes to drama. They’re so focused on status and seniority that they forget that it’s just a job.
That being said, work how you want to work, not how you see other people working in your role. “Good enough” is fine for learning, but i want to be good at what I do, not good enough. I like my paycheck, and I like feeling like I earn it too.
I’m actually in a position where I got a raise at work and acknowledgement from my peers where I feel like I’ve been doing average work. I could take that to mean that I’m doing good enough and I can coast. That would be totally normal. But I’m looking at it as encouragement to continue to develop my craft. I tried out some shit on a lathe the other day I’ve only ever seen on crazy Instagram videos, but it worked for what I needed to do, and the part came out acceptable in the end. Now I can continue to expand my experience with confidence.