I have to do a horrible job I was NOT hired for

Post Reply New Topic

I'm not in a great state right now so sorry if this is a little incoherent.
Last summer I had a part time job at the company where my mom works. It was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. I had to get up at 5 in the morning, the work was mind-numbingly tedious, my coworkers were terrible and I never had enough work to do so I did a lot of nothing. It was absolutely awful and completely ruined my summer. The only way I made it through the summer was by being half asleep all the time so I felt distanced from my misery.
Now I have a full time internship at the same company but in a different department. There was a lot of trouble getting started but now the job is much better and I'm glad I have it. Today my boss told me that the department I was in last year wanted me to work there for a few days because they need extra help. I didn't even do actual work last year, I just swept the floor and took the garbage out, but she insisted they would show me what to do. As soon as I got there I felt like throwing up. Last summer I was numb enough not to notice how miserable I was, but today everything came flooding back. I may have been on the edge of a panic attack when I told them I had to use the bathroom. I needed to get out of there, it was making me sick and I couldn't do that job again. I wasn't hired to do that, if I had known this would happen I would never have taken the job. Once I had calmed down I found my mom (who also works there) and told her the situation. She said I worked there all last summer so why couldn't I be there a few more days? I kept saying she didn't understand and she said she did, she mentioned another family member who has problems with jobs but she said it like it was my fault and I just need to deal with it. She won't understand I feel sick going back there, I can't do this job again but my boss told me to and I'll get fired if I don't even though I wasn't supposed to have to do that again. Normally my parents are very understanding but no one will understand and I don't know what to do except just get fired.

That sounds like a nasty situation to be in. It sounds like you got traumatized in that place and now you have that PTSD. I don't know if sick leave is an option. I don't want to make you think about the job or the place, but aren't there any coping strategies you could try to carry it a bit better?
On the other hand, being in the same company, in the same building, there is always that "risk" so maybe looking for another job is not a bad idea if you want to prevent this from happening in the future.

That sounds so incredibly stressful and triggering... Oh my goodness =(. I am so sorry you had to deal with that! It sucks because there's a fine line between "this isn't my job" and like "should I be a team player and do it even though this is stressing me out?" I struggle with this feeling often.

I'm not sure if you are looking for acknowledgement/validation, or solutions, so, I will offer both and you can take what you need Your struggles are very valid.

As for possible solutions, I wonder if your employers would be receptive to a conversation about your expectations at work/you explaining your struggles? A conversation about what they specifically expect from you might help you prepare yourself for what's coming. I'm sorry your mom wasn't there to help... That could have been a great chance for her to advocate for you, but she only made you feel worse. I wonder if she needs a talk too about all the things you wrote down in your original post?

Hang in there... I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully things get better at work for you soon ʕ´•ᴥ•`ʔ

I forgot to mention.. maybe you can look for new jobs in the meantime? That way if you do quit/get fired you can have something to fall back onto? Again, sorry you're in this situation, and if you're not looking for solutions, feel free to ignore this!

Thanks everyone for the responses. I had an emergency phone call with my therapist which helped. I'm just going to be honest about what I need and if they don't like it, that's fine because I've had enough of their nonsense anyway. I can't easily look for another job because I'm just working for the summer while I'm home from college, but at the same time that's good because I don't need this job to put food on the table, I'm just filling up my bank account.