I’ve been with my company for nine years. Recently, I started a new position in a department I’d never worked in before, using programs I had zero experience with. Management knew this before moving me over, and I was upfront that it would be a learning process.
About two months in, the workload picked up a little, but I was still figuring things out. Then came the day — the one that made me question a lot about how things are run here.
A file came in that needed to be checked in. Here’s the thing: it wasn’t on my desk. No one handed it to me. No one said, “Hey, this is yours.” Apparently, I was just supposed to know that if something shows up somewhere in the room, I should stop and ask about it — even if it’s not in my workspace.
At our job, downtime is normal and expected. We’re allowed to watch YouTube, movies, or shop online as long as it’s quiet and appropriate. The GM is fine with it, and people in my new department even told me before I started that it’s usually slow. But when there’s work? I always do it right away. Every single time.
That day, I went to lunch, walked past the file, and figured I’d ask about it when I came back. I returned from lunch, and suddenly my manager wanted to “talk.” Except it wasn’t a conversation — it was him raising his voice, telling me if I didn’t “want to work” I should find another job. Over one file. One file I didn’t know was mine, that no one mentioned, and that wasn’t sitting in front of me.
To make it worse, this was the only time anything like this had happened. Every other task I’d been given, I completed immediately. I don’t ignore my work. I don’t procrastinate on assignments. I actually like having something to do.
After that, he restricted my internet access so I could no longer watch videos during downtime — a privilege everyone else still has. Even though the GM himself has no problem with it, suddenly I’m the one being singled out.
Months Later, Still the Same Story
Now, it’s been a few months since that incident, and I still don’t have internet access — while everyone else continues to enjoy theirs. Meanwhile, we still get yelled at for not “always knowing everything,” even when it’s impossible.
For example, recently, keys were left on a desk. Me and another person weren’t even in the building when they showed up, but the manager acted like we should have known about it. He said there were four people in the office, and yet none of us knew about the keys — including the two of us who weren’t even there.
This just highlights the ongoing problem: the blame gets placed on us, the employees, even when the information isn’t shared clearly or at all. It’s frustrating, demoralizing, and honestly, exhausting.
It’s been a tough lesson in how poor communication and unfair management can really wear you down — especially when you want to do your job right.
Have you ever been blamed for something you literally had no way of knowing?
