You know why ADD thinking is bugged in the work place?

What I mean by that term "bugged" is this:

If you brainstormed up a good idea or just came up with 30 different ways to do things more efficiently or what have you, 9 times out of 10 they shoot you down or ignore it or realize its really good and not want you to get credit because of BULL **** OFFICE POLITICS.

So ADD is an automatic instigator of rooting out the people that are too stubborn to allow credit to go where it is due.

Even if your not after someones job - cause your not - this is the way you do things.

Just another random movingshadow thought.
I have delt with it before in my life. I have seen my mother go through it in her work life. I swore to myself long ago that I would never play the work game and I never have. I might in some cases but I don't care about it or take it too seriously like other coworkers would. Becaues I know that if worse comes to worse they will get the horns of the bull. I don't take sheet from no one!

If someone does give me the shiit then wait for them to walk out of the building after work, hiding behind the door - reach-out and grab em, snap their neck. Just kidding.

But seriously if any work place environment tries to screw you over cause you have abilities and because you show potential to make others look bad or whatever the reason - it is just like making a parking lot for motor cycles only and no cars.

It is a neurological hereditary trait - that in it self makes it discrimination.

Amen!

You hit the nail square on the head and HARD!!!!

It's not my fault my supervisor (Ex-supervisor) is a complete incompetant idiot. My department head even asked me if I was delibrately trying to make my supervisor look bad!

No, I'm not!! I'm just trying to abide by the law and get the job done correctly.

I'm a biologist and I used to work for an engineering firm which did development. As a biologist I would be hired to perform listed species surveys, determination of wetlands, and other environmental aspects of the law pertaining to developing and permitting.

Well, my ex-supervisor would advise the client incorrectly and for example say "You do not have any gopher tortoises on your site, you do not need to worry about that." They proceed with permitting everything else and do not bother to do a random survey of the site just to double check.

Then they send me out there to look at something and I look at more than what was in my particular scope. (Can't help it - when I'm sent to investigate trees, I need to watch where I step so I don't step in a hole or step on a snake - ect.)

Anyways - I start finding numerous gopher tortoise burrows.

Well - long story short - They were ready for ground breaking - they even had the mdia scheduled and the golden shovels out and ready. - That is till I got there and said - NO - STOP - ! This entire site needs to be checked for gopher tortoises.

They sh** a brick!

I found 158 burrows!!!!! And I was onsite and started the survey the very next day after Hurricane Wilma hit!!!!! The office was shut down (no power) and everyone else had a paid day off. BUT NO I WORKED A 12 HOUR DAY!!!!!!! Then they have the balls to say I'm not dedicated to my job!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need to calm down and take some meds..

Check back later.

Oh boy Grozlykos, sounds like you were working for a boss who might have been overlooking those things on purpose and you were getting in the way. That might be why he said you weren't his first choice, he probably had someone else who would overlook these things right along with him. I work for a company that works with a lot of government agencies and we have seen this time and time again! I could be wrong in your case, it could just be a simple case of incompetency...then again, maybe not.

Think about it, how much time and money would it take to deal with the gopher tortoises? Is it expensive and/or does it delay or perhaps eliminate development of the land? You said they were at groud breaking with gold shovels and the media...this means there were politicians involved. There was probably some behind the scene power broker who was putting on pressure to make this project happen without any "problems" getting in the way. You got in the way, pointed out an obvious error, embarrassed your boss and the politicians involved and they wanted you outta there! Don't get me wrong, what you did was the absolute right thing to do, but in the eyes of politics, you got in the way. It happens all the time...it happened to my company.

I bet if you did a little digging into election campaign contributions you will find that someone involved with the project (perhaps the developer) made a hefty donation to someone's campaign. This was their pay back for the contribution if you know what I mean. This happens in all levels of government, from local all the way up to federal.

I live and work in the State of NJ and I am sure everyone knows how corrupt NJ is! My company was victimized by a public official who happened to be placed in his position of power to make sure campaign contributors got contracts and to overlook certain things. Since we would not jeopardize our company's reputation by committing fraud he literally tried to destroy us. We had to file a massive lawsuit to get paid for equipment and services we had already provided (hundreds of thousands worth) because we wouldn't lie for him or pay him under the table if you know what I mean. We won the lawsuit, they had to pay substantial damages and he is now under federal and state investigation.

All I am saying is there might be more to this story you need to be aware of so you can make a decision on how to proceed. If what I said is the case, feel free to PM me for more information on how we dealt with things.

When I left high school, I thought I was FINALLY done having to deal with popularity contests and attention-craving showoffs and bullies and histrionic crybabies while wasting my time on completely pointless activities.

Then I got a job with a midsized company. And if anything, it was worse.

It was impossible to get anything done. There were 4 upper-level managers; all of whom felt the need to authorize any kind of new project. Each time I had a new idea or project suggestion, the procedure was as follows:

I'd tell Managers A and B. They'd both seem cool about it. B would agree to have a talk with C and D. If he did (which was rare), he'd explain it so poorly that it made no sense at all, and C and D would (understandably) dismiss it.

So I'd talk with C&D directly, clear things up, and they'd be interested. However B would get offended because he felt that he should be the gatekeeper for communications between them (meaning: he gets to present everyone else's ideas as his own).

I'd get p'd off and tell him flat-out that I bypassed him because he didn't explain my idea properly, and only served to add confusion and waste time. So B he would get all sour, dismiss the whole idea, and stop talking to me.

I'd continue to discuss it with some of the other 3. When B would find out that there was still some interest among the other managers, he'd suddenly become interested again.

Then one of them would see some sort of problem with it. Invariably, it was based on discomfort over the notion that the idea would involve doing something that the company wasn't currently doing. By this point I didn't care about it anymore. So it'd fizzle out, and nothing would get done.

I lasted about 6 months there before I just got too fed up with all the BS.

Well, I was on the phone with a para-legal for the better part of the afternoon. And he picked up on the same thing you did Susanne. I guess I just did not want to admit that, I would so much rather it be he's just incompetant than he's skirting the rules to save time and money for te client. I should have seen the writing on the walls, when a mutual friend was offered a job and she said no because she was afraid they bend the rules for the developers. I tried to defend the company. Boy was I nieve.

I just cannot believe that someone would jeapordize the life of a harmless living being walking creature. These tortoises are not like birds, they connot just get up and fly away when the bulldozers come. No, they run into their burrows and hide.

Listen to this!!!! I was invited to participate in a gopher tortoise forum and assist them in rewriting the laws pertaining to gopher tortoises and their burrows. Of course I was thrilled and jumped at it. I did it on my own time away from work, however, I let my company know I was participating because I thought it loooked good that I was invited to participate. Someone at the State level must know me. Well we were discussing the issue of reclassifying the burrow and creating a definition of the burrow. And they were wanting to say tortoises only burrow in scrubby uplands. I replied with a solid NO. With the draining of all the canals and development, and the emphasis being on preserving wetlands not uplands, the tortoise is being pushed out of his preferred habitat, and they are adapting to other habitats including wetlands. I have found numerous tortoises living in wetlands. I went on to say that a good lawyer would easily argue that if the State and Federal agencies already claimed jurisdiction to the land by claiming it wetlands, then by the definition in the law you do not have any gopher tortoises, these are just holes in the ground.

Well, the very next morning I got pulled into the department heads office and written up!! He said I offended someone who forwarded the email to him and asked what kind of people does he have working at the firm. I was told any more correspondance or participation in the tortoise forum would have to be reviewed and supervised. I was shocked!!

Thankfully I got my point across and the agency ruled the gopher tortoise and his burrow become a threatened species, effective immediately, the gopher tortoise is now at the same protection level as the bald eagle.

However, I did turn some heads, whose I don't know, but I did make ripples in both the environmental and development communities statewide.

Well, I got the book today and I am axious to start reading, so I'll chat with everyone later.

Wow, great accomplishments! I am glad there are people like you looking out for these animals. Good luck to you with your job situation. Keep us posted.

Hey there, Groz: I can't helping thinking of that very trite saying when reading more of your situation - "What goes around, comes around." Boy, they'll have their day - and YOU'LL HAVE YOURS!! Sounds like a lotta "good karma's" comin' your way!

RE Office Politics: I thought I'd finally "arrived" when I got a cushy job at a COLLEGE!!! Holy Moly - was a naive, too!!! I just NEVER could understand the politics there!! NEVER, EVER!! And unfortunately - I was involved in many departments because I was being a "good girl" and always helping out when other assistants were on vacation, on sick leave, etc. It turned out - the more I helped and actually EARNED my money - the deeper I (unknowingly) became in the office politics game.

Near the end of my employment, I really felt like I was in a foreign country and didn't speak the language. There were so many discrepancies and SO MANY employees who believed they were my "supervisors" (and I didn't mind doing any work that was a priority and NEEDED to be done - but my supervisor/s (actually DID have more than one) would NOT want me to help certain other dept managers "just because" they had a grudge with that person. In fact, the higher up the person I worked around (Ph.Ds, Deans, Vice Presidents) the WORSE and more unbelievable the GAMES!!!

My therapist advised me that my next place of employment would probably be better for me if it were a small business. She said there'd be less "office politics." Sounds good.

Sue

Actually, Sue, your therapist is right. I worked in large, medium and small companies and the small ones had less politics. They aren't politic free, but it is extremely manageable and not stressful at all. As a matter of fact I am still friends with a few people I worked with at one small company.

However, government agencies seem to be the absolute worst when it comes to office politics. Everyone is more concerned with covering their **sses then actually doing their jobs and they are extremely inefficient too.

Hi everyone. :-)

Thanks for all your encouragement. I got that book - "Every Employees Guide to the Law"

I haven't read every page, but I have read and reread what pertains to me and then some. I have 4, yes 4 and I'm not done yet, legitimate complaints against them, and yes, I have proof to back it up, and it is all within the required time frame.

I spent all day today reading and working on the Attorney Interview Worksheet in the back. I didn't even realize when it was 5:00 and time to go get my kids.

1 - Of course - discrimination by disability under ADA.
2 - Breach of contract - my offer letter states the terms of my employment which included who my supervisor would be, however, after I started that changed, at the time I did not think about it, I was just happy to have a job. No, they never got my permission or even asked me if that would be ok.
3 - Wrongful discharge - They did not follow the employee manual on proper procedure when dealing with warnings, discipline, and termination, and my offer letter clearly states that the employee manual is to be followed at all times and to use it as a reference. If I have to follow it, so do they.
4 - Whistle-blowing - for pointing out and everything that has been going wrong. And yes, recently, I annonimously called an agency to bring some of the wrong doing to their attention. My employer could have possibly somehow found out I did it, but are keeping that part of my termination quite. It is something to think about and discuss with the attorney.

I still have many questions to answer on this worksheet, and it could possibly build higher. I am anxious about seeing the attorney tomorrow. Actually, I will be interviewing 2 attorneys. The more I read this book, the stronger my case becomes. However, it is also disugting to see just how oh so very little I knew, and so very very little everybody else knows and the way the companies and hoping you never find out.

Ignorance is bliss.

Well, I still have alot to do, I see both attorneys in the afternoon, then get the kids, dinner, bath, bed, clean up, then I'll finally get to relax and fill you in on the details.

Thank-you so very very very much for the suggestion of reading this book. I believe it should be at the top of the forum page highlight with something like - "Before you do anytihng else - GET THIS BOOK NOW!!!!!"

Groz :-)
They only thought I was bold and blunt before, they ain't seen nothing yet!!!

Good Job Groz!! :)

Please, keep us informed on how it all turns out! Good or bad we all want to learn from your experience! :)

Not to mention, learn the outcome too! :)

Peace,
*~ §EEK ~*P.S. Just as an F.Y.I. for those that do not know, we are following Groz's progress on this thread too --> http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30126

Sue, I can definitely sympathize, and I think your therapist gave very good advice. I can't stand not being able to get any real work done because I waste all my time playing peoples' games in an attempt to make them happy.

In my experience, once you get past ~20 employees, politics begin to become a problem. That's when job roles begin to overlap, it's likely that one or more employees is an attention-craving egotist, etc, and it all goes to hell from there.

However, I've also worked for companies where in addition to being a computer programmer, I was also the janitor, coffee maker, receptionist, tech support rep, handyman, etc. And I have no problem whatsoever with pitching in and helping with those kinds of things. But when the company is so understaffed that I can't even concentrate for 10 minutes without having to field a tech support call, fix a computer, etc., it gets very frustrating.

So in my experience, the best places to work are small businesses that are *just* big enough to have clearly delineated job roles.

Maybe you could PM the mod in charge of this section and ask if that is possible?? I actually think there is a list of reading material..I shall go look..and get back to youThank-you so very very very much for the suggestion of reading this book. I believe it should be at the top of the forum page highlight with something like - "Before you do anytihng else - GET THIS BOOK NOW!!!!!"

here it is :-)

http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=36

I hope it all works out for you Groz! Good luck with the attorney interviews.

I am suprised that some people seem to care more about their jobs than families....I am used to working with alot of women and believe me, they can be the worst! The nagging, pouting, attention-seeking, irritated drama queens that should save it for home. Believe me, I am not your: kids, husband, mother-n-law, grandparent, dog, etc... (And I am a woman, so I am not putting them down, it is just what I have expeirenced) It would always start out with something to the tune of "So and so had a party and didn't invite us, and we are really mad about that and want an explination, and we don't think that is very nice, and we are all supposed to be a team, and why didn't she.....yack, yack, yack!!) And I would go home tired just because of all the office drama everyday!!! Heck, my life at home was hecktic enough, and I don't need that extra drama at work also!

Lemon girl - What are you talking about? Where did you get the imprssion anyone in the discussion cared more about their jobs than their family? And where did you get all this gossip queen crap? That is not at all what this discussion has been about. You'r on the wrong thread.


Anyways -
Hello everybody,
Met with both attorneys yesterday. Good news and bad news.
Bad news -
Neither is really intrested in the disability claim. I think neither has the necessary knowledge of ADHD or the experience in these particular types of cases. So I'm going to continue interviewing attorneys.

Good news -
Both say I do have a case and would take it on contingincy with me covering out of pocket expenses such as filling fees.
One would file 3 counts - disability, whistleblower and unpaid overtime. The other would just go straight to unpaid overtime, he said that is a slam dunk. And could possibly be resolved in a month or so. It could possibly scare the crap out of them and become a class action law suit as well.

Summary -
I deffinately have a cases of some sort against them. The unpaid overtime would be quick and easy however would be small in amount, with a slight chance of increasing but nothing deffinate.
I really want to teach them a lesson on treating people with a disability, so I'm going to continue looking around and calling attorneys before I make me decision.

Thanks for all you help.

Lemon girl - my family is the most important thing to me. However, I cannot provide for them if I do not have a job.

Excuse me, I meant the people at MY office.

I apologize for being so harsh. I've been having a real bad time lately. I just lost my job, and I have two children, 1 and 3 years old, and only $5.00 in savings.

I tried so hard at this job. I really enjoyed it, the people were great (except my supervisor), and we did a lot of restoration projects which I really enjoy.

It's just so hard and I'm already at the maximum dose of my medication, but I need to see about getting more.

Groz!!!

I'm SO ENCOURAGED by your post!! That IS great feedback from those attorneys. How'd you even get them to TALK to you??? (I wouldn't even be able to get THAT far!)

You sound IMMENSELY capable, efficient, competent - PLEASE KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ON THE GOOD FIGHT!!!

You've got what it takes!

Sue

Yea, I thought so as well. I wasn't THAT bad. I NEVER missed a deadline for a client, I would just miss the internal deadlines so that my supervisor could review before it was sent out. Me being late just inconvienenced him.

I was even getting better at staying within the budgets and when he fired me, I asked about that, and he said "Yes, your staying within the budgets, great job, but it's just not effiecent enough."

Oh well.

Grozlykos,
Please read my PMs to you ASAP!

Yes I so feel this repy. I thought it was over. I remember my dad told me "don't worry thats all over when you get out of high school" he was wrong - its unbelivable. In mature adults today its like they are afraid of something. The nation is afraid of something. Its all gone to ****.

When I left high school, I thought I was FINALLY done having to deal with popularity contests and attention-craving showoffs and bullies and histrionic crybabies while wasting my time on completely pointless activities.

Then I got a job with a midsized company. And if anything, it was worse.

It was impossible to get anything done. There were 4 upper-level managers; all of whom felt the need to authorize any kind of new project. Each time I had a new idea or project suggestion, the procedure was as follows:

I'd tell Managers A and B. They'd both seem cool about it. B would agree to have a talk with C and D. If he did (which was rare), he'd explain it so poorly that it made no sense at all, and C and D would (understandably) dismiss it.

So I'd talk with C&D directly, clear things up, and they'd be interested. However B would get offended because he felt that he should be the gatekeeper for communications between them (meaning: he gets to present everyone else's ideas as his own).

I'd get p'd off and tell him flat-out that I bypassed him because he didn't explain my idea properly, and only served to add confusion and waste time. So B he would get all sour, dismiss the whole idea, and stop talking to me.

I'd continue to discuss it with some of the other 3. When B would find out that there was still some interest among the other managers, he'd suddenly become interested again.

Then one of them would see some sort of problem with it. Invariably, it was based on discomfort over the notion that the idea would involve doing something that the company wasn't currently doing. By this point I didn't care about it anymore. So it'd fizzle out, and nothing would get done.

I lasted about 6 months there before I just got too fed up with all the BS.