I swore to myself I wasn’t going to let work get to me but I’m so freaking tired of it all. We never seem to have enough staff which means we are spread so thin these days and there’s only so much one person can do. I do my best to cover my own work and also take over a lot of other chores than I’m not supposed to be doing anymore. I know the score and I understand the work has to be done. If I see someone struggling or something being left undone - I just go and do it. It doesn’t matter to me if I’m actually being paid to do the job in question. We are all on the same team at the end of the day and the customer’s needs are always more important. The majority of our staff have the same mentality but then you have The Others…

The Others are the ones who refuse to do anything other than what is on their job profile, despite the presence of that handy little phrase Any Other Business, and they selfishly stick to their own little regimen. The Others sit on their asses and watch while other people struggle to do their own work and take on extra tasks. The Others are the ones who constantly complain if they are asked to do even one extra job. The Others are the ones who are skilled at making it appear they are working when in reality they are doing nothing but surfing the internet. The internet is a wonderful tool but I find myself resenting it at work more and more. The Others ingratiate themselves at just the right time making it look like they are invaluable to the team when they are the exact opposite. The Others moan about people talking behind their back, yet they are the first to pass on any gossip.

We have two of this breed in our dept and if you’ve been paying attention at all over the past few months, you’ll know the identity of at least one of them. The other has just handed in his notice because he thinks he is “too good to work with us”. His words, not mine. Now, I’ve learned there are people on my team who can’t be trusted to keep their mouths shut. People I thought I knew and people I trusted in the past.

I can’t take much more. It’s stressing me out so much I keep getting migraines and I’m thoroughly miserable. I’ve tried discussing this with my manager and gotten nowhere. She isn’t as blind to everything as she once was but still it continues. The fact she knows isn’t much consolation at the end of the day if nothing is ever going to change. I’ve also tried ignoring it but I find it hard to do because I refuse to be taken for a mug.

Now, I’m left in a quandary. What do I do? I think there may be only one option left to me. Leaving. Why should I though?