these 2 sentences have me thinking:
-
I cannot change what others think about me or do, I can only change how to react to it.
-
It’s not my fault, but it is my problem to deal with.
we had a merger and my department met our new manager. He seemed empathetic and approachable, asking us to stay at our current positions and work together.
I’ve been considering a change for some time because I don’t get along with some coworkers, even though most are fine, but these 3 suck the life out of me.
So I sent this new manager an application that was rejected the next day:
“mr. X doesn’t want to consider your application.”
He didn’t even read it. He seemed so approachable and friendly… this line seems specifically written to make me feel bad, or maybe I’m very thin skinned?
An adult would accept it and move on, but I’m so thin skinned I keep ruminating about it. I want to change how I react to this and other setbacks in life, but I feel powerless.
“It’s not my fault, but it is my problem to deal with”
I’m on the spectrum. I can hold a job, pay rent and healthcare, max my 401k…, but some of my coworkers find me robotic and rude and feel offended if I want to concentrate on my duties instead of talking to them, simply because if I don’t do my job I’ll be fired.
Not all of my coworkers are like this, but some simply don’t see that I do the same they do, except gossiping and bantering, which I find a waste of time.
They feel offended because I like to keep to myself.
It is not fair and I hate it, but it is, apparently, my problem to deal with.
Except that I don’t know how to deal with it. And I don’t want to deal with it, because it is unfair that what others think and talk about you makes your career more difficult.
I didn’t expect this post to be this long.
He’s a new manager working through a merger. He may be friendly and approachable, but he’s got a lot on his plate.
He asked everyone to stay in their position. you applied for a new position. In his eyes, what kind of impression might you have made? Now he may still be friendly and approachable. More than likely, he saw it and said, “I don’t have time for this.”
If you want a change and need to do it through your manager, figure out what his problems are and if you can be helpful. If not, just do your job well. Then when the difficulties of the merger have balanced out, you may have space to ask again.
During a merger, things are complicated and messy. He has pressures that you may not be aware of. Advancing in your workplace often requires soft skills. They may seem mercurial and difficult, but it’s just a set of skills.
As for thicker skin, first feel what is happening. Don’t try to change it or wish it different. Gather data about how your emotional mind works and work with what it is and not what everyone says it should be.