Tales from the Temps III: Faceless, Sometimes Invisible Androids
Posted on 07/21/2006 by the cynic
Viewed: 450 times
I was on a long-term (read 1-year) assignment in a nationally-known bank, doing data entry. I realize that temps shouldn't be included in all company functions, but this manager really made a project out of making sure temps were excluded from the office environment to the maximum amount possible.
Most of the permanent staff there appreciated us, because if it weren't for our data entry slavery, their work would get done much more slowly. But this lady was a trip.
First, she never introduced us to anyone, even those next to us. Our first day consisted of "Hi. I'm X. Here's some filing, and when you're done, key it in. Bye." When a new perm person came, she'd walk them around all the cubicles, "this is John, this is Mary, and...oh {skip right over the temp) that's nobody....this is Chris, etc."
she never made an effort to learn my name. She referred to all of us as "the temp." For instance, one day it was Cynic, then Cyndi, then Sandra, then Sally.
She also believed that temps shouldn't touch ANY office equipment without "adult supervision," so even though there was a setting on my comp could be changed every morning by anyone with a kindergarten degree by clicking Edit--Options," she wouldn't let me do it (a permanent person had to come over and do it for me as she watched).
It was so bad that even though she would hire temps to stay a whole year, she didn't account for office space and seating--she just kept getting more people from the agency despite her lack of room. So I was shifting around from desk to desk using a guest login (which I understand in temping so that was fine), and praying every day that someone would be sick so that I could get a seat and not be sent home. (Luckily there always was one).
Then came Christmas. Now I know that temps don't participate in parties or company functions, so I didn't anticipate being invited to the office party. But 2 things were fairly annoying.
The first was when the managers went around leaving candies on everyone's desks, and then called the entire perm staff to the huge Christmas tree--IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OFFICE NEXT TO MY DESK--to exchange gifts from the company. I wasn't expecting a gift, but they TOTALLY IGNORED US, even though we'd been with them 6 months and would be for another 6.
The people on either side of me got a "Merry Christmas, come over by the tree" and a candy, and I got not so much as a "Hello." The least they could have done for long-term help was let us stand at the tree, or wish us holiday greetings. No, we were instructed to "stay seated and keep working, we just have to do something real quick."
The thing was, they had the party in the middle of the afternoon--yes with alcohol, at noon on a workday--at a nearby bar, and essentially "used" the temps as stand-in secretaries while they went and got smashed. Now keep in mind that we WERE NOT RELIEF STAFF, we were data enterers--so it wasn't our job to know we should be covering phones and such. Not having been told of our "duties," we made plans to go out for our own Christmas lunch and then come back and do some more data entry.
One temp made the mistake of giving The Manager his cell number, and she called him "to see how things were going" and find out why he wasn't at his desk.
He told her we were going to lunch. Her reply: OH NO YOU DON'T. We need someone to cover the phones! You can't go to lunch today!! You can't even leave your desks--what if there were an emergency with a customer?? (Jeez lady, this is reimbursement, not a hospital!!)
So we all turned around, marched back to the office, and were glued to our desks in the dead office, and ended up ordering takeout. When the rest of the drunken staff came back at 4:00, they let us leave early and get paid till 5:00. The least they could do for us nameless, faceless, invisible androids!
What made us feel better was that most of the staff apologized profusely for this woman and said that there was no excuse not to treat us as human and make us feel welcome, even if policy dictated our exclusion from regular computer access and company events.
POST A COMMENTthe confessor(07/21/2006)
The woman is an insecure bully. Let your temp agency know what's happening after documenting what's going on. Her actions undermine your ability to increase the efficiency of that workplace (e.g. when another employee has to "babysit" you, it's tying up two people to do the job of one). Check out my latest Professional Confessional blog on this site to read about the other side of the temp coin...
the cynic(07/21/2006)
Oh don't worry...this job is a year in the past. I'm just telling the story for fun. I probably should have said something at the time.
the confessor(07/21/2006)
Glad you got out OK. My point is that treatment like this can cause long-lasting harm, even post-traumatic stress. In a growing number of European countries, you can sue a former employer for allowing it to happen, just like if you were exposed to toxic chemicals or undue physical hazards.
the cynic(07/21/2006)
I love European labor laws. Too bad that in the US the worker can be damned as far as the higher-ups are concerned. I've actually been in a few very bad bullying situations, and yes I do still feel the effects. If this were my husband treating me that way, they'd call it abuse. If it were sexual, they'd call it harrassment. But when it's just plain ol' work bullying, everyone tells you to "Suck it up, that's how the world works." My reply is usually, "That may be how the world works, but that doesn't mean I have to like it or can't work to change it."
C - -(07/21/2006)
I dislike Christmas celebrations in the workplace for just that reason. Somebody always gets excluded or mistreated.
Loves 2 Run(07/24/2006)
As I read your post...I was becoming nearly ill. How horrible. I am so glad you are out of there. Nobody should be treated that way. She sounds like a creep
HaveADamnNiceDay(07/24/2006)
People really need to be careful of how they treat others in the workplace. You really don't know if they have other issues going on in their personal lives that might compound with mistreatment at work. I worked as an ekg tech for two years in an office FULL of creeps like this boss described above. And I wasn't even a temp! Granted, I got all the rights and priveleges of a permanent employee, but none of the basic social graces that people are supposed to give to one another. I was going through an EXTREMELY rough time at home, and I'd found out my boyfriend had been unfaithful to me, and all this other crap... To be perfectly honest: It all made me want to take a surgery prep razor to my wrists at the office bathroom, and die with a statement; "You all treated me like crap, so you can clean my bloody mess up off the floor and cart my carcass off to the morgue yourselves!" However, being a *smart* person who CAN think with her head, I knew that would be a stupid thing to do, and I just endured it all until I could find something better...and a good therapist. Moral of the story: YOu just NEVER KNOW.
BoneyardDiva(07/30/2006)
I've done temping & that stuff stinks. I don't know why temps are treated so poorly but I hate you had to do it for a year.
Fear(09/13/2006)
I've worked for Temp places. They suck. I'm a bit different. I don't give two shits if they say hello or give me candy. BUT HELL if they made me do their work while they got blasted and told me I couldn't have lunch. I'd a told her to shove (yeah that can be a problem sometime, but I don't let jerks at some crap job push me around). I feel your pain hahaha.
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