Favouritism In The Workplace, Toxic Culture, and Unprofessional Factory Manager and Supervisors

by Daniel
(Nottingham )

I'm writing about an experience that has opened my eyes to the world of workplace bullying and a situation that I will never be in again. I worked in retail for 8 years and after a while of being in that industry, I decided it was time for a change in job.

My younger sister's boyfriend put a good word in at his workplace and so I had an interview and got the job. I started there and at first, things started off good. I was working on big industrial machines that made envelopes in a factory.

A few months later, my shift supervisor who was Polish constantly kept coming around and giving me jobs to do. When my machine was on a next set up for a job, I told him why does he constantly keep coming to me when there were other colleagues on the other side from me not doing anything. The supervisor told me to stop arguing with him and kept saying 'Me Supervisor' and I'll tell the factory manager of you threatening me just because I was sticking up for myself.

Things got worse as time went on every time he came to me I stood my ground and I was called to the factory manager's office. I told him my side of the story and told him that my supervisor is a bully. He replied and said he isn't, burying his head in the sand making me to be a liar.

My shift supervisor was lazy on every shift and barely did any work. Other workers would sl*g him off and say that they hate him yet they would bury their heads up his a***. A few months before I decided to leave I had another run-in with the Polish supervisor on a night shift. He came over to my side when I was working on my machine insisting that I wrap up finished pallets that had been packed from the other side from me. I insisted that I couldn't because I was working on my machine packing envelopes and said to him why don't you get someone from your side to do it seeming that there were a few not doing anything.

He threatened me with harsh words so I turned around and told him enough is enough and said to him 'f*ck off over to the other side'. He told me I've got a disciplinary straight away, get your stuff and go home and I will be telling the factory manager. I went home and the next shift I got called to the office manager who yet again fed me lies and said that he was gonna sack me and said that other people in the past made the same claim as me against the supervisor and he will give me a bad reference.

At this time I was suffering from major depression and stress and yet, like a foolish idiot, I carried on working which made matters worse. A week before leaving a colleague who didn't like me made up comments about me being paranoid to a machine adjuster making everyone close ranks on me. One had the nerve to say that I'm not hard and I'm a faggot, you're constantly moaning about this place, yet this same colleague who said this was moaning to me about the workplace months back. Hypocrite or what.

The factory was full of cowards and hypocrites hiding behind each other. Bullies only think they are hard when they have approval from others. They are gutless spineless arse***** that need to hide behind others.

I handed in my notice because the way I look at it is life is too short to be in a job you hate and to be working for an arse**** manager and a toxic culture. Your health comes first before anything else. People see leaving a job as weak. I see it as being brave and having the courage and guts to do so because you are putting yourself first. Move forward and look to the future.