Workplace Drama - page 2

I was completely fed up with my boss, sick of him, I couldn't take it anymore. His inconsistencies overwhelmed me, and I did whatever it took to get away from him. I was sick of being unstable, and for so long, in that other place he left me, I was completely out of sorts. He sold me the illusion that everything was fine, at the cost of making the world a pleasant place for him, leading me into traps I had to jump over and over again. He told me he was the best, when he wasn't, and I made sure that story wasn't believable under any circumstances. He wasn't going to boast about my achievements like my father had, but that's not something he was interested in, and I wasn't interested in being like that. Every time I talked to him, it was a barrage of questions, doubts, without me being able to say anything. I kept escaping his attempts to control me. I no longer cared whether he understood or not; all I cared about was finally being at peace. If they weren't going to give me any peace, I had to find it. I wasn't going to allow myself to be unstable, and I no longer cared about his status or anything like that. It was something that was going to happen, period. He owed it to me, just like the position I have now, which I've also turned into his worst nightmare, because he doesn't count on me at all. I'm only there on behalf of the company; I'm an extension of it, and boy, do they want him there at all. He has to find a way to avoid ending up in a worse situation than he already is, but that always involves settling his debts, and more debts. It's incredible all the invasive and manipulative ways he's learned to manipulate appearances. Indeed, this man didn't dedicate himself to being an educator, as he claims, but to being a tyrant, exploiting others' resources, and having everything under his control. That era is over. It's time he pays society back for everything he's absorbed in such a radically parasitic way. We professionals have had to put up with his antics because of the good image he projects, which is nothing more than a despicable lie. I don't feel fortunate to encounter other people like him because there are established foundations, there's a sense of shame involved, something he completely ignores beyond making his political campaign look good. His campaign is nothing more than doing good; we have to put up with him, even though he has a good heart inside, but it's never there. Personally, I had to get rid of that guy. He was managing student admissions at a university, and that seemed like the last straw, since the future of the country rests in their hands, and I have to protect it. This man has spent his entire life manipulating people, and suddenly, just talking wasn't going to change him. Just like I did at the previous location, where he removed me because of problems, instead of focusing on the fact that the company wasn't fulfilling its obligations, he made me see that I was dealing with a politician through and through, someone I couldn't believe a word he said. I couldn't believe a single word he said. Therefore, I had to keep him under my control, since he wasn't going to leave just like that. Besides, leaving would be too easy. I need him to bear the price of his promises, to truly regret using them as a trick to trap people and keep them under his thumb, only to then run away without giving explanations.

When I arrived at the new facility, I was determined that he would finally change his attitude, because other people could pay the price, and he had no right to alter the course of their lives, abusing his fame and the bureaucracy he wielded, especially when they gave in to favors and affection, to that thing that was, in some way, what the other person was seeking in another. I had to teach him that this, precisely this, would be the cause of his worst nightmare, to the point where today, he can't leave the company, the community, except by leaving a terrible impression, something he manages to do even while staying, but at least he manages to smooth things over by licking the boots of the authorities, who liked him that way, precisely because he lived off them, doing whatever he wanted, based on nothing but excuses. He was an elusive individual who had to be apprehended, and the community itself could act as his prison to compensate him for all the damage he had caused, for the rest of his life. This community is a university, and that institution certainly establishes the professionals who drive the nation, those who provide service and contribute to its development. In other words, this individual was destroying the institution itself, turning the work of its professionals into something bitter and destructive, all for the sake of an institution and not in accordance with the needs of the people. He was creating a micro-state, and the truth is, it's not that everything is done at the expense of his reputation, using the institution's name as an excuse, when it is precisely his reputation that should prevail, since he made a commitment to it. His service to society was overshadowed; he was creating a sham university, a university where everything functions solely to maintain an image and conceal what is happening inside.

The guy was a real bastard. He had that promise he made to me, which, by the way, he kept, and under the guise of not owing me anything afterward, I joined another group, one he absolutely hated, one that infuriated him, that irritated him, and that now has him groveling at his feet, because otherwise there are conflicts, and that's what he doesn't want. It's everywhere, meaning there's a chance of conflict everywhere, and they'll take advantage of the fact that he doesn't know what to do, because everything he knew turned out to be a complete failure in terms of keeping me under control, in the area that was supposed to be the easiest of all. All the other areas, to the extent that they seem harmless, are just as dangerous; you can smell it coming from him. The days of easy money are over. Those days when he lived off others are over. It's time he pays us all back for what he's done to us. We won't let this go unpunished. He needs to face the music, at least face us in a way that pleases us, and that will continue until the end of his life. His entire career in the community has been completely destroyed, shattered. He's utterly worthless to any company or for achieving anything. The rumors, based on solid evidence, are widespread. If he wants to remain with the community, it has to be on the condition that he pleases us. Otherwise, he should leave, but not without consequences, which are already upon us. His life doesn't interest me, just as he wasn't interested in mine, and he tried to do the opposite. I'm more than transparent, and unlike him, I'm one of those people who speaks very, very little. I'm more about action and concrete results, the opposite of his talkativeness and extravagance, which he thought made him invisible. But it was nothing more than a veil behind which he fancied that I was on a different wavelength, since I was taking advantage of the gaps he saw he wasn't filling in his imposed world. If anyone here is innocent, knowing it, it's me. It took me a long time to catch him, and I finally did, and that's something that doesn't happen very often, so I feel lucky to have been born, very grateful, because, generally, these kinds of people get away with it. I already feel like I've got my life back, just like it was before, surrounded by good groups of people who appreciate me, who love me, and with whom I've earned my place through hard work—something he considered worthless, something of value. His attitude was the exact opposite; he was a miserable wretch whom no one could tolerate anymore and whom no one could publicly denounce. For a long time, he believed he knew how to manipulate things, taking advantage of his apparent innocence and those seemingly casual comments, but he wasn't the only one, and he thought that in some way, people would look at him and not me.

so i'm in this situation atm where my boss keeps askin me to work extra hours and it's like, all the time... i mean, don't get me wrong, i love what i do but it's startin to feel a bit too much. like, he doesn't even pay me for these extra hours and it's getting under my skin. the worst part is that he's always saying if i don't show up on weekends or during my days off, he'll fire me. 😕

it's a tough spot to be in cuz i really need this job. i've been trying to figure out how to handle this without making waves you know? there's gotta be a way to bring it up with him without sounding ungrateful or somethin. maybe if i approach him with solid points or examples of how much i've been putting in already, he might understand... but then again not sure if he'll even care.

i remember this one time when we had a big project due and he made half the team come in on saturday (no questions asked). it felt like there was no choice, which kinda sucks because everyone deserves some downtime! plus working under pressure all the time isn't healthy for anyone but when you're cornered like this what can you do...

still tryin to keep my head high though! i'm hopin eventually he'll see how dedicated we all are and maybe give us a break sometimes? 🤞 just want things to get better so we can all work happily without being stressed about our job security every weekend.

Fed up with my boss's drama, I transferred to another group thanks to my friend's persistence in pursuing our relationship. I absolutely didn't want to go with her, but her unwavering commitment made it impossible. Sometimes, I admit, I don't know if it was her or me who insisted. Undoubtedly, she was the one who initially insisted on our relationship, on being friends, on being together, on experiencing something emotional, on letting go of formalities while still respecting the rules, always safeguarding each other's personal space. She wanted me by her side, as did her boss, even though she tried to take over, no matter what, but it came across as a clumsy attempt to reach me, which I viewed with prejudice. Regarding my boss, he tried to get me to give in because of his charm, that initial thing, only to then fall into the trap of being at the mercy of his carelessness, of course, so that I could do whatever I wanted, which he allowed, and from there he could come up with any excuse through gossip and one made through that of isolating himself from all context, from all talk, for his own benefit. I joined my friend's group, partly because she was worried about who they were hanging out with. My boss was manipulating me to keep me around, and his secretary was acting all high and mighty, portraying me as quiet and withdrawn. They claimed I was isolated because they kept me isolated, which is why they used the excuse that I was autistic. However, this became clear as I got closer to my friend. It wasn't typical of those people to be persistent in a relationship, no matter what. Instead, they expected me to be obedient to what others said, always dependent on someone to guide me. This didn't work, and I specifically tried to undermine that, to change how I was perceived now. Hearing that about me bothered me, but the struggle would only expose that my insistence on following the law was just an excuse for me to do whatever I wanted, to refuse to compromise like the others, to be seen as a rebel, and for things like that to disrupt the established order. They waited for me to lose my temper, and in fact, that's what they were hoping for, but they never succeeded. Instead, they just kept sinking, and what happened with my friend became their own personal hell. My boss tried everything to accuse me of being out of my mind because of my persistence with the girl, outside of social media. He knew I was straying from where he wanted me to be, but that's exactly what we wanted, because she knew I could stand up to him, that I wouldn't let him tarnish my image in any way, that I wouldn't sacrifice myself for him, and she was certainly willing to help me. She's one of those girls who, when she sees a potential partner, someone she can be with, someone to share her feelings with, she doesn't let him go. Since my boss couldn't accuse me of being crazy, he tried to make me take my anger out on her, but he didn't succeed either, because she was careful. I wanted to have control of the situation once and for all, but I had no way to do it, and tragedy struck when causality intervened, arbitrariness hit, and I took advantage of the situation to get out of it, through his desperate imposition, making it seem that he was definitely the unfortunate one, because it was precisely during a health issue of hers that he told me not to participate, and from then on I isolated him, of course, not without first creating the right conditions for it, where it would be justified precisely thanks to his pleas, where his own way of being with others would seem suspicious, something he took advantage of with his secretary to make accusations that I was acting like an authority figure, that I was laughing at him, that I was actually trying to impose my will on me, in that way making it seem like I was playing games, that I really wanted to be with them, that my denunciation to the others, his suspicion, would lead him to think that I was exaggerating, because I had come to believe myself superior, given that they sought to put me on a pedestal so that I would forget about the girl, however, no They didn't succeed, but instead encountered tantrums they weren't expecting and help that was no longer available. They encountered my complete absence, which confirmed what everyone feared: that they were conspiring to keep me where they wanted me.

They aren't very skilled at manipulation; for street life, I thought things would be even more complicated. In fact, they made me feel like I was in a playground with them, that they didn't really take it seriously. Of course, with other people, they have a moment of seriousness, something that confirms who they are, but I forgot about that a long time ago. Their biggest mistake in all of this was making me think that, deep down, I somehow thought like them, but it was just a facade they were going by, since I was living by following it, by being consistent.

Things at the office are a complete mess after what happened with my boss. People felt an absolute and radical distrust of management in general; they became incredibly nervous, to the point where they made insinuations that people were abandoning them, and indeed, that was the case. The arbitrary decisions I've heard have been completely blatant, always based on the idea that they are to blame. They've given me special treatment, of course, out of respect for authority, which is what makes me trust some bosses, but I can't ignore the fact that the atmosphere is one of absolute victimhood. In that meeting where this was evident, my boss needed absolute validation, a need to be acknowledged, to be helped, to be saved from the consequences of his actions, but people simply rebelled against him, to the point that he used a meeting elsewhere as an excuse to leave. He was, in fact, at that propaganda party. At least, that's what he radically revealed. His justifications made it clear that his claims about how he's always been were more than just attempts to hide his true intentions. The image he projected was of escaping the consequences of his actions through others, through whatever means necessary. Indeed, the man already knows he's not someone others trust, but with her, what he's really after is playing the victim with those who benefit him. The reaction of the others was to make him see that he was the one exaggerating, and in doing so, to stop supporting her, for her own good, for her health, so that she'd come down to earth, and to stop supporting him.

My friend was the one who clearly distanced herself from him. She was very accommodating at that party, very supportive. It's obvious she's someone who can support her work group, but she always reminds them, in some way, that she's on her own, that I belong to her and not someone else, that she's the one who got me, that it wasn't her effort, that's why she was pursued and things could have ended much worse. Indeed, I am in her group, but as the link through her, I make sure they respect that I belong to her and not to them, and that if I'm there it's because she wants me to be, because she likes me to be in a good group, and that I should be treated well. In fact, when the girl sees someone who can handle their emotions, who wants to manage them carefully, as if with the hands of a surgeon, she doesn't think twice, especially in a world where expressing feelings is a game of appearances, specifically, where she always has to act like an adult when she doesn't like it, she doesn't feel free to be herself. But with me, she does, but it's at the expense of my concern for her well-being, due to my own selfishness in not wanting to exclude people like her because of the prejudice I might instill, under the guise of wanting to help them get ahead, to make this a better world. Although, I must say, it's also about not showing that I'm a resentful person, as is the case with many people today. Indeed, I had to do such reading, and it was because of it that I couldn't rest as I can now.

Working with my boss, being somehow involved with him, meant confronting a possessive individual. He insisted that mental health only applied to the department and that everything else was merely optional. He even told me how to treat people, under the guise of helping me find my way, being a good person or something, all for his own benefit. He would find any excuse to make a friend of mine think I was a monster for continuing to see her, despite his repressive tactics to distance myself from him. I realized I was a monster because I didn't listen to him, because I didn't follow his control, and that I was going to harm others. God, what a sick man! And I'm glad that even after the tragedies in my country, I didn't ask about him, about his life, as if to make it clear to others that I wasn't with him, because there was no way he could understand that I wasn't. He would put his head on my shoulder as if I were his friend, buy me things to get me to give in, try to find out things about my life, want to change how I manage my family—in short, he wanted to interfere in everything, but I wouldn't let him. His constant threat was that if I didn't give in to his attempts to improve my situation, then I wasn't taking advice to get better and was therefore trying to harm others, my relationships with them, that he wasn't trying to make things right for everyone, but rather being guided by prejudice. Therefore, I always tried to corner him, to make it clear that he was trying to interfere in my life, no matter what. It's not pleasant to be with someone who's always trying to keep you under their control. In fact, he had the Secretary under his thumb, in the sense that he always made her bear his emotions and stress, but it could never be the other way around, unless it put him at risk. He was an extremely selfish individual, from whom the world desperately sought to escape, using any excuse. He was a man who thrived on normalizing his own will, even making it seem comical, subjecting one to his world of denials, always striving to dictate one's feelings toward him. He sought to confuse one, guided by the ambiguity of feelings regarding what he provoked, thus establishing the situation that one was with him, that one felt something for him, whatever the case may be. Of course, all this came at the cost of a range of stress that he didn't try to resolve, but rather burdened. His interactions with others consisted of pretending to know them in order to corner them, using their name to impose the truth about their relationship, resorting to talk of betrayals, disappointments, etc., all based on deception.

The man was completely unwell, and to top it all off, he was the boss. The man, as my friend rightly said, knew exactly what he was doing, because he was always positioning himself. He sought to preserve his group through extreme tolerance, so that others would understand that this is what a group is about: flaws but also virtues, all while making it seem as if the situation were normal. His way of acting in the world was to claim that he lived among these things and that he was tolerant, so that others would agree with him, however they might be, and also become supporters of exerting pressure, but from the outside, in support of him. The man was a monster, and I never saw him at his worst. The only time he tried—and it wasn't a serious attempt—he faced being humiliated everywhere in a medical or healthcare setting, precisely what he didn't want, and he completely destroyed his reputation. He begged me to stay with him, going from talking to making it a public matter, trying to increase the pressure by trying to get me to give in through his games, which I didn't find funny at all, but which he tried to make funny to elicit empathy from others and coerce them into isolating me with him. But my lack of laughter, instead of my well-expressed anger, made it clear that they were out of line. In fact, it was understood in the office that they were trying to mistreat me. What finally broke the camel's back, the tragedy of my country, was when he once tried to prevent me from going to the office alone, when they weren't there. He made this up as a pretext, without any ulterior motive, simply because others weren't going—nothing binding. However, I pointed this out as a reason for suspicion, because I could have gone alone to do some work. It was clear that he was on his own and from then on, all he observed was an effort to try to prevent more conflicts, whatever it took, to prevent more things from exploding, because many were ready to explode, because many were already resentful.

Many of us were fed up with him and wanted him out of the picture so we could live our lives as we pleased, a right we had firmly established. He wasn't interested in following the rules; instead, he used them as an excuse to do whatever he wanted and make himself look good, at the expense of others, no matter what. He even manipulated reality for this purpose, his sole aim being to instill fear of escaping his clutches. This led to truly painful and intense experiences, because people, like me, reached the point of desperately trying to get out of there, by any means necessary, since he wouldn't let them be free. Knowing him was like making a real misfortune. Luckily, even his secretary is no longer with him, not at all. She had been wanting to leave for a long time, just like me. I was his inspiration for abandoning him, leaving him without support, under the pretext of the tragedy. The tragedy in my country served as an excuse to leave him, to make it seem like that man hadn't earned a single penny. Perhaps the other authorities questioned this, but not him, because after my warning, his name was flagged. After the tragedy, amidst the destruction, he searched online for support at the office, using ambiguous messages, voicemails, and the classic "how are you?" My first reaction was to stick to what the general coordination had said, as an excuse to stay put, to avoid his messages, to make it seem like I was always busy, and also to force him to take responsibility. He expected me to close the line, to not respond, applauding the idea that I would leave him on read, a last-minute betrayal. But he didn't find that; instead, he received my last-minute notification that I was unavailable. I always suspected him, and everything I said was always in the interest of anything he might say about me that could cast doubt on him. It must be acknowledged that under different circumstances and with a different person, I would surely have resorted to more drastic measures with him, and I knew this firsthand because whenever I pointed out something that might suggest something very wrong, he would get scared. He is subtle in establishing his boundaries, occupying spaces in a non-scandalous way that others feel he shouldn't, giving the impression that something is out of place, but nothing is actually said. In fact, it's worse to report him because it's something that can be temporarily abandoned, but he takes advantage of this to lower morale and keep people at the mercy of conflict, thus controlling them at the whim of what he says, supposedly to prevent it. He always lives with the desire for absolute control.

My effort with him was to destroy him from where he found the most protection: the office. It was from there that he took control and did whatever he wanted with other people. His reputation stemmed from the fear of jeopardizing others' futures, something he would never have done himself, but he exploited that prejudice.

I'm starting to feel like I am caught in this never-ending cycle of work, with little to no respite. It has been two whole years since I last took any meaningful time off. The only break I've allowed myself was a brief pause during Christmas spent with my family. Honestly, considering the pace and pressure of my current workload, it's beginning to weigh me down more than I'd like to admit. It's tough… I mean, in an ever-evolving industry where there are constant demands and deadlines, pressing pause even for a short time seems almost impossible. Yet here I am, craving just a moment to step back and breathe without the looming stress of what's next.

The thing is, while I understand the necessity and benefits of taking periodic breaks ( both for mental relief and productivity) it's not as easy as it sounds to simply take days off. Unfortunately for someone like me who's in a high-stakes position within their organization, it's challenging. There's this nagging fear that everything might just spiral out of control when I'm not present or that I might be perceived as less committed if I were to express the need for a break too often. So here I am weighing these thoughts over late-night coffee, pondering whether it's worth pushing through these cycles or finally prioritizing my own well-being before burnout truly hits me.

How can I stop feeling insecure in those big meetings with a roomful of older men? It's infuriating when they don't bother to listen to my ideas, even though I know my stuff. I'm 32, a woman in this male-dominated industry, and it's always the same story: heads nodding politely but ignoring me! The energy in these meetings feels so off-balance sometimes... maybe it's because I find myself second-guessing everything I say?

I'm not the only one who's felt sidelined at work, right?! There's got to be a way to make my voice heard without resorting to shouting or making a scene. Confidence is key... they say. But how do you maintain it when you're navigating such toxic waters? It's like walking on eggshells every damn day.

This isn't just about me trying to "fit in." How can we have productive meetings if forward-thinking ideas are dismissed just because they come from someone who doesn't fit their mold? Frustration grows and productivity wanes. What's it going to take for these guys to finally sit up and take notice?

I've been outperforming some of these men by leaps and bounds! Yet the doubt creeps in whenever I'm expected to present something crucial. It's not fair! I want solid feedback on my proposals!! not condescension or dismissal.

I won't let this intimidate me forever! There's hope yet... I'm determined to find strategies that empower and bolster my confidence despite this perpetual obstacle course. So here it is: how do you stay secure in your skin when everyone around you seems intent on undermining your authority?

man oh man, let me just tell ya... 😩 so i'm a junior at my first job and honestly? i was hoping for something way better than this. like, going in i was super excited, thought it'd be all about learning from the pros and really vibing with people around me... but nah. here we are a few months in and it kinda sucks 😕

first thing’s first, the vibe is so OFF. dunno what happened to being team players or having any sort of camaraderie. the folks around here either slack off all day or they're super mean; it's like living in a soap opera but without the drama that's actually entertaining. it's stressing me out cause no one's bringing their A-game… how can you work when everything's just... bleh?

i remember starting out thinking i'd have mentors who'd guide me through stuff... here's the truth bomb: those guys? barely give two hoots about anything outside of clocking out at 5 pm sharp. if i ask for help? the eyes roll faster than a frisbee thrown on a windy day 😠 they don't flat-out say it but you can feel it. yeah sure there are good moments, not sayin it's all bad, but geez...

and let's not forget about jenny in accounting? truly love her but man does she stir things up! every time she sneaks by our desks… whispers be flyin' everywhere… raises suspicion more often than an overdue library book 🤔 gettin' involved isn’t even my style yet somehow i'm dragged into conversations that send my head spinning.

so here am i writing this out wonderin', does it honestly ever get better?? that's the million-dollar question right now. anyone been through this funk before or am i just stuck in some weird twilight zone?? wish someone could spill on whether this is jus' how grown-up life is gonna be forever 'cause frankly? terrified at the thought of feeling stuck like glue… i'm keeping fingers crossed cause that's what ya gotta do; hoping there's light at end of this tunnel‼️

I feel overwhelmed by the office. I have to put up with too much; I feel dragged down by it because it makes me experience unimaginable things. I don't want to get involved with them anymore, under any circumstances. I'm tired of thinking, of reflecting and reflecting. I don't know when this will end. It can't be that the office isn't a place of rest for me. I have to be strategic with my boss, with a girl, and with the audience in between. I don't feel the office is a place of rest, and for me, parties are hell because there are always things I have to navigate strategically, and the unfortunate thing is that they're simple moves, but precisely for that reason, they're despised. The girl does support me, and my boss to some extent, but I always have to do everything completely calculated. I go to the office to be in a field of uncertainty, only to then go and see what happened, because everything is done by instinct. I can't talk to any of them about what I'm going through because they won't understand, and the worst part is when they pretend to understand, making demands, which already happened to me once. Nothing makes me feel worse than not having any real respite with the girl or my boss; it all crushes me, but they won't understand at the office. And that leads me to the question: What am I supposed to do in a place where they don't support me in standing firm? They don't support me, they don't see me, I don't feel included. I feel like everything has to come at the cost of endless studies of the place. I'm fed up.

Being a citizen there is overwhelming because there's absolutely no support. I'm at the mercy of luck, always focused on my innermost feelings. Nobody experiences what I experience; nobody is prepared for me except to tear me to shreds. The support I receive is vague; I don't know what I'm going to do to support myself in the future. Everyone is watching to make sure I shut up, or they threaten me with conflict, with doing something that snowballs because it's a particular issue that goes against their norms. I'm tired of working with my boss and I want to get rid of him. I feel like he doesn't understand me at all, and neither does the girl. I don't feel supported in any way. I can't live my life constantly playing strategist. It can't be that I'm going through all this because I'm trying to be a good citizen, choosing coexistence, taking action, and that it's not rewarded, but rather met with silence. Nothing is made easy for me, just like it is for everyone else, nothing at all, and that makes the job itself all-consuming. I haven't been able to take my mind off it for a long time, and the psychologists and psychiatrists in my town only seem to work to stop me from saying anything, and that accumulation, the result of my timidly expressing myself, also becomes a conflict.

I don't feel like I'm in an office where I'm treated like a person. I'm tired of embellishing things through interpretations. I'm always looking for that girl everywhere I go; I don't get a moment's rest. I'm always thinking about her, and I don't know what to do anymore. I just want to quit that office. It's incredible that no one seems to realize the toll it's taking on me. I go out and think and think, and then I try to put it all into writing because, honestly, I feel like I can't stand on my own two feet at all, and I need others, an audience, like any other human being on this earth. I'm tired of justifying this situation. I just want to leave that office, but I don't want to because, for everyone else, there's no excuse for me being closed off, no excuse to avoid conflict. I always have to be thinking about something or spend some time on something to prevent conflicts, to prevent things from happening in the future, to avoid those silent things that are done and then denied.

It's no wonder I'm starting to hate humanity in general. I'm really tired and my life feels heavy. I feel like there are things that aren't worth getting into right now, because I feel like I want to explain everything about the girl, but that level of detail isn't helpful at the moment. First of all, because I'm not isolated; I'm actually in close contact with everyone around me. It's not worth it. Besides, things are still happening, and I can't really provide a concrete account. I also don't know if they're going to have a party at the office. I thought they wouldn't last time, that everything would just drag on after the tragedies in my country, but it didn't. I feel like the office doesn't respect my downtime. There's this overwhelming need to be there, thanks to the guilt of not attending willingly, on your own initiative, because everyone wants to be away and only comes out of obligation.

That office meeting was a complete nightmare, for God's sake.

Everyone was in their own world, the bosses complaining about having to do things alone and about the responsibility, and they didn't understand why no one had offered them any support or encouragement after everything they'd done for us, since they try to do things well. Then, one of them took advantage of the situation of a young woman's missing relative to promote himself, omitting the fact that they had called her after speaking ill of her. Of course, the young woman was present, and revealing this would have exposed the situation, so they had no choice but to beg that she wouldn't turn up, which is exactly what happened. One of the bosses was begging for recognition, for affection; two assumed the world had fallen apart and begged for help or something, since no one had taken the initiative with them; and another arrived late to the party, making it known that he'd even shown initiative in the early hours of the morning at the office.

What a disastrous party, for God's sake! It's incredible that at this point in time, people even thought about doing another one of those rehearsals. These people really love conflict, for God's sake! I mean, they like being in a constant battle, and that's what they call conflict. For them, from what I'm seeing, a party is everyone coming to settle scores with the other person, waiting for the other to say something. No wonder they're so exciting for them, for God's sake! No wonder the girl came, since she sensed they would use her for publicity. In fact, I can say she came for me, because she knows I like seeing her and being with her, and that's perfectly fine. However, what a disaster. It took a week to piece together what had happened through a lot of writing. Those dynamics completely absorbed me, drastically, of course. There's no peaceful atmosphere; everything is hidden beneath the surface, and it necessarily requires distancing myself, because otherwise, I find myself facing unresolved issues and reacting hastily to the defense. In the office, I can't show any emotion, not in any way, because they think I'm out of control. In the office, not following orders for the sake of the group and according to what the group believes is considered misconduct, because, good heavens, no intentionality is attributed to it. In the office, it's a battlefield where assumptions are always present; there's absolutely no transparency about what you feel because nothing is valid to feel if it doesn't affect the company's image. Internally, you can't feel anything at all about others.

I'm fed up with working in an office like that. I can't believe it took me a week to detach myself from those events. I had to do so many things to keep the environment from consuming me. In fact, since the tragedies happened, I've been working relentlessly to protect myself from being consumed by the prolonged period of time. I haven't had time to do anything else. Their way of being, which is in accordance with a certain way of acting, is considered a deviation or something like that, and if it isn't, then the person is deemed to be insane. They treat the terms as if they were different.

Artificial intelligence has its issues with me, but it's not like that between my friend and me. Everything reminds me of her; everything always involves her. Personally, I don't want anything more to do with my boss. Everything revolves around him feeling at ease, and I don't want to help anyone feel at ease, to calm them down, under any circumstances. That goes against my principles, and they didn't seem to understand that group. For this group, the boss's peace of mind is what matters, so he can move around freely and we can feel safe—that's their way of thinking. He's the reason we're okay, and without him, we're in trouble. And believe me, I'm independent and I take risks. The world is meant to be lived, and that's something she possesses, allowing me to experience it the way I want, in my own way, and allowing me to be with her the way I want. In fact, she trusts that I won't conform to others, so there will always be a space just for her. Something she herself does with me. I don't feel the need to protect my privacy with her; rather, I feel completely inspired to talk about my life no matter what. She's the best, unlike my boss, who doesn't understand that, because he believes everyone should be better off, and the only way to achieve that is by pushing the most capable to the top, which is precisely what causes his stumbles and leaves others behind, all because it's supposedly for the best of the group. What a failure of an individual.

I won't deny that I'd like to write her name in these lines, but I don't want to because I feel I want to get to what that name represents for me, and it's exciting to say it. Thanks to her, I was able to interact with those people who frightened me, precisely because of how beautiful they were, and therefore imposing in their environment, but with her, I learned to navigate life beyond that effect of beauty, at least the traditional kind. Initially, because I established the following: I am the owner, a notion that seemed somewhat strange to them, given that beauty made people change towards them, unlike others. Someone dared to stand up to them, and by doing so, they understood that I was, in some way, part of their group. Furthermore, there was someone who faced their tests head-on, who confronted them. While a test consists of seeing if something happens, and that happens is based on something concrete, then the test expresses a defined world, the outside world, and not being part of that outside world creates the feeling of being inside. Well, I won't be part of the group professionally, but I recognize them, and that certainly leaves a place there.

In addition, my spirit is the opposite of what my boss was like, that paternal figure who does whatever he pleases and revels in the way women treat each other when he's not in control. My temperament is the complete opposite, and that's why my boss favored me, both in terms of his affection and his influence. Of course, I didn't agree with him, and it was beyond his control. He was always wary of me, to the point of interfering in my life. In fact, he did this with everyone under his supervision. It was his way of ensuring he got ahead without problems, but these are a part of life, and even though he dealt with them, he did so hastily, trying to prevent anything from happening. In fact, he did this with everything, but it led to a completely unstable life, and of course, people would try to get out of it by any means necessary. And of course, he was a manipulator, using whatever he saw as a way to gain control. The word "dominance" is definitely not part of my character, and that's what this young woman observed. This led me to always try, in every context, to be a guide regarding communication, my work situation, and even how I treated her. Of course, this meant defining our place in the company and making her, naturally, need to act on our behalf through a restrained but fair tone, allowing for openness—something she doesn't do with others, not even if her own mother asks her to. The other girls in her group don't see any harm in this; quite the opposite. They see that she has gained a close friend, something that didn't happen before, and someone who appreciates them for more than just their looks. In essence, it's a welcome respite for the group from the vicissitudes of their environment. It's not pleasant to be feared and therefore restricted in one's actions, as this can be seen as an invitation to abuse, demonstrating that they choose manipulation to benefit from their beauty.

My boss was determined to dismantle that group, as it was defiant of his principles. They weren't willing to submit to him. In essence, my boss seeks control over everything, by any means necessary, to avoid any obstacles. He wants everything to be easy for him, but this tendency leads him to excesses, and then, feeling comfortable, people start to fight back.

We all feel comfortable, and under the assumption that there are rules, they aren't allowed to be, but the idea was to involve everything: the bureaucratic aspects and life outside of them, the social aspects. In this sense, the authorities were reluctant to speak publicly, because they must defend to the employees the principle that they operate based on their freedom to socialize while also being able to do their jobs—a vital balance for any company, since situations can arise in both areas that could be detrimental to everyone, and the issue is public, not confined to just one group within the company. However, my boss doesn't operate from that perspective, unlike many others there. Everyone operates from their own limited perspective instead of acting within the constraints of their position and status, in a way that fosters empathy regarding how the company operates. This attitude is evident at parties, where people socialize to share comments, but never discuss the internal matters of each group. At work, however, there is restriction. In this sense, parties allow for the silencing of internal situations, preventing them from being exposed. Company parties function as a veil, concealing details of each group's inner workings and, at the same time, provoking those who might be interested, thus allowing them to be denounced, for goodness' sake.

Well, I discover many interesting things as life throws curveballs at me regarding the girl, since I always occupy a space where she's not present, generally speaking, although curiously, I'm always looking for her. Of course, this allows me to express that I'm not enjoying myself without her, which in turn makes my being with her evident to the group, because otherwise it would be a cover-up, not facing the public. The world of human relationships is a very interesting thing to me, especially when it involves the absolute destruction of the ideal of what a company should be, not under a rigid compliance scheme, but one where it needs its space to thrive, in terms of respecting the bureaucratic system. I don't know personally if there's anyone in the office who wants me to know this. Well, they act it out, but that doesn't make them aware of it. It's impressive to see how easily they're swept along by the current; they're like puppets, protecting themselves from conflict, from being marginalized. That's the main reason, I think, for this eagerness to go with the flow, and they've all mobilized to be part of it. To that extent, people are manipulated to achieve mobilizations, as long as they can justify it to others outside the group to guarantee stability within those other groups.

The spirit of individuality isn't established, and these people fill me with immense fear. I can't show myself as an individualist, as I've always been; it would be dangerous. And she can't show herself as someone who likes to socialize, not at all. We're not allowed either because it implies suspicion. Being together solves that problem, and that's why we enjoy this. This is true in every environment, based on how our family members define us.

The people in the office have rather strange notions of life. They don't know what forces they're dealing with; they live more at their mercy. I'm tired of writing so much about this, but I suspect it's because I haven't been to the office, not because I've been in my own world as much as I wanted, but because I'm trying to shape it somehow by not being there. I'm not there because of recent tragedies in my homeland. I feel that the world there is completely alien to how I understand it. They operate through group dynamics, not according to bureaucracy, but rather using it as a shield for their own forces to carry them out. Bureaucracy establishes the rules of conduct and what is permitted, thus creating a kind of arena where one survives by advancing oneself, by any means necessary. In this sense, one definitely doesn't understand what a company is, because bureaucracy serves as a guide for carrying out actions; it's the foundation for action, the basis from which groups are mobilized. In other words, what is inherent to these groups results in a way of mobilizing based on bureaucracy, within a particular form of praxis that, when compared to other groups, serves as an example of bureaucratic praxis. Otherwise, the idea that groups operate under a self-defined framework is embraced; that is, they don't become flexible but rather islands within the same organization. However, I can't explain this in a million years, precisely because such islands will fiercely resist change, since they are already defined. The consequence of these islands is precisely the need for gossip, in order to see where each group will strike, so as to carry out a practice. That is, such islands lead to gossip and a behavior that actually maintains them. It's incredible how this is seen as funny and no one does anything about it. In fact, the use of blindness to the misuse of bureaucracy is applauded as a defense, even though the matter is completely illegal and, by God's grace, complicity is complicity.

Personally, I don't know what I'm doing in a company like this. I think it's precisely because of this, because of these islands, that I'm with a girl where we're transparent, each on our own, but always together, precisely because we make our relationship unique, we make it so that we're truly there. We set aside formalities because it results in being just like this environment, and we absolutely don't want to be like that, not in any way. We're not interested in dealing with people like this, and we're fed up because it's all about appearances, and we're overwhelmed by clinging to them, by being scolded because of those prejudices, by suffering through events that are unrelated to what we committed to. We're tired of being absorbed and we don't want them. If the authorities lack the necessary competence to effectively unite us, that's not our problem, but we can't continue paying for their negligence. My friend does her best to avoid the people who want to take us in when I'm with her, and when it's my turn, I simply keep my distance. I like to be alone, and people take advantage of that, playing on the "shortcomings" of her not being with me, but I refuse because I'm with her. It hurts not to be involved in her affairs, but I recognize that she's somewhat intrusive. Besides, to do something that probably won't be significant, I won't contribute anything, and that's partly why people avoid her because she's always talking about them to others, in a way she thinks is funny, but others, precisely because of her inability to do anything and her exaggerating it, consider her narcissistic.

It's curious, but the bosses never want to be around her, perhaps to avoid revealing that they're seeking her out for some ulterior motive, given that she does indeed hold a privileged social position thanks to her skillful acquisition of material wealth and the frequency of certain things. The bosses don't want to lose her because of this ability, which could easily cause complications at the top. However, since her contributions are somewhat burdensome, this is undermined, leading to her marginalization by everyone else, who don't enjoy listening to her stories. Both the others and the bosses feel drawn in: the former to avoid losing her, and the latter for the benefits she might offer. In short, she's caught between a rock and a hard place. My boss wanted to distance me from her after she spread some gossip, but for me it was nothing more than a social grievance. Things got out of hand during an argument, and I stood firm in my position. Besides, it all turned out to be in my best interest to defend my work, while she vehemently believed it was something else entirely. Indeed, she was disoriented and didn't know what to do; she needed everyone's support.

That's when her need for support arose, and that's why she told everyone, surprisingly, in a frightened way—it's what they would have called "a complete mess." She simply acted according to her own social norms, completely disregarding her bureaucracy. My boss was totally in his own world, initially thinking I shared his principles. At least now he's understanding that I'm not on his wavelength and that I never liked her. The reason I went to him was to make him keep his word regarding a promise he had made to me, nothing more. However, his insistence on it, which wasn't transparent, made him think he had other motives, and also that he had no other option but to keep me on his side. Such a mindset is conducive to imposing his will, which is unfortunate.

I don't know how the girl is doing right now; I recently saw her in an Instagram photo posted by her boss. I can't move the girl, as long as she can radically differentiate herself from the other employees in relation to me. That is, she doesn't like to follow any formalities and needs that to be understood. This is part of her approach, where she abandons herself and gives herself over completely, thus establishing her difference from other coworkers, since she's a friend. I love her very much, but they didn't like her at the office because of it. I personally ignored her behavior; I couldn't control myself, and indeed, that always required going further, adapting to the circumstances, being timid, which was the way to achieve a moderate level of control over the situation. Furthermore, she, who is building her career, needed a life partner by her side, since she didn't have one, at least not at the office, at least not within this work environment. I don't know if she has someone else out there, the fact is that she doesn't move in accordance with others; she always moves alone, and that's quite complicated. She doesn't feel protected, at least not at the office. I don't think she'll ever leave me if she has to. I think she'll always carry me with her because I'm there to give her lots of affection, while she remains passive, receptive, and opens doors for it however she can. Without a doubt, it seems I have a place in her life, a unique one, initially, because I'm a stranger, and I've managed to overcome that, through actions, as it should be, more than with words. As a stranger, not being in the same context as her, where everything is defined and there are no gaps, everything lends itself to manipulation.

My boss, it seems, lived only for ensuring the group's image wasn't compromised. That's what he calls taking care of the group, a completely rigid thing that he tries to maintain at all costs, even playing the victim if necessary. He's definitely not someone who adheres to any principles, because for him, that would be rigid and risky for the future, for the world he inhabits. For him, being the one with the most bureaucratic power, it's considered the one who can obtain the most benefits, therefore everyone else has to fall because of him. His imposing way of doing things has caused him problems, because he acts on his own, not for the company's benefit.

Personally, I don't like office parties because that's precisely where battlegrounds, underlying factions, and unspoken truths are revealed. My friend used to avoid them, thanks to her extreme social nature, but she acted in ways that avoided explanations, allowing her to move about as she pleased. She knows that these events are the place to let her guard down, but precisely because of this desire, everyone takes advantage of the situation, making accusations and putting you in a difficult position unexpectedly. It's not easy for her; personally, it was her way of navigating her life according to her needs, in order to expand professionally, or so I think, since I see that's what she's doing.

She has completely excluded me from her life, not because I bother her, but because if I were to get involved in her hectic life, I'd have to start by creating distance. Whenever I get involved in something that disrupts my routine, I somehow try to get out of it; I don't want to be there, I try to distance myself, I fight to make it let me go. In fact, that's what she was aiming for. Since her livelihood, her way of integrating herself into the office, is through the complete disruption of other people's space, she tried at all costs to make it as undisruptive as possible, in order to prevent me from becoming defensive. It's not her usual way of being; she has me blocked in every way, and it's difficult when I see her. However, this has led me to feel marginalized, and therefore to seek her affection, which she does provide, but only in a limited way, to prevent me from losing control and becoming defensive again. She always sought my support in some way, since she sees me as capable of being loyal to her under any circumstances.

Up to this point, from what I've said about her, she appears to be someone striving to build a life that is not only professional but also social. It's clear that her situation, as I observe it—a radical abandonment of friendships, of people who are each in their own world—has left her somewhat isolated, solely at the mercy of those professionals, but not all of them are truly professional, because when it comes down to it, her emotional life is completely neglected. This has led her to close herself off to romantic relationships, solely to protect herself from potential abusers at all costs, and also because it would mean her progress would be jeopardized. She won't abandon me, because she needs that emotional connection; besides her professional life, there's also her family, which demands her attention. I find no rest in any aspect of her life. In this sense, I need someone who is there for me when I need them, and of course, she must ensure that this lack is not evident in any way. Of course, she also needs to ensure that I am not in a state of absolute deprivation, because that would immediately lead to an outburst of anger. What a complex structure this woman has built! She is, and no one can deny it, struggling to define her life, to find balance, which is common for anyone after graduating from university, especially one still living within the family, particularly at an age when such things are supposed to be settled. In this sense, I observe her hurried nature, and it makes me understand why she has been so risky and yet so cautious in all her actions with me, as well as with others in her office conversations, in terms of setting boundaries, both professionally and in fulfilling her family obligations, in order to reciprocate their efforts.

She doesn't have it easy, of course. For my part, I'm calm, with my family life devoid of connection, my professional life equally so, my office life equally so, and emotionally, well, somewhat lacking as well, because ultimately such absences represent all-consuming barriers, as in her case, precisely because of cultural pressures, constantly leading me to feel hopeless and therefore resort to strategies to cope, but never replacing the foundation of a pleasant relationship. Indeed, we were both lacking something, but we were also completely fearful of abuse, which is why our union has been successful. Hence, I also acted to safeguard her space, to ensure that she didn't feel, in any way, drawn to me given the social pressures she was under, where her actions, in fact, were disruptive and worthy of condemnation, allowing the environment to take advantage of her. We both took precautions against this, at all costs, leading us to define our boundaries in this regard, which in effect consisted of making a whole journey, given that we had the goal and needed to be with another who made us feel like just another one and we could, who would consolidate our together.

I miss her deeply. In the office, we're so entrenched that we know any attempt to distance myself from her is a completely unacceptable act. My boss tried it, and believing a complaint wouldn't be possible, he came up with something—just to play on our prejudices—that everyone else saw. It showed I had ingenuity, and therefore, no one knew where my next move would come from if they tried. She and I form a kind of counter-government because neither of us is bound by our department, as the office administration intends, supposedly to prevent interdepartmental conflicts. My boss, thinking he could get his way with me regarding breach of trust—something that didn't happen with her because she defended herself—was surprised to find he couldn't. This also meant that the appearance of weakness that others used to perceive in me was no longer seen as weakness, but as just another weakness among them. The fact that I'm not socializing with everyone no longer means that my weak appearance is something I accept. Of course, they try to contradict that appearance, suggesting that everyone is expressing the effects of a debilitating loneliness.

My boss thought that because of the trust I'd developed with someone who was like a father to me, and because I considered him as such—something that hadn't happened—it was having an effect, that it was going to control me, that I wouldn't want to lose him like I did with my family, that I wouldn't want to lose anyone, but I didn't care. My devotion to him no longer indicated that I was needy, not at all, as is often assumed. In this sense, the others, through my boss, realized that my actions were like theirs: despite not socializing, I sought to remain rooted in nothing, unless it was something I enjoyed, which is what happened with the girl. Given the girl's fame, it clearly implied to my boss that being with her, unlike him, suggested that, given her distance and lack of awareness of others' perspectives, his obsession with me was excessive, even abusive, all to bolster his image. This is why, at the end of the recent party, everyone acted in a way that made it clear he was still acting in her best interests, completely ignoring everyone else and the company we work for.

I don't like parties because they always mark a turning point. At parties, formalities are no longer maintained; instead, they are loosened, revealing what happened when they were being used—those inconsistencies where they pretended nothing was wrong, all in the name of safeguarding social order, but requiring those involved to be vigilant about these inconsistencies. The atmosphere in the office reflects a reign of absolute control. Failing to do so may actually lead to harm, hence the constant complaints of lack of control. The idea isn't to be writing constantly; rather, this indicates that the office is unable to manage its own group, because it expands its influence beyond its own walls to consolidate its power, leading to the formation of factions.

The only person at the office party whose rebellion I agreed with was a young woman whose delicate family situation had been exploited—a disappearance, the body of which has never been found, following a tragedy that left the area utterly devastated. The young woman highlighted the authorities' efforts in acting quietly, concealing their actions, as their efforts had not been made public. In fact, there were other efforts that were public. Initially, the young woman demonstrated her inability to apologize for previous incidents where her image had been completely destroyed, at the cost of her not attending meetings. Most likely, they didn't expect her to attend this meeting, given her history of absence. She is breaking with her previous image of being naive about those who have abandoned her, now demanding accountability for them, making people feel subjugated and forcing her office group to compromise in order to prevent external conflicts. Her situation is delicate; however, I stand with her in everything that's happening, given that from the beginning, her social development was manipulated, making it seem as if she were welcome by others when that wasn't the case at all. In fact, they were creating traps for when something happened that could condemn her, which it did.

That these authorities have played with the price of a disappearance is something that fills me with dread. It terrifies me to see, from every perspective, how one of them, who hadn't asked any questions, approached her just to avoid being left out. Her situation has been exploited to gain a reputation for cooperation at any cost, but she has made sure that's not possible, overshadowing any effort to make it stand out, to bring it to light, so that they can't take advantage of her vulnerable situation. Definitely, it's not the right way to treat anyone, and I agree that this is a matter of total defense. It happened to me too, which is why I tried so hard to tear everything to shreds, so as not to be left with the impression that everything had turned out alright. In my opinion, between them and me, I come first. It's incredible to see how vulnerable situations are exploited shamelessly at the expense of image, especially after all the hell that has gone on beforehand. What has happened with this girl is everyone's eagerness to silence her, since there are always others around who listen amidst the pain, profiting from the pain, to question her past actions, to make her realize what they've done, their omissions, how they played with her naiveté, their hypocrisy. The situation of her disappearance now has resulted in a kind of every-man-for-himself scenario.

Of course, the issue isn't as simple as that. I speak for her because she's the one I interact with most, the one I feel closest to, simply because we're contemporaries. And I confess that in the office, having someone like her, who can understand me, is something I deeply appreciate. It's not easy being surrounded by older people, all caught up in their own worlds, and well, she's not exactly different in that respect. However, I feel she understands me deeply, and we understand each other, and in the face of the world, being together, we're not alone. Now, the issue with her is that in the past, she didn't keep her promises. In fact, instead of focusing on socializing, she would act in ways that completely disregarded others, making her inconsistent with that spirit of giving, overly familiar, which led people to perceive her as abusive towards others. It's not easy. In fact, I myself saw her once break a promise right in front of me, which, indeed, had its consequences in terms of her refusing to submit. In fact, she once omitted me when it was a family health issue, knowing I was worried about her, and I felt that was a complete and utter abuse. Indeed, our relationship was fragile, and her approaching me so openly was a relief, but it perpetuated the cycle. Of course, I did point things out, but others, unless they were radical and drastic, didn't, and that's precisely what allowed her to defend herself by avoiding any comment.

The young woman, without a doubt, paved the way for everyone to sideline her. When I arrived at the office, they were in the midst of that struggle, trying to see who would remain, for some reason, due to some external factor, amidst such doubt that any comment she made was subject to criticism, to severe bias from the group that was in a strong position. Indeed, I had a conflict with the girl and they sought to put me on a pedestal in return; however, they distanced me from my feelings for her, they omitted it, they made me look the other way.

She, on the other hand, sought to be humble in every situation. She never pressured me, she let me be who I wanted, and whenever I felt disappointed, she lifted my spirits; she was always there. In a way, and that's why I'm with her, that lying, breaking the promise, and even omitting things, were clear ways of not leaving me out, of giving me a little push to keep me with her, to ensure that I wouldn't be overlooked in her life, in something that could concern others. She always wanted me to be there, while the others changed drastically, from not wanting to be with me to wanting to be. However, that wasn't what I disliked. She remained consistent, the others didn't, and that bothered me. I felt they were being completely hypocritical with me, because after the conflict, I had managed to create that much-desired doubt in the girl, and in fact, they tried to make any attempt to dissuade her see it as me seeking something that would make me lose control. They went that far. However, paradise, or rather hell, made me feel unfree, and I couldn't allow that. That's why I decided to act entirely in favor of the structure, as it should be, which just so happened to align with her, causing my department to collapse, to the point that today my boss is being persecuted again, not only by the girl, but also by the other bosses, in a radical way.

Her actions put the authorities in a position of inferiority to the girl, and at the same time, she tried to ensure that her accidents weren't seen as accidents. For my part, he was isolated. I'm talking about my boss, but only within the realm of work and his secretary. He couldn't care less about what happens to that man. He's desperately trying to overwhelm him with worry so that it becomes crystal clear he's a complete egomaniac who only thinks about himself. His attempt to position himself as a role model among the other authorities through a matter that wasn't his, ended up backfiring spectacularly, generating a reaction of absolute rejection. It's definitely not right, but I'm not going to do anything about it, since going beyond the scope of work causes me problems, something he didn't foresee either. He was under the illusion that he'd have the matter completely resolved by challenging me to confront him, that I didn't want that with him, but he was wrong. He abused the trust I had in him, my need for everyone in the department to be on good terms, to avoid conflicts. A typical end for someone of his caliber.

He lives constantly fleeing from any conflict he finds, for whatever reason, circumstance, or whatever. His evident abuse of power only served to establish that the current administration was corrupt in some way, failing to prevent certain situations. This led the other authorities to isolate him immediately. Meanwhile, the girl's group, led by their leader, is at the forefront precisely because she didn't abuse her authority, but rather accepted and lived with the events that unfolded; in other words, she didn't abuse the structure.

Things at the office are definitely going from bad to worse. They don't know how to address people to establish a sense of belonging, primarily because there's no common ground around which to approach work other than compliance with the immediate supervisor. People have no basis for their opinions because the focus is essentially on meeting expectations; anything beyond that enters undefined territory where everyone applies their own principles. At a party I attended, I witnessed nothing but disappointment regarding what management, in my view, should be. The difficulties faced by managers in operating amidst the country's tragedies were discussed, aiming for a brighter, more normal future. However, we still don't know the steps to achieve any real normalcy, only the efforts made in that direction, but these efforts lack a solid methodological foundation. They say they need to hear from us, but what we want to tell them is that if they themselves don't know what to do with the company, even the most knowledgeable manager is unable to offer any input, since they don't operate according to management principles, but rather based on mere survival. Any comment made to them will be like jumping into a hell or a heaven, because in the midst of this struggle for survival there's a desperate search to escape, which in itself can lead to either appreciating the comment or making efforts to get the person making it to stop at all costs. The company's own "management" doesn't inspire confidence. It's also painful, it must be said, that they operate based on indirect messages; that is, they state that there is concern for the employee, that there are difficulties for the company's progress, but they assume certain situations regarding the nation's contribution in the midst of the tragedy, establishing a range of approval for what lies behind it, which makes employees who aren't involved feel uncomfortable. That's already a way of excluding us. The fact that they told us they wanted to hear from us is ironic because: if we came to a party to share, complaining definitely isn't in our nature.

This made that sharing feel like an effort to get everyone to come, at the cost of free food, to put us in a difficult position: an act of victimhood, justified by unspoken reasons, suppressing our individuality, making us feel guilty, watching them suffer, and thus prompting us to make comments that might seem ill-considered, taking advantage of the surprise they were asking for. It felt like they were searching for an excuse to tell other companies in the same community that: the situation was established, we expressed empathy, and we were asked if there was anything to say, and nobody said anything, even though many were absent after the tragedy. What a disgrace; it was a failed attempt at political self-preservation. The most disappointing thing for me was watching one boss make light of the way he manipulated another, making it public and presenting it as something common among them. He also expressed that the bosses support each other by protecting one another, which in itself shows that some bosses depend on others, each allowing themselves to live as they please, rather than pursuing improvement that would foster independence and allow each to focus more intently on their own area. And what hurt the most was when anyone dared to comment on how things were done, as this individual's attitude was one of overwhelming stress. Any attempt to listen, if one dared to offer a comment, was more of an illusion than a way to touch a nerve, leading to disastrous consequences, just as happens with this system.

It's also painful to see how the case of a young woman, the disappearance of a family member, was used as a propaganda tool. They made no mention of the efforts they made to find out how she was doing, keeping it a secret. The young woman had to make the effort to explain that they were doing it, presenting it as a sign of appreciation, when it was a complete contradiction to the spirit they had previously shown towards her: being there in times of emergency, but when they're not, it results in arguments, veiled insults, and other things. It's awful to see how they try to hide their contradiction in public, which shows they were trying to silence comments. They thought the young woman would keep quiet, wouldn't say anything, at the cost of having received this special treatment from them, but she didn't allow it, as it should have been. This matter should have been discussed publicly; there's a group for that. However, that would have exposed their hypocrisy right away. At least, it would have been the best scenario, accompanied by some apologies.

We are talking about a management style that definitely doesn't acknowledge its mistakes, unless they are obvious, and they readily admit them with a heroism far surpassing that of actors on stage. This style thrives on managing in its own way, completely detached from the true meaning of management, because it doesn't operate with human resources—considering their anatomy and context—to carry out events. Instead, it operates from a place of victimhood, coercion, and image. The company consists of positions but not standards, leading to the mere fulfillment of orders. These orders may well be in line with the job requirements, but they don't allow employees to develop a sense of place, which is what drives them to feel integrated into the organization, committed to safeguarding their position, and, initially, focused on fulfilling their job responsibilities. They understand the consequences of their actions within the structure and, of course, their limitations, as others also operate within the organization based on their positions.

We also discussed how relationships beyond the workplace are so neglected that they are actively undermined, as they hinder the individual's integration into the department. This is done through both negligence and direct abuse of power. Undoubtedly, this incident between me and this young woman, which required us to take action to move forward and stabilize our situation, has instilled distrust in management among all employees. They perceive that management acts out of self-interest, masking a hypocritical facade of heroism and addressing perceived needs, thus perpetuating the perception of a manipulative administration. Of course, this has had consequences not only for the employees but also within the management team itself. At that meeting, it was observed that each person followed a different approach to engaging with the staff: Some, as I mentioned, focused on supporting employees personally to promote workplace inclusion; others focused on self-help and management, also promoting workplace inclusion; and still others completely ignored the meeting and the discussions. It's clear that the meeting served as a way for the managers to vent their frustration at having carried the company, seemingly in the almost complete absence of the employees, and also as a way to unload their pent-up frustration on the other managers.

Thank God, and the worst part is that after the celebration, the company's WhatsApp group commented that the party had been wonderful. Where will this end? What I find is that the constant confrontation is applauded, or at least it's established that the conflict didn't occur from the perspective of the other actors, at the cost of indicating a willingness to return to war. If I'm the only one who noticed this, we're talking about a company that's completely out of touch with itself regarding the prevailing social situation within it.

being in the corporate world for so many years, i have realized just how easy it is to fall into the trap of emotions when you're constantly working with people. at 35, here I am wondering how to stop this frivolous cycle of falling in love with my colleagues over and over again! maybe it's the eight-hour days and endless meetings where you get drawn into their quirks which make them irresistible sometimes, or perhaps it's the camaraderie established on shared professional challenges that makes everything more intense. i mean, who wouldn't find someone attractive when they're so passionate about what they do? but there are times when professionalism should be maintained above all else and not influenced by a personal attachment.

it's really rather inconvenient for me when these feelings spark up often against reason; i keep telling myself that we must maintain clear boundaries between personal life and our work environment otherwise i'm inviting unnecessary complications within my career trajectory. maintaining this constant balance seems a hard-won battle especially since people have seamless ways of winning someone's heart without intending to! knowing fully well the repercussions it causes on my overall productivity levels during tasks or decision-making processes drives me nuts. worse still: each time i try to rationalize or suppress those butterflies in my stomach only leads towards tangled scenarios which eventually become embarrassing if mishandled! think about closing contentious deals while your heart does somersaults whenever you hear one particular voice!

someone might suggest focusing entirely on workload as distraction but there'll always be occasions such as project collaborations requiring interpersonal engagement! unfortunately attempts like avoiding any rapport beyond professionality barely lasts long enough until natural attraction reignites through little things!! simple gestures: an offer of coffee during break room conversations move beyond what could be considered friendly intentions blurring defined lines previously set...and then i'm back at square one struggling yet again determining if current scenario is just infatuation feverishness destined fizzle out soon...or genuine interest worth exploring further entertainment sake or sense plausible outcome eventual turbulence inside office walls...oh quandary!

Ever thought about sending an anonymous message just for the fun of it? That's me right now, fired up with the idea of sending a little cheeky note to my old boss. Yeah, the same old boss who had me doubting my sanity every day at work. You know how some folks just can't handle a simple email without turning it into a national crisis? Well, that was him. Non-stop drama over nothing! Seriously, I just want to shoot him one last message, totally anonymous but with that zing that'll have him guessing for weeks who's behind it.

I've been dreaming of dropping a classic 'Guess who?' bomb in his inbox. Maybe sprinkle in some inside jokes only our department would get... oh, the golden days when we secretly laughed at his bizarre obsession with using Comic Sans in all his emails. I don't want anything mean or harsh; rude might be more fitting though (just enough spice without crossing any lines). Think about something like: "Hey genius, your favorite font called, they need you back ;)" Can you imagine the face he'd make? Pure gold! The toughest part is figuring out how to keep it completely under wraps so it stays mysterious.

So how do you do this without getting caught and looking like a jerk? I was thinking maybe one of those online texting services—I've read mixed reviews though. Some swear by them while others say it's not foolproof. And if I'm feeling particularly stealthy, maybe creating a burner account for extra safety could work although that's a lot of effort for one quick thrill! Either way, it's about time someone played his game and gave him something to think about besides which shade of beige best suits the office walls. Have any of you done something similar before? Tips and tricks welcome!