Why is everyone at work all of a sudden annoyed with me?

Question

I've been here a year, and I've always been a good employee. I get along with everyone, I've never had one negative comment said to me about my work, and the level of my work hasn't changed or gone down.
But for some reason these past couple weeks some co-workers have been telling me I'm not doing something correctly or that I could be doing it better, when I'm doing everything right. My boss took away my hour lunch break and made it a half hour, people are randomly making me do work for them that I've never had to do, and all of a sudden my boss won't let me go on myspace. And I'm not one of those myspace junkies either, I just go on once a day for a couple minutes to check email, and she's never cared before. And she lectured me on being 2 minutes late! This is a very relaxed place normally, everyone is always up to a half hour late! What's going on, why are they being so strict with me out of nowhere?

I am aware it's not appropriate at most jobs to be on myspace. But like I said, this is a very relaxed place normally, and I only go on for, AT MOST, 5 minutes in an 8 hour work day.

Answer 1

Hmmm, I don't know, but I certainly understand why you are feeling paranoid. Perhaps heads are about to roll, and everyone wants to distance themselves from you. Maybe it's the lunch. Did everyone else take an hour lunch?

Answer 2

Well, since none of us know the situation, your best bet is to speak with your boss. Maybe you just haven't been seeing the warning signs or paying attention to your actions.

Most people have their faults. I've seen the following happen -

Part 1 - Employee A may always be late and Employee B may always leave early and Employee C may always take an hour and a half for lunch.

Part 2 - However, Employee A may only take a half hour lunch to make up for the lateness and Employee B may take a half hour lunch to make up for leaving early and Employee C may always be 1/2 hour early to work or work 1/2 hour later.

Part 3 - Employee X only notices Part 1 and think it's okay for to do all three! When her boss mentions it, she feels she's being treated unfairly because other Employees do "it."

Part 4 - Because of Employee X's "greediness" the boss is considering normalizing everyone's hours again.

In short, you may be rocking the boat by focusing on what everyone else is doing rather than on what you should be doing. And when you do things that can potentially ruin everyone else's "good thing," you'll find those people will begin to resent you and treat you differently.

So, if you are coming in late, taking long lunch breaks, leaving a bit early AND spending time on MySpace when you should be working...well, have you figured it out yet?

I'm not saying this is the case, but you need to clarify things with your boss. The reasons for your troubles could be entirely different.

Answer 3

It could be something larger is happening to the company causing stress throughout the organization. If the boss is under stress she's passing it along to everyone, not just you, which is making everyone a bit crabby. Or, it could be your boss only under pressure and being grumpy to everyone.

Don't take it personally.

If your lunch-time was cut, make sure that it doesn't violate any policies or laws. Was there a verbal agreement when you joined what your daily schedule would be?

If it's a publicly traded company, look around on-line at financial reports about the company that may indicate a problem. If you're financial calendar ended the past quarter on June 30, it may be an indication that the company didn't meet financial projections and the management is under pressure to show they are taking steps to control or reduce costs.

If you are a private company, it's a bit more difficult. If you are becoming unhappy and getting subtle signals, have a one-on-one meeting with your boss to ask her for feedback on your performance. Be straight with her. Remember, she's just another person like you with emotions and faults.

Good luck.

Answer 4

I'm not a boss, just a regular 44-year old working dad. However, you have NO business on MySpace at work, and punctuality IS part of doing your job well. Maybe the reason nobody said anything before was that they thought you would eventually mature into the job and take it seriously. Not being cold or judgemental, that's just how working for a living is, assuming you ARE working to make a living.

Answer 5

FROM HERE ON OUT, You need not be LATE FOR WORK, You will need to get to work early if not on time and NO MORE MY SPACE, And just because everyone else is late or do things that they should not do, YOU SHOULD NOT PLAY FOLLOW THE LEADER, As for your Lunch if you are suppose to get an hour lunch that is what you should get, You need to find out what is in your job description, meaning what is required of you on your job, Sounds to me like you maybe getting ready to be FIRED, TERMINATED, Hey if you want your JOB do what is expected of you and continue to do your BEST. If all else fells TALK WITH YOUR BOSS, Maybe her Boss is watching her and her TALE is on the line or maybe she/someone else has told her something concerning you, THAT WAS BAD, JUST BE VERY CAREFUL. If you want your job.

Answer 6

It might just be a phase, or there getting ready to can u! I've had that happen before when i've been at a place for 2 years and all of a sudden everyone seems irratated with me and i finally get sick of it and quit. If i were u ask what the deal is and if they don't stop acting stupid i'd look for another job.

Answer 7

Tell you boss you want a meeting to review your work, when I worked for the phone co. we had regular production and qualilty reviews. Ask her questions like am I doing everything expected of me? Is there anything that needs improvement?

Answer 8

Could be lots of reasons for this. Could you ask your boss, honestly but politely? Tell her that you feel her treatment of you has changed and that you're concerned that you're doing something wrong and that, if nothing else, you'd like to make the correction if there is something wrong.

If nothing else, she should admire your honesty and concern.

Answer 9

i comprehend what ya mean, it is surpassed off to me with Kings Of Leon, have continuously been a tremendous fan considering the fact that children & youthful Manhood, and in basic terms a number of my acquaintances ever were given into them, and no one looked as if it would have ever heard of them until eventually.... sex on hearth Then unexpectedly absolutely everyone loved them, in the starting up i became delighted that they were getting the acceptance they deserve until eventually i realized that countless the individuals now listening to them in basic terms pay interest to the recent album, and couldn't be afflicted with the first 3!! no longer in basic terms is their new album their weakest album yet (in my opinion) yet they're attracting the full "pre-youngster - accurate-40 - omg - I - like - soooo - completely - love - Twilight era" >_< Rant over! do merely what I do and merely experience free that they are getting the acceptance they deserve, and ignore with reference to the aggravating human beings screeching to their sings down the decrease back of the bus :-)

Answer 10

something does smell fishy, like the firm is about to have layoffs and people are edgy, but just focus on doing the best job that you can and being as professional as possible.