I don't understand why some people feel like the best time to pick on someone is when they are already down. When I first got sick, people at work were very understanding and concerned. I get it that most people simply don't have the attention span for someone else's long term illness, but what I don't understand are the 2 people at work who have made it their daily mission to go out of their way to make me more miserable.

It started with my boss's assistant coming to the conclusion that b/c I don't have a Dx yet and b/c I manage to be pretty up beat in spite of not feeling good that I must not really be sick. The irony is that I am constantly told that I am not friendly enough (since coming back from being in the ER). So I am damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I make an effort to be upbeat then I must not be sick. If I am feeling sick then I'm not friendly.

To make it worse, she got one of the partners involved. So now I have him breathing down my neck. They together intimidate me and talk about me behind my back. I got double teamed in the partner's office a few weeks ago where they had taken my (requested) list of what my job description entails and my list of extra things I do for people without asking for anything in return and then went to 2 other people to get more ideas for about 6 other tasks that they then put all together to create my new job description. All the while empshasizing that these are not "new" responsibilities even though I have worked here for a year and a half and nobody has once told me any of those things were my job.

Then one of the tasks requires that I visit a particular wbsite each day to download a document and e-mial it around the office. Pretty innocuous. Except that the website in question all of a sudden will not open on MY computer about 3 days in. Mind you, every other site will open on my computer and every other comp in the office will open this site. So my IT friend tried to help me. He literally has to download a new browser so that I can do it at all. Now today the site won't let me log in. The page to be downloaded is password protected. So I send an e-mail explaining to the list why I can't get to it. Then of course I get an e-mail from mean partner copying my boss and the founding owner implying that I am trying to get out of doing it and making excuses! It is soooo obvious that they are trying to set me up as being a bad employee which is so wrong on so many levels. I am one of the few people who shows up every day on time, who often comes bakc from lunch before my hour is up (even when I am not "making up time spent at the Drs"), and stays till the end of my day. I am the only person here who is never mean to anyone even when I don't feel good. Even when I do snap at someone I always apologize. Nobody has EVER apologised to ME!

The worst part is that when they do this and get my adrenaline up and my heart beating hard I end up having 2-3 days of really bad muscle weakness afterward. I have really good health benefits where I am and am heading into surgery so I can't change jobs. I just don't understand why they are picking on me like this.

How large is the company? Is there a human resources dept?
Can you talk privately & confidentially with your boss about this?

they could be just rude people or they might be trying to squeeze you out...

I'd be sure the boss or HR dept, has the relevant medical info needed and is kept up to date with your problems getting dx'd, unless he is untrustworthy??

If it feels like you are getting singled out because of your illness you might need to contact someone or read up on discrimination, to see if it that applies and who to contact about it.

Thanks for your reply Jo. I do think I am being singled out b/c of my illness. Unfortunately we're a very small office - about 30 people- and the offenders ARE the closest thing to an HR we have. I have kept them very much in the loop from the day I was sent home in a car and then ended up in the ER a week later til now. I've read about the Harassment part of the Disability Act but don't know how to prove that 1. I am being singled out b/c of my illness, 2. that I can do my job well and 3. that what they are doing legally constitutes a Hostile Work Environment. For now all I can do is respond to everything the most professional way I know how and keep documenting. The fact that the higher ups are copied on these e-mails definitely gives the impression that if they don't intercede then they must be ok with it. I just don't know how to stay sane while dealing with this and trying to get diagnosed. The stress is incredible. My BF's solution is to look for something new but I don't know that I can afford to change benefits right now. I've gone back to my Psychiatrist to talk but I only have 12 visits per year. My ex-employer is an attorney and her perspective lies in NY being an at-will state but I don't know if that applies if they are firing you b/c you are sick or not. Any idea?

Being an At-Will Employee does indeed mean they can let you go at anytime for any reason. Even if a small mistake is made.

http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workerp...ds/faq.shtm#14

{snip}Q: Can an employee be fired without due cause?

A: Yes. New York State is an "employment-at-will," state. Without a contract restricting termination (such as a collective bargaining agreement) an employer has the right to discharge an employee at any time for any reason. This also protects the employee's right to resign. An employer may fire an employee for "no reason" - or even for a reason that might seem arbitrary and unfair -- and the employee is equally free to quit at any time without being required to explain or defend that decision.


There are a few exceptions to "employment-at-will." The most significant of these are laws, enforced by the New York State Division of Human Rights, which prohibit discrimination based upon race, creed, national origin, age, handicap, gender, sexual orientation or marital status. For additional information about how the New York State Division of Human Rights proceeds against unlawful forms of discrimination, go to:

www.nysdhr.com. {end snip}

fyi-I googled Department of Labor At-Will Employment and found this link about NY state...the DOL is a great resource for ALL employement questions such as this. I used to work for the MA dept unemployment....these questions of termination always came up...MA is atwill, too! Now being 'let-go' can often qualify you for benefits...so I'd recommend contacting your unemployment office the second you are let go, if you are let go! {unless it's the end of the week, then wait til monday }

Best of Luck. You are right, it's Unfair!!!

I wouldn't assume that your boss is going along with "it" - he may not want to deal with "it" {the email} if no one brings it up??

Did you send an email reply with an explanation of your side of it to your boss only? - why you can't get to the website to do the group email thing?

can you try on another computer to see if you can get to that site from it?

I think hostile work place or discrimination might be federal thing- check fed gov website for more info.
here's something -
http://employeeissues.com/hostile_work_environment.htm
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...ov&btnG=Search

I did. I have friends who helped me get access. It's more a matter of the fact that they jump on me for every little thing that doesn't go perfectly, meanwhile others goof off constantly. The things that they are picking on are not really within my control and are not essential to the business operations- they are tangential perks and benefits. For example, I was told that I was supposed to send the milk order fax every Monday and that's it. So all of a sudden 1/2 the office goes on Weight Watchers and now everyone is eating cereal at the desks first thing in the morning every morning and we're running out of milk in the middle of the week. Well, nobody will say to them, eat breakfast before you come to work or to me double the milk order. So I'm stuck in the middle of people being unreasonably annoyed and literally yelling at me b/c there isn't any of THEIR kind of milk at 10:15 on Monday morning because the delivery hasn't gotten there yet.

Then the other day the website I mentioned before wasn't processing passwords properly so nobody could get to the document. So I sent an e-mail to the list explaining that was the problem and low and behold the one person who I would expect to complain sends me a snotty e-mail copying my boss and the owner accusing me of just not wanting to do it. So now I have to go on an e-mail battle all day long. The problem part of it is that I am being mercilessly nitpicked over stupid things and find myself having to defend myself which stresses me out. Normally I'd be able to handle stupid politics but this is on a whole other level b/c he is copying the people who could fire me on every nit picky thing. I feel that it is harrassment based on a disability which is covered by the Disability Act. They are creating a hostile work environment but I don't know how you can prove it and if this kind of stuff passes the legal test.

Another thing they've done is they make me "make up" all of the time I take for doctors' appointments and tests that have to be scheduled during the work day. But other people take time to run personal errands all the time and don't have to make it up or apply it to their vacation time.

I can hear people talking about me all the time and sometimes it's clear that my boss is part of the conversation even though to my face she is understanding and tells me to go ahead and do what I need to do. So I don't feel safe and I don't feel like I can trust anybody and that makes everything I am going through that much harder.

I don't understand why people feel the need to do that either..Hang on to copies of all those emails..Document EVERYTHING. It could be helpful if needed in the future (though I hope it doesn't come to that)..

Check if the company has some policies on bullying.

Thanks for the tip. This company is very anti-policy of any sort. They prefer to deal with everything and everyone on a case-by-case, which is what causes a lot of the problems to begin with. I have to just hang in there and manage people's attitudes day by day I think. Right now most people are back to being pretty nice and sympathetic. So I'm gonna hold on to that as long as it lasts.

Thats awful, I don't understand why some people need to act that way.