I Refuse to “Earn” Trust I’ve Already Proven for 8 Years

Tension in the workplace is something we have dealt with at one point or another. But it has a way of affecting our career, and it can be damning if the cause of it is a lack of respect and recognition. One of our readers shared her experience.

This is Jenny’s story.

Dear Bright Side,

I’ve been with my current employer for the last 8 years, and in that time I’ve exceeded every single target they had given me.

But my boss has never liked me and has always treated me like I was a newbie.

It was okay, I guess, because I wasn’t there to earn his affection. But recently my mindset about the situation changed. A guy called Jake joined the company about 6 months ago, and he quickly became my boss’ buddy.

But yesterday my boss just stood there and watched me work, while Jake was allowed to work freely, without supervision. It was strange, so I asked my boss why he was doing it.

He said, “I trust Jake. You? When you earn it!”

I was shocked because I never gave anyone in the company a reason to doubt me or my integrity.

So I just smiled calmly while I thought about what I should do about the situation. Turns out I didn’t have to do anything at all.

This morning our director asked to speak to our boss, and he panicked because the meeting was supposed to be about the client survey results. The proof was on the paper.

I had been rated the highest performer on the team for 3 consecutive quarters, while Jake had multiple complaints.

The director gave Jake his last and final warning. If his performance didn’t improve over the next three months, he would be let go. And I got myself a nice, unexpected bonus.