Mental Floss...
Aug. 27th, 2008 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hantsbearI walked out of a meeting at work today.
Now, that's not something I do lightly. Normally, I'm the quiet one, not wanting to cause a fuss. But I do contribute to meetings when I have something valid (or witty) to say. Today, as every Wednesday morning, the Jobcentre opens an hour later ostensibly for training. Sometimes we have a speaker in, but this morning we just had a group meeting. We got on to talking about a current initiative that the office was involved with regarding healthy living. I wanted to try and point out to the meeting that as well as physical well-being, we should also be considering mental well-being. I was cut down inappropriately by two members of the team before I had finished. I glared. "Well, I'll just shut up then," I growled. Other people tried to contribute; something snapped and I got up and walked out of the room and back to my office and got on with some preperatory work for the day ahead.
My action was noticed and my boss sidled up to me and asked me if I could spare a minute. We went into her office and closed the door. She asked me if I was alright. "Actually, I'm quite pissed off," I replied. I explained what had happened and I think it confirmed her suspicions about the "contributions" of other members of the team to the meeting, with whom I think she had a few words later. Several of my colleagues congratulated me. Frankly, I didn't think there was anything to congratulate. I felt a little petulant. But I also felt that I wasn't going to take any cr@p from people any more.
I think this all stemmed from an interview I caught on the news this morning about some research from a Conserative Think-tank and the notion that "It's your own fault if you are overweight" and I think I was brewing on it as I walked to work. It is a philosphy that goes against my personal theory of wanting to sort my head out before sorting the rest out. But the interview was only half heard, so I don't know the truth of the matter quite possibly; I was the wrong side of my first cup of coffee at the time.
And anyway, some of my closest friends are on happy pills ;)
Now, that's not something I do lightly. Normally, I'm the quiet one, not wanting to cause a fuss. But I do contribute to meetings when I have something valid (or witty) to say. Today, as every Wednesday morning, the Jobcentre opens an hour later ostensibly for training. Sometimes we have a speaker in, but this morning we just had a group meeting. We got on to talking about a current initiative that the office was involved with regarding healthy living. I wanted to try and point out to the meeting that as well as physical well-being, we should also be considering mental well-being. I was cut down inappropriately by two members of the team before I had finished. I glared. "Well, I'll just shut up then," I growled. Other people tried to contribute; something snapped and I got up and walked out of the room and back to my office and got on with some preperatory work for the day ahead.
My action was noticed and my boss sidled up to me and asked me if I could spare a minute. We went into her office and closed the door. She asked me if I was alright. "Actually, I'm quite pissed off," I replied. I explained what had happened and I think it confirmed her suspicions about the "contributions" of other members of the team to the meeting, with whom I think she had a few words later. Several of my colleagues congratulated me. Frankly, I didn't think there was anything to congratulate. I felt a little petulant. But I also felt that I wasn't going to take any cr@p from people any more.
I think this all stemmed from an interview I caught on the news this morning about some research from a Conserative Think-tank and the notion that "It's your own fault if you are overweight" and I think I was brewing on it as I walked to work. It is a philosphy that goes against my personal theory of wanting to sort my head out before sorting the rest out. But the interview was only half heard, so I don't know the truth of the matter quite possibly; I was the wrong side of my first cup of coffee at the time.
And anyway, some of my closest friends are on happy pills ;)
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 02:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-29 11:29 pm (UTC)