Backlash*

*I'm just thinking out loud. No need to be worried about me.

One of the drawbacks of having a strong opinion is that people don’t like people with strong opinions. It seems to happen to me at all my jobs. I go from being the quiet one, to the golden boy, to the uppity problematic negro. I don’t necessarily know why it keeps happening. I don’t think I’m changing that much, but invariably at some point in my employment, there comes a backlash.




I think I’ve reached that point in my current job. Without going into too much detail, it seems that lately I can’t do anything right. Whereas it used to be appreciated when I spoke up, now it’s like please stay in your lane. Where management used to seek me out to get the pulse of the other associates, not it’s like my input is the last thing they want to hear. And it’s not like I’m overreacting. I gave that some thought, and no that’s not it. I’ve tried the aggressive approach, I’ve tried the political correct approach, I’ve spoken up in meetings to no avail. I’ve written intentionally soft emails to no avail. I keep getting the same responses: Thank you for your input, but we’re not going to actually listen to you. Sometimes, they are defensive that I actually had the gall to question them, and sometimes they are downright rude. I mean cutting me off in mid sentence or responding in a snarky manner in email. It sucks.



There’s the backlash. It always seems to hit me. I’m a laid back person, and I don’t really understand how I can go from hero to goat so quickly. I need a new job like yesterday. I don’t like being in a bad mood when I come home from work. I don’t like even giving this place a second thought after I leave the parking lot. And I sure don’t get paid enough to be stressed out. Maybe I’ll try to be just a mindless drone and see if that works. Yeah, that probably won’t do. One thing I’m not willing to compromise is my opinion.