How to Recognize an Abusive Work Environment

It’s not always evident, and you might need time to recognize it

I was delighted about landing a job at one of the largest organizations in my selected field. I immediately started doing what I do best: working hard and proving my value.

First, everything seemed fine. The environment was pleasant, people were friendly, and the work had a lot of career potential. But it doesn’t take long to notice when something isn’t right. Your co-workers are professional and outgoing but always exhausted. There is too much work and not enough people when the organization clearly requires more workforce. Your manager is working 12-hour days instead of 8-hour days, and sometimes her e-mails come in on Sundays. And the office budget doesn’t even include birthday cakes, let alone anything else for team building.

The second month is when I started recognizing the abuse.

They Cannot Tell You to Work for Two, But You Get a Double Workload

“We are always swamped” — I would hear from my colleagues. It was apparent they were: constant e-mails, endless meetings, stacks upon stacks of documents and countless urgent requests every single day. I was ready for it. I’ve been preparing for this all my life! I am used to a fast-paced environment, or at least I thought so.

It turns out, there is a difference between having a high workload and recognizing that you’re working for two. December was especially bad month: I had quadruple workload almost every day. It was also the month I couldn’t keep lying to myself anymore: I was stressed, anxious, exhausted, burnt out, and worst of all — unappreciated.

Asking You to Skip Breaks or Work for Free is Illegal… But That is the Expectation

Don’t get me wrong: I didn’t expect to receive an exorbitant paycheque, free meals three times a day and transportation covered — after all, I’m not a software engineer at Facebook. However, seeing such behavior shouldn’t be established by a reputable organization listed in the top 100 employees in the country.

Every business wants to hire the best specialist for the most reasonable price. They also wish to pay as little as they can to keep the expenses low. However, there is a point when the company culture goes from hoping to get 10 extra minutes for free to full-fledged abuse. The abuse includes examples such as:

• Throwing an unreasonable amount of work at employees and letting them know they are required to finish a fixed number of tasks every day.
• Tracking and micro-managing every little thing workers completed per hour, day and week.
• Ranking employees by productivity and creating a competition among them.
• Basing the progress reviews and monetary rewards on the productivity ranking of the entire office.
• Hinting the probability of promotion depending on the work volume completion.

They couldn’t tell us to skip breaks — that is illegal. But it was widely known the company expects you to work extra with no additional compensation. Most of us would stay behind to finish work — either hoping to get rewarded or out of pure professionalism and ethics. The thing is, this wasn’t right.

There is a difference between having a high workload and recognizing that you’re working for two.

It May Only Be an Extra Ten Minutes, But It’s Much More

I have never had a problem working a bit more than my contract stipulated. Sometimes you arrive earlier than you should, and you know e-mails are waiting for you — why not start early? It’s also a sign of a good work manner to finish the task before leaving the office. So, what if you stay extra 5–10 minutes? Your conscience will be clear knowing you didn’t flee the building because you had red wine and Netflix waiting for you.

The problem is: the time adds up. Ten free extra minutes before work once in a while is fine. However, when you work for free constantly, you end up working a longer workweek. Let’s count:

20 minutes before work + 2 breaks, 15 minutes each + shorter lunch, 20 minutes + 15 minutes after work = 85 minutes per day.

Before you know it, you are working 6 days a week instead of 5. The worst part is, the 6th day is unpaid. With 261 working days per year, you are putting in 370 hours of free labor. It signifies two extra months per year with no additional pay. If you are being paid $25/hour and the overtime starts after 44 hours weekly, you are being underpaid around $10,000 yearly. Ten thousand. Most importantly, this occurs simply because the company is too stingy to hire enough labor, not because of you being unable to complete your workload.

I had quadruple workload almost every day. I was stressed, anxious, exhausted, burnt out, and worst of all — unappreciated.

What You Get is Not Your Right — It’s a Privilege

Another shiny example of workplace abuse is when your compensation and benefits are presented to you as a privilege, not the result of your accomplishments. You received the full benefits package not because you are an experienced employee with knowledge, education and expertise; you earned it because you’ve been killing yourself at work for almost a year — and it can easily be taken away. You got your bonus not because the company cares about its employees — you earned it because of your hard work and $10,000 worth of free labor; and others who chose not to give in received less.

The pitting point for me was their decision to take away my raise. The reasoning behind it?

“You only started working in February, not on January 1st, which means you haven’t been with the company for a full 12 months.”

“Your contract is different from others, so you are not entitled to a raise. Read the company guidebook!”

“You earn more than most on the floor. Since you are almost at a cap, we cannot offer you a raise.”

So, which one is it? Also, it doesn’t matter that I’m at a cap — I worked for my raise; I am a top performer and an immensely enthusiastic employee who always take on extra tasts. But the truth is, that was not enough.

“Every Company is This Way. If You Want to Succeed — Get on Board With It!”

Someone will always try to justify such treatment by saying this is standard. No, it is not. Had I not seen examples of fair treatment and company ethics, I would not be saying that. But I have. Stating this is the way things are done is yet another example of manipulation and a lousy attempt to justify the abuse.

Everyone deserves to get paid for their time. No one should feel exhausted or on the brink of a mental breakdown. And trust me, a few of my co-workers were. As they couldn’t deny the burnout anymore, they had no other choice but to go on medical leave. Thank God for the health insurance deemed a “privilege.”

You can’t change the past, but you can shape the future.

So, What Do I Do Now?

What is the point of crying over spilled milk? Similarly, there is no reason to regret the time and energy you have invested in this organization. You can’t change the past, but you can shape the future. It’s tough to collect yourself together, let go of the frustration and keep going, but this is precisely what you need to do.

Take care of yourself mentally. Take a break, evaluate your life and craft a new plan. After going back to work, start executing that plan. The main goal is to get out of that work as soon as possible, but without causing damage to your career or reputation. Stay away from conflict, make more friends, expand your network and keep going. There are plenty of jobs out there — you will get a better one.

It too shall pass.

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