Work harassment and anxiety

[Guest09876]

I have anxiety and mild depression and I am a diligent employee that tries to stay out of drama, however I work in a toxic work environment with issues stemming from my direct manager to other colleagues, but this is the "norm" here and management doesn't care. Besides this, this job is very fitting to my circumstances so it is a shame that I will have to find a new job and quit soon because of troublesome people as it is triggering my depression immensely.

Anyway, on top of this an older colleague I don't work with has taken a liking towards me and keeps doing uncomfortable actions towards me singularly for months including sending messages to me (not work related) which I have been ignoring but he does not get the point. I thought since it did not affect my work (just my wellbeing) and to avoid awkwardness, I did not do anything about it as it wasn't sexual or physical harassment. However, I couldn't take it anymore and finally confronted him politely when he messaged again via a reply.

I could have done it face to face but given he constantly messages it seems appropriate to do it via messaging too and I would have had a giant panic attack if I had to confront face to face- which I already have been having immense anxiety issues after sending that message.

I did not get a reply yet and my mental health is suffering from this whole situation. I don't understand why problems keep finding me when I really just want to work in peace. I will obviously act as if nothing is wrong if I see them but I hate this feeling and can't stop thinking about it.

[AverageAusGuy]

Hi Guest09876,

Your work situation doesn't sound great. I don't know why toxic work places like these exist. You would think that everyone would want a drama free and friendly place to work right?

I myself have been in a few toxic work situations over the years. My biggest regrets in these situations is not doing something about it sooner. I wish I would of made a formal complaint to upper management and/ or left way sooner than I eventually did. My mental health was negatively affected for months afterwards because I didn't take action sooner. I kept telling myself "maybe things will get better here" or "I need to stay in this job" or "I don't think I can do anything else". Don't do what I did and stay in a work environment that isn't right for you or your mental health. It isn't worth it.

My advice would be to try to change jobs asap. Get your resume in order and apply for at least 3 jobs a day until you start getting interviews and can transition to something less stressful. We spend so much of our waking life at work. Why be in a miserable at work? If your work is impacting on your free time and personal life you need to change.

I hope this helps.