Strangedays, Here We Come
29th November 2021 - Monday evening recalling a strange day at work.
Today was a strange day at work. I sit here recalling many odd occurrences so I can record them and through this process come to realize that I was treated like a leper today. Reasons to be treated this way appear ambiguous yet after recollecting the occurrences I surmise they are being done for the purposes of intimidation.
Two hypothesis arise foremost in my mind as possible reasons for it and I will do my best to recall the occurrences that led me to these conclusions;
My continued friendship with two ex-SMALL employees, one of whom was unceremoniously & with great cruelty dumped as a valued part of the business. This senior broker (OE for short) is being ridiculed and blamed quite openly by other staff, particularly loudmouth (LR for short) who is LC's (the managing director's) assistant. The beratement by Loudmouth LR alleges a lack of quality in his placements and renewals.
This morning there was a tense atmosphere at work when I arrived, with LC arriving and parking at the front of the office yet other staff inside the office commenting he was nowhere to be seen. "His car's parked at the front but I don't know where he is," said Ops manager (EC) out loud to everyone in the office.
Shortly after this loudmouth LR loudly berated OE's work on one of their previous client's insurance programs, very specifically (and loudly) announcing a complex error she discovered in either the client's PI or ML policy. The error allegedly involved a specific non-disclosure or misrepresentation of some sort.
There was an Underwriter's full name mentioned in this allegation that I did not recognise at all and I think loudmouth LR mentioned the name because they were involved in last year's renewal or new business placement which OE brokered.
I considered what the 'behind-the-scenes' implications were behind this because by this stage I was acutely aware of how loudmouth LR projected her specific allegation, like a grand announcement to all and sundry in the office;
- she enunciated OE's full name scornfully and I had not heard loudmouth ever say OE's first and surname in unison prior to this.
- she rattled off her very specific and complex discovery of OE's alleged error/mistake/misconduct with unnatural precision. No missteps or hesitation (I am confident that the announcement was practiced earlier because of her delivery) when making the announcement to my work colleague CG.
- By responding to CG's query "what's the problem now?" after inviting the same question with such a word perfect announcement indicated to me that I was the intended audience as CG would have little insight into the alleged error done by OE as the previous broker for a client CG had never heard of (or needed to deal with).
- Loudmouth LR's admonishment was of such a volume that there would be no possibility of me or my work colleagues present in the office not hearing her loudmouthiness.
Soon after, LR signalled to CG to go with her outside for a private discussion (probably through Microsoft Teams instant messaging chat). They left for a short time (around 5-10 minutes) to discuss something definitely outside of my earshot. Quite manipulative in retrospect and quite obviously intended to affect me.
I couldn't help but be slightly paranoid: I knew instinctively LR was up to her manipulative, loudmouth tricks and her behaviour evidenced that I was the intended target.
Upon their return CG, who sits near enough to me to be within my field of vision while I look at my dual computer monitors, sauntered back to his desk and pointedly scrutinized my face, seeking facial expressions in it as if to gauge any reaction I had to the loudmouth's activity and annoucements.
Did I have an inkling of what was transpiring? Did I have some kind of guilt or concerns belying insider knowledge being signalled unconsciously through my facial expressions?
I did not as I am a very busy man at work and the nature of my role means that I work mostly autonomously with all the discussion (and gossip) occurring around me being a nuisance by interrupting my workflow and disrupting my focus. I have become accustomed to ignoring what is happening in the periphery of my hearing and sight at work due to this.
Western Australia's workforce waits upon a threshold where 75% of them are going to be implicated into the "vaccination" mandates that WA's State Premier Mark McGowan unjustly imposed upon them. I have purposefully avoided dwelling too much or investigating the specifics of these mandates for several reasons: mainly to preserve my own mental health.
When i first studied the proposed mandates shortly after McGowan publicized and published them, I ascertained that it would not apply to me except in the particular scenario where yet another State Government mandated lockdown was being declared.
Without referencing the actual mandate, I recall that 75% of those workers to be mandated inside of particular industries and sectors of WA's workforce would be subjected to the conditions of the mandate as of 1st December 2021. This occurs in two days' time and I theorize that with this date looming, I am (with my ambiguous medical health status in terms of vaxx) becoming a looming problem to management. A potential risk which if i recall correctly, could entail employers being fined $100k for attendance at the workplace whilst non-mRNA vaxx stabbed.
Despite not being certain at all whether such a scenario could actually occur or apply to my situation, I am quite certain that it will be weaponized against me. Whether with legitimate concerns or not, whether with honest, reasonable concerns or not.
It's remarkable that either scenario 1. or 2, being so weighted by impugned hostility towards me, is what I must contend with on a Monday morning to start off my week at work. Yet intimidation of this intensity is more disappointing than debilitating.
God granted me the grace to do good unto others and to seek succour from a day full of good deeds done!
Other Notable Occurences Throughout This Monday Work Day
When i went to lunch, I exited through the front door of our building and in doing so passed the boardroom. The boardroom door was open, showing the perplexed visages of EC, RR and LC. As it was the my first time seeing LC today, I was taken offguard (he was afterall, missing and being sought after by EC earlier this morning) and murmured a clumsy "Hello, I'm off to Lunch"
RR arrived in the morning in a mood of sorts - apparently deep in discussion with someone who had called his cell phone. RR was conversing to this unknown caller via the constantly attached bluetooth earbuds he wore.
Once RR sat down, I overhead "yep, yep. I understand. So how are you going at the moment anyway?" asking as if the serious discussion was now entering a more conversational, genial tone.
There was no reply to this so I guess whoever called RR ended the call in response to his facile query.
CG was dragged into an approximately 2 hour meeting in the boardroom with EC, RR and LC after I returned from lunch. He loudly joked about "packing his belongings" as if this was the moment of his employment ending. I suspect it was potentially to do with our cordial workplace friendship as fellow smokers. Who knows, he did seem a little guilty afterwards when we went outside to take out the bins.