When life hands you lemons

It's always tough being the new kid on the block, and in my office being the new kid means being thrown into shark infested waters. When I returned to the Cubicle Jungle after a nine year absence, I was in my forties, much older than most of the cubicle dwellers, with the exception of the management team and a couple of women who had been working the same position for several years. I had nothing in common with the younger, just out of high school crowd, and the older women treated me with suspicion. After all, who was I to be invading their territory. Maybe I was a spy, or was I there to take their jobs? Who did I know? I was greeted with leery glances and cold shoulders.

The management team was not much better, I was treated like an errant student with learning disabilities. Several times in my first few months there, I came close to not returning. My old life beckoned me back. I had been working in the retail environment, in a management position. I had been a team leader, and had won numerous sales awards. I was used to having the respect of my peers, not the near disdain I was receiving in this office.

When the Retail company I was working for went under, I was forced to seek a new career. I knew that wherever I went, I would be back to starting at the bottom of the corporate ladder. I also knew that in my new career I wanted to find something that would afford me a 40 hour work week with weekends and holidays off. I looked forward to spending more time with my friends and family.

The support of my family and my dreams of the 40 hour work week is what kept me in this new Jungle. I grew a thick skin to all the whispered innuendos and suspicions, and I focused on learning every job duty in that office. I volunteered to come in early and stay late. I volunteered to organize the office picnic. I made friends with the management team and won their respect. My position with the company grew quickly.

I have been here 7 years now. I have seen new people come and go. Some can handle the shark infested office pool and some can't. I always let the new people know that, I am not one of the Sharks.

Welcome to the Jungle