Backstabbed in the Workplace

[Terpsfan]

I have just had the worst thing in my career happen to me in the past week. I had been contracting the past 20 months as an in house developer for a leading financial corporation. It became evident in the first few months that there was a person with an agenda against me. On a couple of occasions this person falsely accused me of doing things in order to get me fired.

A week ago I had made an off hand comment that if I wasn't there, I said "I guarantee that these databases will not work". I meant that in my absence that the applications I created would basically go to pot because I wasn't there to enhance them.

Well, this person misconstrued my words to indicate that I intended on sabotaging the databases. Without any chance at clarifying the meaning of what I said, I was released a few days later.

I had no intention of sabotaging the work of my own hands. In fact the very day I was released, I spent my lunch hour bringing the database up from a network failure. I had created these databases from the ground up. In a sense they were my babies.

In a nutshell I am worried that this incident may have ruined my career and impugned my character. I tried to get a few work references from co-workers and managers, but was informed that because of the nature of my release, they could not provide a letter of recommendation. Now I cannot put this job as a reference even though I spent 7 of my working years there, off and on.

I may not be able to receive unemployment benefits as a result, but more importantly I worry about being able to get a job in the future. Software development is the career that I love. I have put my heart and soul into it.

Any advice anyone can give would be most appreciated. Any suggestions on how to move forward from this is also appreciated.

 

[arnoldmram]

Dear Omega36,
It is unfortunate that you had to be released in such a way after putting in your best efforts.

One thing definitely comes to my mind - this is what my mentor always said

"Work with Passion but never with Emotion"

because if you do, you and only you are the worst sufferer.

Did you try sorting out trouble with that guy who had an agenda against you before you were given your release letter?

Suggest, take your break, be positive and move on.I know it is not so easy, but I dont see any other alternative.

Arnold

 

[Thadeus]

Omega,
I know that it seems dark right now, but try to put some perspective to it and not let it be the big disaster that you describe ("the worst thing in my caree"). You control how big it is.

Do you have a formal letter explaining what it is you did to get in this situation? It's not that I think you don't know, but that what they put in writing may be far less damaging than what they will say to you.

Were you contracted with them directly or through an agency?

~Thadeus
Corporate Spirit Consulting

 

[SQLSister]

YOu might also want to consult a labor lawyer. This is person who can give you the best advice.

Questions about posting. See faq183-874

 

[Terpsfan]

Yes, I was employed through an agency. No, I have not received anything in writing. Basically a company can terminate a temporary for any reason. It seems a temporary/contractor has few rights in the workplace. What should I do regarding searching for further employment? I can put the agency down as my reference because I never worked officially for the company I contracted for.

 

[mrdenny]

Omega,
What happened to you sucks.

When you work for an agency you should put the agency down for the work history and the reference. Check your paperwork for when you started with the agency. It probably says that you can't list the company on future work applications.

I would try to find out what they told the Agency about why they didn't want you to come back any more. That should give you some idea as to what they would say when asked for a reference.

From what I understand of labor law contractors have very few rights with the main company as they don't actually work for the company, they usually work for them selves or an agency.

Good luck.

Denny

--Anything is possible. All it takes is a little research. (Me)

 

[sedj]

It is obviously bad what has happened to you, however, this quote troubled me :

A week ago I had made an off hand comment that if I wasn't there, I said "I guarantee that these databases will not work".

To me, if no-one else can pick up your work, because of whatever reason, then IMO you have either not created a stable enough system, or have not documented your system correctly.

 

[cdogg]

I've spoken to scores of people in the past that were let go for bogus reasons. In most cases I've come across, unemployment benefits were not denied to them.

Now of course, I've worked with larger corporations (Fortune 500), so perhaps HR departments in such an environment are less prone to deny benefits or give out specific details to reference-seeking employers. But the main point is not to give up hope on receiving unemployment. You'll never know until you file a claim and receive an official response.

I see nothing wrong with mentioning in your resume, the company and position you had there. Under or "next to" your entry for the agency should be acceptable.

Don't let it get you down for too long. You'll likely find a better job...


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[BiggerDon]

Ouch... been there done that so I understand your feelings this soon after. I was identified as a threat due to me pointing out the uselessness of a virus prevention policy at an office I had worked in for 6 years! I was plenty PO'ed and did make sure that everyone I trusted knew what happened. Due to downsizing my position was eliminated so I technically wasn't fired but there was the potential to have the damage done to my reputation so I was concerned. I also got references from co-workers and my immediate super...basically from those I trusted. I was also let go from a contract to full time opportunity as the comptroller decided I should jump through hoops for her and didn't appreciate me telling her that I signed on to report to the MIS manager and would never answer to two masters. Plus a coworker, who also worked in that other office, plainly had her finger prints on the handle of the blade between my shoulders. I heard after what she was telling others as she saw me as a real threat to assending to the MIS manager job. I considered sueing but I didn't see that as a positive use of my energy.

Bottom line is that it probably seems very dire right now but if you pick yourself up and keep a positive attitude, things have a way of working out. If you cower and dwell on the negative, then that might be the outcome too. Pick your course and stride on.

 

[AnotherHiggins]

I agree with SQLSister. You probably should get a consultation from a lawyer - just to see what your options are. A lot of people feel like once they "bring a lawyer into it" things will turn ugly, but they don't have to. You just need to make sure that you know what your options are so that you can make a good decision on how to proceed. Gathering info can't hurt anything.

Also, like others have said, it's not the end of the world. It sucks - it really sucks - but this too shall pass.

Good luck!

John

Every generalization is false, including this one.
-Unknown

 

[jsteph]

Omega36,
First, I sympathize with your situation, because it seems like you love your work, which is a key to happiness.

However...
I second sedj's response. Many employers are angry that consultants do things that are effectively sabotage--not direct sabotage, mind you--but passive sabotage. Job security is another facetious term for it.

Not documenting or commenting code is probably the number one method of passive sabotage. Having a database that "won't work" if you're not there means either the aforementioned reason, or you didn't train the users, you built it too complex or user-unfriendly, or simply not robust enough.

I've been taking ABAP classes and the teacher only half-jokingly tells us not to comment our code--for 'Job security'. Most of the ABAP at our shop is horribly under-commented. I also worked on a lot of Access databases in this shop that had absolutely no comments whatsoever. They guy who did them was booted because the IT manager got sick of having to pay him to babysit these Access apps every friggin' day.

I'm not trying to come down on you, and it may seem to defeat the purpose of keeping a gig going by doing such a good job that they don't need you anymore. But if you do so, they will remember that and call you when they have the next project. You should be able to walk away from the project and have it work. Period.

I'm not aware of any mitigating circumstances, here, and it does seem like that co-worker probably did you in, but he or she will get their own in due time. Karma takes care of this.
--Jim

 

[Terpsfan]

Thanks everyone for the responses. The system overall is thoroughly documented. I will admit some of the code is not, which is my mistake. The reason I said the databases wouldn't work was because the other support person is more of a project manager and knows very little of Access development. He has had trouble with simple query design, table design, and form design. I don't think he would be able to instantiate a class module, or work with methods or arrays. I know they don't intend on bringing someone else in because of budget issues.

What I was driving at was that if I wasn't there, there wasn't a person competent enough to handle the enhancement and maintenance of these projects. That's what I meant by it not "working". In the past, I wasn't there for one year and the systems dept had someone maintaining the database who was more of a reports person and couldn't even program a message box.

Six months prior to this, this person accused me of deliberately changing IP addresses on printers. I was almost fired for that, even though I didn't do it. I'm not sure how doing such a thing would have benefitted me. I had to spend a few weeks defending myself and even then was still under suspicion.

I am going to consult with a lawyer who specializes in labor law. My interest is not in filing a suit, but perhaps mitigating whatever damage has been done.

Also I have to look within myself to see what did I do to contribute to this. I am not a politically correct person, I show emotions too much in the workplace. I acted too much the renegade. However I am not a vindictive person. On my last day I spent my lunch hour trying to recover the database from a network shutdown.

Sorry, I probably sound like I am venting. I honestly love this work. I don't always love the people I have to deal with, but I may have to learn to.

I have managed to assemble a few references, one manager from a previous job and another who was a co-worker at the present job. This is indeed a setback, but I'm certainly not going to give up. I've learned more than a few hard lessons from this.

 

[Thadeus]

I have to agree with Omega on the documenting/training thing. I have been in many consultant positions where there is no one else within the company that understands what I am doing when I code... It has nothing to do with documentation or training.

If however, they brought in another consultant or 'guru' in my area of expertise, they would have no problem following what I did. So the statement, "If I wasn't here..." would be a perfectly valid one.

~Thadeus

PS. were any of your co-workers also consultants? They may be able to provide a reference for you that an employee cannot.

 

[Terpsfan]

Fortunately I have been able to get a few offers, one was for a contract assignment and another is permanent. So it appears my worst fears were not realized.

I will take what I learned from my last contract with me however.

 

[ChrisHunt]

Sounds like you're well out of there, Omega. Glad you've found somewhere else to go.

I had a situation where I fell out with my manager, and was fired, in my very first contract. I worried for a while that it might have killed off my freelance career before it started, but it wasn't actually a big deal. I still put that contract on my CV, and was honest about it in interviews - if they asked, I told them what had happened and (briefly) why. Of course, I had references from 7 years of permanent work to fall back on.

I think most employers recognise that contractors are expendable, so they're not too bothered by this sort of thing in a CV. What they'll look at is the time that you worked somewhere: if you're there for a couple of weeks, then booted, it implies you weren't up to the job. If you were there for nearly two years you must have been doing something right!

So, for anybody in this situation, don't worry! Put it in your CV. If there's an ex-line manager/coworker you can trust there, use their name as a contact if not a formal referee. Don't waste time trying to sue for unfair dismissal, it goes with the territory.

The only thing you might consider suing them over is if they telling your potential employers that you actually blackmailled them. That's libel, and should be pursued if it's really causing a problem.

-- Chris Hunt

http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk

http://www.napitalia.org.uk

http://www.leicesteryha.org.uk

 

[Dollie]

Don't forget that in most states in the U.S., an HR department can only answer three basic questions:

1. Job position
2. Salary/Fee
3. Would you rehire? (yes or no answer please)

Most HR departments that I've worked with will only confirm the information given ("So-and-so says their position was 'IT Goddess'. Is that correct?" HR Department: "Yes").

Advice others have given you is good. Technically, you worked for the agency, and you were working on-site for a client. Most of the time you cannot give that client as a reference, only the agency.

I wish you the best and hope all works out well for you!

 

[ESquared]

If all one's work as a contractor was entirely with one company, I see nothing wrong with putting the company name on one's résumé/CV, along with the word "contractor." Companies want to know who you worked FOR, not who signed your paychecks.

I have several temp-to-perm positions in my work history and for those I don't even mention the period of time when I worked as a contractor through an outside agency. It was the same job. It would be silly to list it as two jobs.

-------------------------------------
It is better to have honor than a good reputation.
(Reputation is what other people think about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.)

 

[SQLSister]

Esquared, I too have that in my job history I put the dates in for the entire time I worked for the company in the job header but put a note in parentheses in the work description that I was employed as temp to perm and the temp agency and dates) This way if they check my dates fo employment, there won't be a discrepancy. But I agree, I list it all as one job - have to save space to keep it down to two pages.

Questions about posting. See faq183-874

 

[GoTellBigDaddy]

Omega36

1. Who made the off-hand remark ? I'm glad you set the record straight and fessed up on this. This shows character even though no one knows who you really are.

2. Ruin your career ? Get on with life. Find something else to do somewhere else. Your life is worth more than some job.

Can't get a job ?

Sure you can. You can, you can you can...

If you had those feelings for 20 months of working there, then getting the boot is probably the best thing that could have happened to you. You were probably right- someone or others, had an axe to grind and you can't make people like you.

Then: "I honestly love this work. I don't always love the people I have to deal with, but I may have to learn to."

Soundz too close to home for me ! Yes, you will need to learn to deal with people. Ain't easy but do it anyway. You maybe "self employable" and never employable. Something to consider.

Best wishes to you.




The older I get, the less I know

 

[Terpsfan]

Actually I have another job now. It took about a month. I still keep in touch with some of the people that work at my former employer. As it turns out, the people that they kept are not able to maintain the applications I created. The manager that had the agenda against me must not be looking too good right now.

Everything happened there about as I predicted they would. The unfortunate thing is that they shot themselves in the foot. Now they are going to have to wait a year for a vendor to do the applications, and, they are going to have to pay a high price tag.

The main thing is that I have moved on from this fiasco and learned from the experience.