I swear this felt like something out of a bad sitcom—or one of those weird, slightly uncomfortable jokes your aunt tells at a family dinner when no one knows how to react. I had just started a new job, full of optimism and hoping for a smooth first week. But almost immediately, things took a turn that left me questioning not just the workplace, but humanity in general.
On my very first day, a woman in her mid-50s cornered me. At first, I thought she was just being friendly, but it quickly got… weird. She started asking me the most random, inappropriate questions. “You know how to fry pies?” she asked, like this was some crucial part of my professional skill set. Then, out of nowhere, “Any issues with your period?” I froze, trying to process if this was some kind of twisted initiation or just an extremely poor understanding of boundaries.
As if that wasn’t enough, she began trying to set me up with her son. She insisted he was “smart” and “not the type to run around with girls,” like that was supposed to be a selling point or an incentive for me to stay at this strange, hostile workplace. I said no, politely but firmly, hoping that would be the end of it.
The next day, things got worse. I was called into a meeting and told, bluntly, that I had made a bad impression, and that the team didn’t want to work with me. Just like that. No discussion of my work, no chance to explain myself—just a judgment based on what? My refusal to engage in a bizarre matchmaking attempt and my personal privacy?
Honestly, it was surreal. I couldn’t tell if I was in a hidden-camera show or just trapped in a very, very wrong version of office culture. And at that moment, I realized something: this wasn’t a place I wanted to stay. Sure, unemployment is scary, and the idea of looking for another job is exhausting—but dealing with that level of nonsense every day? No way.
Sometimes, the worst part isn’t losing a job—it’s realizing you have to fight to keep your dignity in the process. And in that case, I’d rather walk away than spend a single more minute in that environment.
