As we all settle back into office life, many will be suffering ‘re-entry syndrome’
Credit: Stefania Infante
When Sylvia*, 51, interviewed for a job at a local marketing company, she immediately warmed to her younger female boss. ‘She seemed ambitious and into her work,’ recalls Sylvia. But soon after starting the job – at a lower salary than her previous London-based role, though conveniently closer to her home – their relationship soured.
‘By day two, she was rolling her eyes every time I talked,’ says Sylvia. ‘She began to take credit for my work in front of senior staff and found fault with my French accent – she showily bought me a dictionary, even though I’d been writing professionally in English for decades… My brain shut down and I started messing things up. I felt nauseous and totally helpless.’ Sylvia says she made five complaints to the human resources department, one of which was answered. ‘I was told that I needed to provide evidence of bullying, but warned in the same email it was illegal to record my colleagues without their permission.’ She says she began to struggle with insomnia. ‘I’d lie awake at night, [full of] self-doubt and insecurity’.