Work is hard enough, don’t be the reason someone dreads it…. | by Neko | Sep, 2025
🚫 The Toxic Side of the Workplace
When I first joined my current lab, a guy my age pulled me aside.
“You have to learn everything from us seniors and do it properly,” he warned.
“I learned all this in just two weeks.”
Then he told a story about a day when a patient’s guardian complained because our lab’s results didn’t match the hospital’s. Turns out the reagent level was low. He had to apologize — and even pay for it out of his own pocket.
At first, I admired his serious attitude. I thought, Wow, I’d better be extra careful, or I’ll end up making a big mistake too.
But slowly the shine wore off. Most seniors didn’t explain things clearly or all at once. Whenever I asked questions, that same guy would brush me off:
“Oh, you won’t get it now — we’ll tell you later.”
These weren’t complicated formulas — just basic steps!
Then, when juniors like me got stuck, they’d laugh:
“Oh, you still don’t know this?”
The person who made such a big deal about being careful seemed more interested in bragging about how quickly he learned than actually helping anyone else.
Here’s the ironic part: people who worked with him before told me that, in the past, he had made plenty of mistakes himself. Some even said he once released abnormal results as “normal.”
Yet now he acts like the model of perfection — eyes closed to his own history.
It wasn’t just the men. Some senior girls were the same — beautiful smiles, but sometimes pretty sharp inside.
A trainee once told me how she asked a senior in microbiology for help.
While that senior was kindly explaining, another girl started slamming things around and yelled:
“No one taught us these things — we had to figure it out ourselves!”
Moments like that crush your spirit.
Criticism from someone who’s truly experienced? Fair enough — we can handle that.
But when people at the same level — or even below — start bossing you around, gossiping to management, or trying to make you feel small, it’s hard to stay calm.
I’ve faced this in other jobs too.I don’t mind learning from anyone — no matter their title.
But being ordered around or treated like free labour? No thanks.
What Good Mentors Actually Do
Thankfully, not everyone is like that.
I’ve also met seniors who are the complete opposite — people who:
🔹 Keep healthy boundaries.
🔹Teach patiently.
🔹Let you try new things.
Notice your efforts and say “good job,” not just privately, but in front of others.
Those people change everything.
They turn a workplace from stressful to a place where you can actually grow.
They remind me that mentorship isn’t about showing off what you know , it’s about helping the next person stand confidently on their own.
🔺 That’s the kind of senior and co-worker , I want to be.
Because at the end of the day, work is hard enough, and we spend most of our time at the office.
The people around you shouldn’t make it heavier — they should be the reason it feels worth it.
If you’re lucky enough to work in such a comfortable and supportive environment, treasure it.
කවදාවත් ඔයා වැඩ කරන තැන,කෙනෙක්ට රස්සාව එපා කරවන කෙනෙක් වෙන්න එපා ,
පුලුවන්නම් රස්සාව ට එන්න ආස හිතෙන කෙනෙක් වෙන්න 🖤
