If you are, that explains the females being bitches to you. It you are prettier or thinner than they are, if men from the industry or office you work in show you any attention (and they don't get the same sort of attention) they will try their damndest to destroy you. I have been there. Some industries, especially in this town (hint) are full of bullying, backstabbing and brazenly cruel bitches.

develop a thicker skin. these people are not your friends so who cares what they think of you. as for their behaviour, let them know that you won't tolerate their bs. also its good to have enemies, it means that they are intimidated by you; seen that way, it should be empowering.

is not *empowering*.

This year I was lucky enough to see a number of incredible plays and performances. One of them was Sal Capone at the Roundhouse, the story of a black teenager shot by police and unfortunately more current today than ever, featured a line 'the problem with all this reality tv is that you see all these nasty evil people getting ahead. our society is becoming less civilized'. i find it to be incredibly true, especially among a certain population - young people who watch a lot of reality tv. it is very very sad. try to stay away from people like that.

make them feel super bad about it by being awesome and friendly at your work, assuring them you are not a threat and a bad attitude towards you is a super bitchy waste of time. don't sink to their level, and lead by example. otherwise quit and state it was because of a terrible work culture

First off, congrats on getting a job after 16 months of being unemployed. That's a real accomplishment and it must have been very frustrating for that year and 1/4 of being unemployed.

I am a female and have worked with catty women in many of my jobs over the years. I was bullied by my previous boss, who held all the power. I watched her suckhole to all the men who held the power in the office.

I am sorry to hear that some of your female colleagues knock you down. If you can, try and follow strongly your own narrative; don't let them dominate the conversations and meetings; stay strong and keep your voice heard by others, especially those of influence. Do not let the other women squash you. That's exactly what they want.

Work is just work; you clock in and out, you collect a paycheque. You will never see these women again once you leave, and isn't that the greatest thing?

Success is the best revenge; the happier, more productive, more fulfilled and successful you are, the better. Keep applying for other jobs, but know that your next workplace might have the same types of people. Its about learning how to deal with seriously annoying people, which are in every office.

For the record, I *hate* it when offices want to take up your time with colleague birthdays + standing around and eating cake, "social events" after work hours, sayonara parties, etc. I am completely not interested in spending any extra time with colleagues who are not my friends, especially in the summer.

Worksafe BC does have Workplace Stress recognized- if you have talked to your MD about it- you may be able to get help.

Also; given what you have described; it is quite likely you have "complex PTSD" by now. Don't let the name scare you- "Complex" just describes a long term "pressure cooker" of consistent stress- more often than not from EXACTLY what you are describing- bosses bullying do too- repetitive fear responses to the kind of stress you are experiencing results in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Talk to your Doctor- take a long term stress leave- I would say you need it.

Do you work at Big Corporate? Do they have a diversity/workplace harassment policy? Can you use it against them? At one of my jobs, a female coworker (single mother, if that's relevant) made a snarky comment every day about my childless state (whaaaa???). So I told HR I was being harassed on the basis of "family status", quoting directly from the policy. That shut her up fast.

@crushaholic

I'm glad your company is so much better than the one I was at- I was viciously bullied for almost 5 years- even formal complaints didn't help- the Union representitive (Union Local Vice president no less) was friends with management- and I was sold down the river- every time. I couldn't afford to leave- so now I have PTSD instead. All because my boss was a homophobe.

Diversity/workplace harassment policies are just political correct BS. When a complaint or issue is raised;large companies or corporate's then start targetting the perdon who complained to force them to leave.

This is especially common when it comes to Supervisor to subordinate bullying- they don't want to admit there is a problem- liability costs money- its cheaper to persecute the actual victim and force them to quit.