Feeling Stuck in a Toxic Work Environment: Should I Accept a Lower Role or Keep Searching?

Current Work Situation

I have been with the organization for around two years. It is a very reputed MNC. Since day one, I have not gotten along with one slightly senior person who has now become my interim boss. She has made life difficult for me, creating issues and finding fault with my work, micromanaging, and criticizing me. There is a lot of politics in my team specifically, with a group of 4-5 people close to the boss dictating things. She is part of that group and is taking help from the earlier boss. She gave me a bad rating, citing values and behavior issues, which are very abstract and difficult to prove or negate. No performance issues were pointed out.

Efforts to Address the Situation

I retaliated and fought back for a rating correction by representing to skip level and HR, but to no avail, as all are together and one. Finally, they put me on a development program since I represented, so maybe they wanted to 'show' on paper that they are giving me a fair chance. A document was created where they said, "You are under our scrutiny and should perform well with respect to SLA communication," etc., and 20 other points. They also pointed out that the onus is on me to better my relationship with my now manager and change my image in her eyes.

Concerns About Current Role

I feel like this is just a facade to get work out of me. I'm being asked to do a lot of operational, manual, and menial tasks with no value addition in terms of knowledge. I have a feeling this might lead to a PIP. They mentioned that if the development program does not go satisfactorily, a PIP is next.

Job Offer and Career Considerations

Meanwhile, I have received a job offer, but it is for a role similar to or a little lower than my current one. My job stream will change slightly from HR to a business analyst role, dealing with data. I feel it's more administrative work and a little lower level than what I'm doing right now. Job movements are usually about a higher role and in a stream that you desire to work or grow in.

Seeking Advice

Should I move to a new job or resign and keep looking for another that fits my profile better and is in line with my career growth? I'm currently still at the beginning of my HR career. Please advise. Also, is there any way to get out of this mess or PIP? There is a lot of politics here.

Dear member, your post is too long. It appears that you are distraught to the core. Nevertheless, your post merits replies by taking out a few sentences from each paragraph.

You have written, "She has made life hell for me, creating issues and finding fault with my work, micromanaging and criticizing me."

Reply: Being in HR, you may be well aware that when personalities differ, it leads to clashes. Possibly, your boss could be a perfectionist. Your initial mistakes might have developed bias against you, and she might have become far more cautious. This led to pointing out a greater number of mistakes. Nevertheless, as an HR professional, what efforts did you take to reduce your mistakes? Did you make a note of the mistakes? Did you make efforts to avoid the repetition of the mistakes?

You have written, "A document was created where they said you are under our scrutiny and should perform well with respect to SLA communication, etc., and 20 other points. Also pointed out that the onus is on me to better my relationship with my now manager and change my image in her eyes."

Reply: If 20 points are under scrutiny, then it merits serious introspection. It clearly shows that you were out of sync with the requirements of your boss, who does not acquiesce to mistakes. Many professionals forget that loyalty to the boss is loyalty to the company. You could have used this mantra for your survival in the company.

You have written, "I feel like this is just a facade to get work out of me (I'm being asked to do a lot of operational, manual, and menial tasks with no value addition in terms of knowledge)."

Reply: No work is menial. Take this as an opportunity to show your worth. There is a lot of menial work one has to do. Don't expect each and every task to add value to your career. Perfection in menial work is no easy task.

You have written, "Meanwhile, I have got a job offer, but a role similar/a little lower than my current role. My job stream will change a little from HR to a business analyst role, dealing with data."

Reply: Assigning a lower status to the future job without understanding it completely is nothing but prejudice. You have a great opportunity to work as an analyst. This job will require knowledge of business, statistics, and MS Excel. Why not try it? The future belongs to data. In fact, it has opened a new career avenue in your life. Avail of the opportunity.

You have written, "Should I move to a new job or resign and keep looking for another that fits my profile better/in line with my career growth? I'm still at the beginning of my HR career. Please advise."

Reply: Your mind has been conditioned because you have been taught that the job in the HR field has certain activities. However, when a new activity is added in HR, you have started considering it as "not in line with HR." However, this may not be true. Mastering HR Analytics will be good for you. Who knows, you may get an opportunity to get into business analytics as a whole. Possibly, this job could sow seeds of becoming a future CEO. Please note that hardly any HR has become a CEO. It is because of the self-serving bias of HR. Get out of it and move on. As such, you are not on good terms with your boss. Therefore, why stick to a place that does not give you peace of mind? In life, after all, peace of mind is also important.

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar