DEAR ABBY: I recently received a promotion at work over someone who had been with the company for a long time. Since then, most of my co-workers have treated me badly. They snub me, gossip, and constantly look for errors in my work they can bring to the supervisor's attention. I thought the supervisor would support me, but she just humors them.
For seven months I have tried to be courteous and nice to them, but they are determined to make my life miserable. One woman in particular is very intimidating. She seems to thrive on generating hostility and bad feelings.
I leave work every day frustrated and with hurt feelings. I don't want to quit, but I am at a loss as to how to handle this. -- JUST DOING MY JOB
DEAR JUST: What you are experiencing may not be pleasant, but it comes with the territory. You can't be in management and be "one of the girls," too. The higher you climb the job ladder, the more of these situations you will encounter and be expected to handle. If you're going to be an effective manager, you must learn to accept it.
There are books and management seminars available. If your immediate supervisor isn't willing to mentor you, perhaps someone else on a supervisory or personnel level would be. Check it out.