Exclusiveness

Wow! People never cease to surprise me! Sometimes I wonder if people know they are purposely excluding people. Today, for example, the branch came into work with the Western theme. We are all decked out in cowboy hats, flannel shirts, overalls, and bandanas… I even busted out the belt buckle! The first sign of exclusivity: "Oh, I did not know you were going to dress up too Candice." Did I mention I would not participate? No! Sure, I am not a fan of Halloween… despise this day, actually… but in efforts to build good repoire and good relations with the branch, I decided that I would join them. Next: "Okay, let's get everybody together for a picture. Candice will you take a picture for us…" One, two, three, four cameras. So I wonder why I even bother trying when they very obviously do not consider us as part of the team here at the branch. Not one person asked me to join them in a picture. Not that I am dieing to be included in a picture, but I am recognizing more and more that despite our efforts, we will never belong. My boss and I have been working at this branch since May, and we have yet to feel welcomed and comfortable here. Maybe I am hard on them because I would do things differently myself. I would welcome the new folks and go out of my way to make sure they are included and feel part of the team. Or maybe it's the MC mentality… Marin County. But that seems to be the end reasoning for everything that goes wrong with the people we interact with through this branch.
I guess I could have said, "Hey! You mean I am not allowed to be in the picture" and then see how they react... maybe that would give them more of a chance to realize that their actions affect other people. Next time...