Office Space

I've been working for the same business for the past four years and I need to vent.

As a student employee for the first three years of my employment I put in my time as a lowly employee and it must have been noticed because I was offered a full-time position at graduation which in the economic panic, I gladly accepted.

For the past year I've been a full-time employee and though my title has "Assistant" to preface my job description, I feel I'm still treated as a lowly student employee who's not capable of anything. It bums me out that they don't think of me first for a project that needs to be done. Instead they go to their golden-boy student employee who's really just a brown-nosing-asshole. Don't get me wrong, he used to be a really great guy but I think on his quest for success he's forgotten his original friends/cheerleaders and it's gone to his head. There might be a little jealousy splashed in that last line, but it's mostly disappointment that I lost a friend to his own ego. I hate that I have to fight my way into a project. And what bugs me most is, I just got a talkin' to from the "office boss" about moving into a private office after I was told I could. WTF?

Story Background: I'd been offered to share the private office before with another coworker but had turned it down to work in the main office area. Originally I liked my little cubicle by the kitchen. I loved being in the middle of things; being able to listen in on conference calls and private discussions; not missing a thing that happened in the office. But soon I began to feel distracted from my work, I couldn't take a phone call without having to block out the background noise, and anyone and everyone who came in the office treated me like the secretary. That is not in my job description.

When this office became available once again, I jumped at the chance to take it. I hinted several times to all my coworkers who are senior to me how I would like the office, how it'd be nice to have some privacy and how, now that I have student records on file they should be kept in a more secure location. Whats more, I was tired of coming into work and finding someone else had used my computer/desk/god knows what for themselves. I know the computer isn't technically mine, but it still made me uncomfortable knowing someone was there other than me. Long story short, the office was offered to someone else who did not want it. That person informed me that because they didn't want it; it was all mine and I could move in. The office boss was away in a meeting and since I'd gotten the OK from the person who didn't want the office, I hurriedly moved in. Just as I began to feel like I was moving up in the totem-pole-of-respect around here the office boss informs me that I shouldn't have moved in. I should have waited for him to tell me to move in because he might have had other plans for the office. I explained I was told it was OK by someone who had talked to him but apparently that wasn't good enough. Way to make me feel like a student employee AND an asshole all over again. Will I ever be on the same level or good enough for these people or will they forever treat me like the student employee they met in 2007. I'm busting my ass here, picking up slack, filling in where I'm not required to fill in, babysitting the interns and thrusting 100% of my effort into a project that I know is doomed to fail. This is getting frustrating.