My advice on this issue would be to just look for another job on the sly. Given that your boss did not respect your privacy by keeping the discussions at your meeting only between the both you, I don't think sitting down and trying to talk to him about social anxiety is going to work. He obviously seems to be an unprofessional and inconsiderate person. I wouldn't want to work for someone like that in the long run anyway...
You mentioned that you started working in September for this firm. If you start looking now, you will definitely find a better position for yourself by September. I'm saying that only because switching jobs around September would give you a full year's experience and it wouldn't look so questionable on your resume either. i.e. if you switch jobs now, future employers may question why you spent so little time at your previous full time job. After September, you can just say that it didn't turn out to be an optimal match for you. Also, by then you'll have had a chance to see if your boss is more considerate and respectful of your feelings.
By the way, how long has this been going on??? I mean how long has it been since you started answering the phone and felt this way? I'm only asking because I recently started a new job and I felt just like what you're feeling. I would get all nervous on the phone and worry about saying the wrong thing, etc. Usually I don't feel like that, but I was new to this job and wasn't familiar with the environment I was in which made me very nervous about dealing with people on the phone. I must say that even though I didn't go through anything similar to your experience, my coworkers were not very helpful either. I was basically expected to gain traction from day one, but I eventually grew out of the situation. All I'm saying is that, if you give yourself some time, you may just grow out of these feelings. I'm not underestimating the implications of a social anxiety disorder. All I'm saying is that try to be yourself on the phone and always remember that the person on the other side must really need your help because that's why they're calling you. All they can do is appreciate you for helping do what they need done. Even if and when you do switch jobs, you will still have to talk to people on the phone...
But given your situation, even if you do grow out of this, you're boss seems to be a total a** (excuse my language) and I wouldn't stick with him too long. He obviously doesn't care about his employees and he doesn't deserve a hard working employee like you. |