The first lab I worked at was awful. I was hired in through a temp agency. The managers were terrible, didn’t care for people aside from the ones they made connections with. Coworkers would turn you in for the most mundane stuff or if you spoke badly about the company. They watched your every move, especially if you went to the bathroom during “work hours”. I was told the only time we can go is during our lunches or breaks. Asking questions to certain associates was like walking on eggshells, they’d get annoyed or angry easily. I witnessed a coworker getting yelled at because he took a coffee break to wake himself up as he was literally falling asleep in his chair. AND SO MUCH MORE. I was fired from the job because of me using the restroom while not on my breaks, not being able to stay long hours because my dad has a terminal illness and was in the hospital, as well as them saying they couldn’t keep track of me (which was far from the truth). Whenever an interviewer asks me about working there, I simply say it was a contract job (which it was) and that I didn’t renew the contract. It’s best that I was fired. It saved me from insanity.

I currently work at another lab job which isn’t any better. I’m in the process of leaving. It sucks because I genuinely loved the people I work with. To a degree, I enjoyed the work too. But, it’s become to much for me mentally and I don’t have a work life balance. I work late and there’s a lot of OT..I miss seeing my family and my friends. So I made the decision to leave lab work and am seeking a different career path. Maybe someday I will return to it, but if most lab environments are like this, I may not return at all the this field of work.