How Do I Handle A New Job?

[jasonD2]

been with my company for 4 years now doing sales. i can still remember how terrified i was when i started and constantly feared how i would handle eating while on the road. now i dont even think twice, but i am considering taking a new job w/ another company and am afraid of having to deal with all the stuff i dealt with at my current job when i first started. the awkwardness at company dinners, having to explain over and over again to people the whole gluten thing and having people bust my balls about it. That alone is incentive enough to never leave my company but i want to advance myself and make more $. any ideas on how i can manage a new job if i were to take it?

[quincy]

been with my company for 4 years now doing sales. i can still remember how terrified i was when i started and constantly feared how i would handle eating while on the road. now i dont even think twice, but i am considering taking a new job w/ another company and am afraid of having to deal with all the stuff i dealt with at my current job when i first started. the awkwardness at company dinners, having to explain over and over again to people the whole gluten thing and having people bust my balls about it. That alone is incentive enough to never leave my company but i want to advance myself and make more $. any ideas on how i can manage a new job if i were to take it?

Hey Jason, no doubt you will go through a stressful adjustment period. I have been in the same job for 8 years and want to make more money but my current job allows me sick time when I need it and its in one place so I can deal with all of these new food req's. I think you might be surprised by the new people you will meet who will have similar issues as you do. Celiac and gluten sensitivity is everywhere now it seems, or at least the awareness of it, so I think you will find alot more understanding people, even though it is a pain.

good luck in whatever you decide. you have to weigh all the pros and cons but you can just be honest about it all despite the annoyance...

[quincy]

Last company dinner I went to was Christmas. I called ahead. The owner of the company I worked for called ahead. That night, personal conversations with the owner of Boston's, the restaraunt our company ate at, and the server. They still poisoned me! Projectile vomiting and major D. Three days of filling the toilet with blood and laying on the couch shaking.

I'm thinking the same thing you're thinking and I prefer to be open about it. NO COMPANY DINNERS. People bust your balls about it? Good luck finding a new job; perhaps you'll get to work with people who aren't vicious sociopaths.

wow spock thats crazy shi@#t no pun intended. I was the kinda guy that just ate whatever anyone put in front of me, no need to ask any questions. now i speak to the chef or sous chef directly. if they don't understand what I am talking about cc and if they don't get the fact that I need separate everything i just pass on the meal... i have NEVER gone through what you described and God help me if I do. sorry for your lousy experience.

again, you just have to be in their face about it in a polite way, something I had to get used to. I have gone on dates with women and have turned down things they have cooked for me because it wasnt safe and those dates were the last cause some people just DONT GET IT

[Ripcord]

I feel your pain. I pretty much stopped going to comapny dinners because there were too many instances of management or organizers forgetting or not understanding what gluten is and what ingrediants have it. There's nothing worse than smelling the pizza everyone else is eating while picking croutons of an alleged gluten-free salad.

[jenngolightly]

I feel your pain. I pretty much stopped going to comapny dinners because there were too many instances of management or organizers forgetting or not understanding what gluten is and what ingrediants have it. There's nothing worse than smelling the pizza everyone else is eating while picking croutons of an alleged gluten-free salad.

This is really sad. Isolation is not a cure for Celiac - and not going to work events can be damaging to your career. You may be told that it's optional, but when your boss knows when you aren't there.

When you're ready, you can learn ways to compensate for these kinds of situations by either eating first or bringing your own food. I bring my own food everywhere in an inconspicuous bag and ask the caterers for a clean plate. I go somewhere quiet to fill my plate and sit down to eat with the others. People don't usually notice because I don't make a big deal out of it. It's not like people are looking at each others plates to see what they got - generally everyone gets the same thing and I make sure that whatever I bring can be eaten cold and with a fork and knife. NOT a salad with dressing and never anything you have to eat with your hands. If someone questions you, just say you're allergic to x and like to bring your own food so you don't get sick. Period. Don't say anything else. Work events are not the time to give long explanations of Celiac and the tmi effects of eating gluten. Deflect questions by asking about the other person. If they're really interested, ask them to talk to you about it at work over coffee.

The point is, you don't have to live in a bubble. People shouldn't think you're sickly. You can be active and involved in your work events.

[lynnelise]

I think the more confident and matter of fact you are the better people will react. Say it like it is no bother. "I'll just be ordering drinks, I have celiac disease so I thought it would be easier to eat at home." Just say it like it's the most natural thing in the world and people probably won't think twice.

If people ask you questions and seem genuinely interested you can give them an abbreviated version of the diet and CC concerns. If they act all dramatic and say things like they would die if they couldn't have bread just say something about how it's actually quite easy to do without or how the disease is fairly common and not a big deal. Lastly if these people actually bring it up everytime and "bust your balls" about it I would just be blunt and ask them why they don't seem to have something more interesting than your food choices and medical history to discuss.

[Cypressmyst]

More and more people are discovering that gluten is a problem. You may not be as alone as you think anymore. I can hardly turn around now without finding people who are going gluten-free for health reasons, not for the fad that the media would have us believe.