I hate my job & my only decent colleague is leaving – I won’t survive without her

DEAR DEIDRE: I HATE my job, and now my only decent colleague is leaving. I’m not sure how I’ll survive without her.

My workplace is so toxic the only thing that makes it bearable is my co-worker.

I’m a 43-year-old woman. My soon-to-be ex colleague is 38, and we’ve worked together for three years.

I work in a building company where everyone is stressed and overworked and there’s a horrible culture of bullying.

My colleague has been my friend and ally – someone to have lunch with, vent to and have a laugh with.

Without her, I know I will dread going into the office.

It feels like every time someone nice joins the company, they choose to leave or are bullied out by the management.

I wish I could get out too, but I can’t afford to give up my job, and can’t find anything else suitable nearby.

She says she’ll stay in touch but I know she’ll drift away when she’s not working here any more. It always happens.

DEIDRE SAYS: Your workplace sounds miserable.

If there’s a culture of bullying and a high staff turnover, it is not a healthy environment.

Do tell HR about any incidents. For more advice contact acas.org.uk.

Don’t give up on looking for something different, if all your lovely colleagues have managed to find something, take it as an encouraging sign that you can too.

My support pack, Looking For Work, should help you.