So, this event requires quite a bit of background. I work as a software developer (kind of, see later), just graduated from university. Over summer last year, I worked for a small company (about 8 developers and 2 bosses/managers) doing a programming internship for three months, completely unpaid, even paying for my own transport costs. After graduating they offered me a temporary job for three months to do a short amount of work, with the possibility for extension, which I took. Importantly, my brother works there full time, which is how I got into the company. (would not recommended, not because I don't get on with *him*, as I do, but because it's hard not to worry any tension between me and other people (which I'm great at generating) won't somehow affect him)

I have got on really well with everyone there, including the bosses, Mary and Mark. While Mary and Mark act as management and team leaders, they also do marketing, client relations, presentations etc. Basically everything the company needs that isn't programming.

I really like everyone as people. But as coworkers, they're complete nightmares and do not get along at all. Two employee are always making snide remarks at each other under a very weak facade of "I'm just joking!" causing a lot of tension. Another employee is constantly late, delays meetings, argues with Mark and talks down to people he is supposed to be teaching. Circular arguments getting increasingly louder with immovable egos are incredibly common. Code is always written "my way" with no consistency. The bosses seem perfectly fine with all behaviour, with attempt to reprimand anyone. The way Mary handled my contract broke the law in minor ways at multiple points. Essentially, Mary and Mark seem pretty incompetent at management. It's worth mentioning the entire office is in one room so everyone can hear every conversation. Ultimately, we mutually didn't extend my contract because I did not want to work in that kind of environment. 

When I started I was given a pretty old laptop with a fairly damaged screen, but otherwise it did work fine. Ok, I thought, I'll just mainly use a monitor (everyone at the company has a laptop and one monitor, some people have two monitors). 

I asked Mary if there were any monitors I could use. She directed me to two old monitors, with a vga to vga cable, when my laptop only takes HDMI. I ask people if there are any vga to HDMI adapters, and they essentially say "there might be some around". The office is a complete mess with no organisation (of course), so I give up after a few minutes and buy one online. 

The cable arrives, and the monitors don't work. I tell Mary "I don't think these monitors work with this laptop" and she agrees the monitors are kind of crappy. I take the cable home and test on my own computer, and they do work, and my work laptop does work with my brother's monitors, meaning the fault is with the old monitors. I tell Mary "these monitors don't work". I don't remember the response, but I suppose I assumed I had implied I would like a monitor.

A week later, I mention to everyone during a team meeting, including Mary and Mark, that my monitors don't work. Nothing still happens so I think "fine, I'm just a temp. Maybe their budget doesn't extend that far" and left it, except sometimes jokingly mentioning to the others how nice it must be to have two monitors. I also mention in private to my brother how hard it is it work with no monitor, but I thought the issue was closed.

In their defence, I don't think I ever actually directly asked for them to buy me a new monitor, but it didn't really seem appropriate as a new employee and I wasn't really sure whether the employees bought and owned the monitors they used or if the company did (as it turned out, the company did), or what the standard procedure for well, anything was, bearing in mind this was my first professional job and I didn't want to overstep any boundaries. I also didn't have any kind of "this is how things work here now" as I had gone from an intern to an employee, and it had been a year.

I work for two months and the job I was supposed to be doing falls through and I get moved onto doing testing instead of programming, which is *not* what I agreed to, although it does say in my contract they can make me do whatever they think is appropriate. I do not like testing and am not good at it. The little bit of programming I'm expected to do is in a language I don't like and is back-end, when the original work was basically the exact opposite of these two things. I'm unable to do it and my brother has to take it from me, making me feel incredibly stupid and embarrassed. I do nothing and learn nothing for two months, making me already incredibly bitter and feel like I'm utterly wasting my time.

During this time there were a few other things that made me feel undervalued and completely unwanted there. Not unwanted personally, but professionally. However, I know I can be a little paranoid, so I ignore it I put down the way I've been treated to incompetence rather than intent. It'll be over soon anyway.

Two months are past and I have two weeks left. A new guy, Bob, starts working there temporarily for a few months just like me, same age as me too, although he's there to help with the management side of things rather than "programming". Mark is away on business and has been for a week or so, so Mary invites Bob to sit at Mark's desk and use his monitors until he gets back. I'm a little annoyed I hadn't been asked to sit there while Mark was away but whatever, I hadn't thought of it either.

A few days after Bob starts, Mary walks in carrying a brand new monitor in a box. Somehow, I already know what she's going to say. 

"Bob's new monitor has arrived!"

Apparently there wasn't a budget, there was just complete apathy. I'm absolutely livid. The angriest I have probably been in years. I want to fucking scream at someone, though I'm not sure what or who at. "But *I* wanted a monitor!" probably wouldn't achieve much. It's ridiculous over a fucking *monitor*, but I'm shaking with anger. It's embarrassing. Fortunately, I sit in the corner (worst spot in the office, obviously) and have my headphones in so I sit there for a bit until the conversation dies down and everyone is at their desk. I then go outside and calm down until I stop shaking. I sit back down and try to pretend everything is ok, which really, it should be, but my voice is still shaky and I'm so angry  I can't concentrate on my work for the rest of the day.

Now, as Bob is brand new and was already using a monitor, I doubt he asked for a monitor, Mary would have bought him one.

Somehow the conversation gets back onto monitors and I say something like "As Bob has a new monitor, could I have a monitor please?"

My brother responds with "oh, did you actually want a monitor?". 

Although it's not his responsibility to buy equipment for me, it's Mary's, this still pisses me off. I say as calmly as possible while still an irritated voice "*Of course* I want a monitor. I mentioned *multiple times* that the monitors you gave me don't work". 

"Oh, I didn't know that". Which is a blatant lie. I'm not sure how much clearer I could be than "these monitors don't work".

My brother gave me one of his monitors that works, but it's all a bit bittersweet. Mary still hasn't bought me a monitor.


Just to clarify, I'm not angry about Bob getting a monitor and me not, not really. I'm angry that Mary decided that Bob would get something she should have known I needed to be efficient. Someone that did not spend three months doing completely free work and someone that did not spend two weeks trying to politely prompt her. How else am I meant to feel but unwanted in that workplace?

I'm angry at the complete apathy I feel is directed towards me, for no apparent reason. I'm angry that I'm treated like an intern not an employee. The monitor was just the final straw. If I wasn't leaving already, I would think about quitting asap.

So I don't think I'm an asshole for being annoyed about the monitor thing, but am I the asshole for being being entitled? Am I the asshole for being as angry as I am over something trivial? Am I the asshole for not trying hard enough to communicate and then getting angry?