vent: workplace issues

[Trinityheart8891]

hey guys,

I am very angry and frustrated right now, and am not sure this post is going to make a ton of sense, but here it goes. . .

back in may and june I had to leave work (the kitchen at the hospital) early 4 times because of heart rate issues (read: my heart rate was somewhere between 160 and 190, and 3 of the 4 times I went to the ER, they are suspecting SVTs the third time I brought a note from the doc in), well, my manager was very understanding of this, and continued to give me hours, as I requested, I told her that I was very appreciative of her understanding, and that she was still giving me as many hours as before the third or fourth time this happened she asked me if I was working too much, and told me that if I needed to call out, I should just do so, I explained to her that this happens out of the blue, and if it does happen the best place for me to be is here at work (the hospital) she agreed, and analogized that when she was at the end of her pregnancy she continued to work because if she went into labor she was already in the right place.

so, things seemed to get better, I stopped having as many spells, and was flexible about my hours and working, there were a few times that I requested not to do certain things like lifting, and mopping, and while I had my 30 day monitor on I requested that I not be putting dishes through the dishwasher or rinsing them out so I didnt risk getting anything wet, I was putting them away, and taking garbage out and stuff instead.

well, my manager got let go, because of some departmental restructuring, and the "chef" took over the scheduling, she cut my hours severely before she started scheduling I was working like 16-20 hours a week, and after, I am lucky if I am getting 8, now I have to give her the benefit of the doubt that she just got 3 new employees that she has to train, and has to spread the hours out, but she has said things like "you sure you want that many hours, every time you do this you get sick?" alot in the past (uh, this is also the one who trumps my medical issues with epilepsy, allergies, asthma, multiple shoulder/back issues, stomach issues, dental issues, etc) to me before. and she barely knows what she is doing with the schedule, and my availability isnt that good, but tricia always managed to have it work, and give me plenty of hours. (I was also always the one to help amy out when she needed a shift covered, or needed help catering an event when tricia was out on maternity leave, I never called out of work except for the week or so following my hospital stay last february, I went into work pretty much no matter how I was feeling) when I confronted amy on this she gave me a 6 hr cleaning shift every week, and told me to go ask so and so for hours. I followed through, went and begged for hours, and got some more hours, and have been doing my cleaning shifts. I talked to HR and the interim manager, and there werent many options (I could get into a new dept, but thats not such a good idea). I am currently getting ready to pick up a job at fletcher allen as an Respiratory paraprofessional, I just need to follow through on some red tape stuff

today a fellow colleague and I were talking about hours, and stuff, and she said something like "dont get mad, but a bunch of people have been talking about how they are mad that you still get hours, they dont want to work with someone that has to leave early all the time, or that cant do this, or cant do that" I thought that this person and I were pretty good friends, I know that she didnt mean to hurt me, but it makes me so angry that fellow coworkers would say this, and it makes me wonder if my health was taken into consideration with the scheduling issues. I got angry about this, and started crying, and she tried to console me by saying "everyone has financial problems" and "can you blame them, dont you see their point of view" and "these people are the people that arent going to go any further in life, all they have is to pick on people like you who need help"

people just dont seem to understand, it mus be great to be able to say "I dont want to work with her, she leaves work early too much" and get it done I tried telling her that I dont have a choice in my health issues, and it just made her try to justify everyone elses behavior by belittling them.

I tried explaining to her that I could really go after the hospital for this, and told her that I wasnt that kind of person, so I wasnt going to, I stopped talking to her for a few minutes, and got myself together to walk out of the hospital with a straight face, we got in our cars and I broke out into hysterics again, she turned her car around and came and tried to console me again, with fruitless, and completely unnacceptable explainations justifying everyone elses behavior. I cried hysterically for an hour straight after I left the hospital.

I called the employee assistance program to talk to someone about this because no one was around to talk to, we came to the conclusion that I dont want to do anything like going after the hospital legally for this, and I am doing the right thing by finding work elsewheres, he thinks that I am doing the right thing by moving forward and turning the negative energy positive.

what do you think? can they cut my hours like this legally? what exactly are the laws on this? in the future, how should I handle something like this better so I am not dealing with these issues, I really see that amy doesnt have much experience with beaurocratic stuff, and am surprized the hospital is allowing her to open up issues like this. at first, I had an inkling that something was going on with my hours and my health issues, and I ignored it, now all I can do is be angry, I cant believe I was that stupid, and I know this isnt cut and dried, its alot deeper than what I have written here, but I feel like this was totally my fault, I dont feel like I handled things right, I know I am young and naieve, but I didnt think I was that naieve, I tried really hard to do everything right, is that what compunded things, trying too hard?

well, I gotta go, thanks for letting me vent

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I assume you are listed as a part-time employee. Part-time generally means anything less than 32 hours, so yes, it is okay for them to just give you a few hours, unless they promised you a minimum number of hours. Even then, they can notify you that your hours will be less due to extenuating circumstances. My husband is an aircraft mechanic. When 9/11 happened, he was working full-time for a major electric company. Because of the restrictions on flying, they sent out a memo saying they had to cut everybody's hours. The worst part was that he was at risk of losing his benefits because he was being cut from full- to part-time. It made sense, but it was still difficult to deal with.

When you filled out your application, did you mention that you had health issues that might interfere with your job and cause you not to be able to do certain things? There is usually a question on the application that asks and most jobs have requirements like "must be able to lift 50 lbs." If you said yes, then they can't discriminate against you for it. If you said no, they could actually fire you.

It sucks to have to go through this. Best wishes on your new job. Life's too short to be at a job you don't like, or that's causing you stress.

 

[zipper2]

I agree it sucks to go through this and no job is worth
the stress your describing here,is alone not healthy for you at all
You know seems every body has one of these people on the job
no matter where we work,too many wanna be the boss and make the
rules and schedules and muck everything up for another.
Wish you all the best with this and the best with the search
of another job if you head that direction.Take plenty of deep breaths RELAX.

zipper2

 

[Dina]

It seems that people would give you credit when it is due, but reality
doesnt seem to be shaped the way we think it should. Since this job
and your co-workers are causing you so much stress, It sounds like a
job change may be a good idea-if that is what you are planning. No one
needs to go thru upsets at work like that. I also dont understand what
reason your co-worker had for telling you what others were saying (?)
The ways of some are so alien to me sometimes.....and I'm sorry you
had to go thru that.
I hope things get better soon-Dina

 

[WayneGM]

Lisa pretty much summed up the legal position. It sucks that you have to go through this. If you aren't happy with this job or your co-workers, then perhaps something new is a good idea. You are young so I am sure there is lots of good opportunities for you. Best wishes and good luck.

 

[Debster]

It never ceases to amaze me how rude people can be. What on earth possesed your coworker to tell you that garbage? I would ditch that place and find a job where you are appreciated!!! Best wishes...Deb

 

[Ross]

I know it's difficult to deal with, but probably not worth going to court over.

When I was a manager, I had an employee who wanted 32 hours a week and I bent over backwards to accommodate him, screwing over other employees in the process. This person decided that it was fine to simply call off whenever he felt like it. Making a schedule that works for everyone is very difficult, especially if your payroll dollars are limited. In our case, payroll was a percentage of sales. Anyhow, after putting up with this for a few weeks, I scheduled him for just 8 hours a week. He complained to my boss about it who in turn jumped me about it. He told me to give him back his hours. I told him what was going on and he said it's simple, give him the hours, if he calls off, write him up until he's gone. In the business world, you can't have your cake and eat it too. You have to do what's best for the company or you, as a supervisor, will be looking for a job. It doesn't matter what the excuse is unless you bring a Doctors statement back with you and then, the next time it happens, I was to request that the employee not return to work until such time as he can provide a Physicians statement saying that there are no work limitations on the individual, then from there, I can fire him if it's not produced.

I'm simply trying to give you the perspective from the employers view, not that it's right or wrong, but this is how the business mind is set.

 

[Bina]

Morgan, I'm sorry to hear about your work related probs......hang in there!