If you know me then you'll know I've not been happy with my job in a pretty long time. New management came in after the beginning of the pandemic and there were many changes, not all for the better but square pegs were pounded into round holes anyway. It wasn't the best employer to begin with (rated low on all job sites I've seen), and I had a hard time playing along with the new, ruthless management style. I wasn't the only one; I watched as others in our department retired, found new jobs, got fired, or just rolled over and fumed in silence.
I got myself in trouble standing up to management in late 2022, which basically put me back on probation for a year. I looked for another job on and off, but was unwilling to give up the benefits I earned over several years to start all over somewhere else. But on October 16 that decision was made for me. Rather than allow me to come off that probation, I was fired. It was my own fault for staying too long when I could not get along with the management.
My health insurance would run through the end of that month, then my wife and I would be without (she is considered part time as she works less than 40 hours to allow her days to take care of her dad, so is not offered health insurance). Since health insurance is very important in this country and is tied to employment, I needed a job ASAP. I knew some people who needed help where they worked, so the day after I got fired I went there to apply and wound up getting the job. I started work on November 1, but it would be at least a month until my new insurance started so I got an expensive policy through the government's marketplace (Obamacare). Thankfully I was eligible for my new insurance to start on December 1 so only had to pay for one month of that expensive policy. And while there were several issues with the new insurance they all got straightened out as of yesterday, so that is finally settled.
Meanwhile, I was working a new job unlike anything I had ever done before. I'm not going to say where it is, I'll just say it is basically a daycare for adults with developmental disabilities. I spend a lot of time playing as you would with kids, and also taking some to their jobs and coaching them throughout the week. Overall, it's pretty easy and I'm growing to like it more and more, but it doesn't pay the best. Still, I'm so much happier not working where I was, so it has advantages and disadvantages.
And nothing says I have to keep this job forever, but for now I will continue and see where this path leads me in the new year.
3 comments:
Blimey! Your previous employer sounds dreadful and sounds like they looked for excuses to sack people.
Your new job sounds great, more fulfilling although I know how tough it can be working in that field, do not all fun and games.
Good luck! It might lead to bigger and better in the same field.
Well done for getting things sorted so quickly, and for finding a position with healthcare that could start rapidly.
But... what an awful toxic situation you've had to endure. A demonstration of how bad your employment laws are. And I'm horrified that your wife would need to work 40 hours in order to get healthcare, particularly when she has significant caring responsibilities.
Sometimes a forced change into something so completely different can provide the space and thinking time to work out the future.
Happiness and a purposeful role where one is appreciated (and not constantly watching one's back/extracting stray knives) is so much more important than money.
I've always found that people who work in caring roles, particulalry with the vulnerable, have a different view of life and what is important to those who work in the corporate world... probably because they see a different side of life where the Holy Dollar is not King.
Are you feeling less stressed, or is it still early days?
Thank you. It's just my unfavorable opinion of my former employer, but it is one that is shared by many who work there or have in the past. I've read the reviews.
I do have less stress now, but also new and different stresses, too. This has been a big change for me.
Post a Comment