Well that sucks!
I had originally intended to write a light little blurb about how the book project was going, or about how T had suggested that we exercise in a theraputic pool, and how much it had benefitted us over the last six weeks. I had also thought about how I was asked by my musician friend to narrate "Babar, the Little Elephant" while she accompanied me by piano for a benefit to help people dealing with cancer this Friday evening, or about how my step daughter had finally become a human being again, and has actually expressed love and concern for me. I was prepared to be full of sweetness and light...until yesterday afternoon.
I was fired from my job at United Health.
Remember? The job I loved so much, where I had a chance to make a difference in people's lives everyday?
Well, since we last spoke, a myriad of changes occurred at the job, and my workplace transformed from one that was patient oriented, to one where they were only concerned about stats, and making performance guarantees. Instead of being encouraged to make sure that I answered every question a member had, so they would be secure about their coverage and not have to call back, I was instead being forced to push the caller off the phone as quickly as possible so that I could go onto the next call. I couldn't do that.
In February 2008, Scott the VP who inspired me to make a difference, and Carla my original supervisor, moved on to other things. After searching several months they brought in a woman named Eva as our new supervisor. That was when things went to hell for all of us. While promising to be there for us, she managed instead to alienate us all by using various tactics designed to have us on the phones for as much of our entire 8 hour shift as possible; including resorting to regimenting our bathroom time. According to her, we were only allowed to use the restroom on our breaks and at lunch (which was wrong according to HR).
I'm sure you have seen the 50 year old soccer mom who dresses like she's 18, and flirts with all of the guys while conspiring to push away any female competition, right? Someone who thinks she is the pretty and sexy diva, who doesn't realize that people can see through the wrinkles and imperfections behind the garish makeup, the inappropriate mini-skirts and tattoo on her shriveling up chest. Well, that's Eva. She was the bane of our existence.
Now while I am not one to play the "Race Card", in the interest of the truth, I have to mention the facts and let them speak for themselves. Eva who is Caucasian, managed to fire most of the women of color (Black and Indian) in our department based on minor infractions. Only two are currently left, with one hanging by a very slim thread. The two Black men in our department besides myself, chose to leave on their own, rather than go through her insanity. In fact, as I think on this further, in the last year, of the seven people who were fired, only one was white. She lost her job last month due to her declining health and long bouts of absenteeism. (She has lupus) Physically she just couldn't do the job any more.
One day, Eva asked me why I was off the phone for nineteen minutes the day before. (I wasn't feeling particularly well that day) Now I was insulted that she would question any of my bathroom time; especially since I am a hard worker and did my job well. After much thought, I sent her an email...
"...I spent 10 minutes relieving my bowels, and 3 x 3 minutes relieving my bladder..."
Within a minute of hitting the "send" button, she appeared at my cube.
"We need to talk right now," she said.
"Yes ma'am, we do!" I replied.
What ensued was a 50 minute "discussion" in a private office. Now Eva likes her men to be docile and to give her what she wants. What she doesn't like is to be dominated (in her eyes) by a strong man. Well, I was not about to allow her to push me around over something as stupid as bathroom time. I told her that if I need to use the bathroom, that I was going to use it, period. When she suggested that perhaps I had a medical problem and that I should see a doctor to get a permission slip, I told her:
"...I am a grown man! I am fifty years old, and I don't need a doctor's excuse to say that I have to poop or piss! Besides, it is very dry in this office, and because we talk, we are constantly expelling moisture, and need to hydrate to do our jobs, so we drink. Well eventually that liquid has to go somewhere, so you go to the restroom to get rid of the excess..."
Do you know what she said to me next?
"Can't you take smaller sips?"
Ok, you can pick yourself off the floor now, and stop laughing.
That's the kind of insanity that I faced at this job from that day forward. Since that day she retaliated against me by finding ways to write me up for a variety of different things. There was so much bullshit paper on me that by the time my review came up, I received the worst marks I had ever received in ANY job. As a man who was used to excelling at each job he held, I was devastated and angry. What made it even worse was that I was receiving kudos for "exceptional customer service" at the same time. In effect, I was being patted on the back oh one hand, while being kicked in the ass on the other.
A new supervisor for intake was brought in two months ago, while Eva went over to Claims, but the damage had been done. Since I wasn't meeting their stat standards, I was written up for poor performance. Never mind that no one had much of a problem with my performance for the last year and a half. Since I am somewhat outspoken and have a dominant presence, I had the ear of most of the folks in our office, which didn't sit well with some people. I am convinced now that at that point, management was looking for a way to get rid of me quietly. The fact that I am disabled made this difficult for them. Well finally they found a way.
This job was my first experience in "cube land" which I have found has it's own etiquette, and rules which I was slow to adapt to. One day I was sent a joke email from a friend outside of work, with a link to several humorous comics. After enjoying the laugh, I sent the link to a few of my co-workers who I thought were cool. What I didn't realize was that what I thought was a static link was actually active, with these jokes being constantly replaced by others. In this instance, the funny ones gave way to several very offensive ones. Well, someone turned me in (or management went through my email) and I was called into the office where I received a "Final warning" (it was my first offense) for sending racist and offensive jokes. When they showed me what they said I sent, it was totally different from what I originally intended folks to see, and I was shocked. However,it was still a stupid laps of judgment on my part which I accepted responsibility for. I promised not to send any more joke emails.
Now United Health is very big on volunteerism. VERY BIG! Everyday there are posts about this charitable campaign and that endeavor. Various coworkers are emailing us asking for support for different organizations. I myself support Second Harvest, and I sold cookbooks at work that T had designed with no problem, and all of the money we collected went to the charity. Well yesterday, I wanted to promote the benefit that I am participating in for the Angel Foundation, which raises money for financial support to those suffering through cancer treatment. I sent a company wide email inviting folks to come to the concert at lunch time. By 3pm, I was called into the office and was told that I violated the company's email policy a second time. There was a small clause that mentioned that it was against company policy to promote "...charities not supported by United Health". Because of this, I was terminated.
I had to go through the indignity of having my supervisor stand around as I packed up what things I wanted to take with me, as she was afraid that I would make a scene. As angry as I was with the whole thing, I held myself in check, and left without incident. The only reason she didn't escort me from the building was that I purposely stopped into the men's room where she could not follow. By the time I came out, she had left the hall. While I was unable to tell my coworkers what had happened to me earlier, I ran into two Care Advocates and briefly explained what had occurred. Of course, they thought it was unfair what was done to me, and offered their sympathy and wished me well. I walked out of the building with my head high, carrying my more prized possessions.
Of course, I felt like shit.
I have never been fired before from any job.
Predictably, T was upset at the news, but after talking it through, she has given me her undying support. Now comes the hard part. On a practical level, I need to find a new job, and make contingencies for our finances until that day comes around. Emotionally however, while I am trying to keep a positive face on the thing, my mind and heart are a wreck. As a fifty-one year old guy with few prospects, having to look for work in a poor job market, my inner voice keeps telling me...
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
I was fired from my job at United Health.
Remember? The job I loved so much, where I had a chance to make a difference in people's lives everyday?
Well, since we last spoke, a myriad of changes occurred at the job, and my workplace transformed from one that was patient oriented, to one where they were only concerned about stats, and making performance guarantees. Instead of being encouraged to make sure that I answered every question a member had, so they would be secure about their coverage and not have to call back, I was instead being forced to push the caller off the phone as quickly as possible so that I could go onto the next call. I couldn't do that.
In February 2008, Scott the VP who inspired me to make a difference, and Carla my original supervisor, moved on to other things. After searching several months they brought in a woman named Eva as our new supervisor. That was when things went to hell for all of us. While promising to be there for us, she managed instead to alienate us all by using various tactics designed to have us on the phones for as much of our entire 8 hour shift as possible; including resorting to regimenting our bathroom time. According to her, we were only allowed to use the restroom on our breaks and at lunch (which was wrong according to HR).
I'm sure you have seen the 50 year old soccer mom who dresses like she's 18, and flirts with all of the guys while conspiring to push away any female competition, right? Someone who thinks she is the pretty and sexy diva, who doesn't realize that people can see through the wrinkles and imperfections behind the garish makeup, the inappropriate mini-skirts and tattoo on her shriveling up chest. Well, that's Eva. She was the bane of our existence.
Now while I am not one to play the "Race Card", in the interest of the truth, I have to mention the facts and let them speak for themselves. Eva who is Caucasian, managed to fire most of the women of color (Black and Indian) in our department based on minor infractions. Only two are currently left, with one hanging by a very slim thread. The two Black men in our department besides myself, chose to leave on their own, rather than go through her insanity. In fact, as I think on this further, in the last year, of the seven people who were fired, only one was white. She lost her job last month due to her declining health and long bouts of absenteeism. (She has lupus) Physically she just couldn't do the job any more.
One day, Eva asked me why I was off the phone for nineteen minutes the day before. (I wasn't feeling particularly well that day) Now I was insulted that she would question any of my bathroom time; especially since I am a hard worker and did my job well. After much thought, I sent her an email...
"...I spent 10 minutes relieving my bowels, and 3 x 3 minutes relieving my bladder..."
Within a minute of hitting the "send" button, she appeared at my cube.
"We need to talk right now," she said.
"Yes ma'am, we do!" I replied.
What ensued was a 50 minute "discussion" in a private office. Now Eva likes her men to be docile and to give her what she wants. What she doesn't like is to be dominated (in her eyes) by a strong man. Well, I was not about to allow her to push me around over something as stupid as bathroom time. I told her that if I need to use the bathroom, that I was going to use it, period. When she suggested that perhaps I had a medical problem and that I should see a doctor to get a permission slip, I told her:
"...I am a grown man! I am fifty years old, and I don't need a doctor's excuse to say that I have to poop or piss! Besides, it is very dry in this office, and because we talk, we are constantly expelling moisture, and need to hydrate to do our jobs, so we drink. Well eventually that liquid has to go somewhere, so you go to the restroom to get rid of the excess..."
Do you know what she said to me next?
"Can't you take smaller sips?"
Ok, you can pick yourself off the floor now, and stop laughing.
That's the kind of insanity that I faced at this job from that day forward. Since that day she retaliated against me by finding ways to write me up for a variety of different things. There was so much bullshit paper on me that by the time my review came up, I received the worst marks I had ever received in ANY job. As a man who was used to excelling at each job he held, I was devastated and angry. What made it even worse was that I was receiving kudos for "exceptional customer service" at the same time. In effect, I was being patted on the back oh one hand, while being kicked in the ass on the other.
A new supervisor for intake was brought in two months ago, while Eva went over to Claims, but the damage had been done. Since I wasn't meeting their stat standards, I was written up for poor performance. Never mind that no one had much of a problem with my performance for the last year and a half. Since I am somewhat outspoken and have a dominant presence, I had the ear of most of the folks in our office, which didn't sit well with some people. I am convinced now that at that point, management was looking for a way to get rid of me quietly. The fact that I am disabled made this difficult for them. Well finally they found a way.
This job was my first experience in "cube land" which I have found has it's own etiquette, and rules which I was slow to adapt to. One day I was sent a joke email from a friend outside of work, with a link to several humorous comics. After enjoying the laugh, I sent the link to a few of my co-workers who I thought were cool. What I didn't realize was that what I thought was a static link was actually active, with these jokes being constantly replaced by others. In this instance, the funny ones gave way to several very offensive ones. Well, someone turned me in (or management went through my email) and I was called into the office where I received a "Final warning" (it was my first offense) for sending racist and offensive jokes. When they showed me what they said I sent, it was totally different from what I originally intended folks to see, and I was shocked. However,it was still a stupid laps of judgment on my part which I accepted responsibility for. I promised not to send any more joke emails.
Now United Health is very big on volunteerism. VERY BIG! Everyday there are posts about this charitable campaign and that endeavor. Various coworkers are emailing us asking for support for different organizations. I myself support Second Harvest, and I sold cookbooks at work that T had designed with no problem, and all of the money we collected went to the charity. Well yesterday, I wanted to promote the benefit that I am participating in for the Angel Foundation, which raises money for financial support to those suffering through cancer treatment. I sent a company wide email inviting folks to come to the concert at lunch time. By 3pm, I was called into the office and was told that I violated the company's email policy a second time. There was a small clause that mentioned that it was against company policy to promote "...charities not supported by United Health". Because of this, I was terminated.
I had to go through the indignity of having my supervisor stand around as I packed up what things I wanted to take with me, as she was afraid that I would make a scene. As angry as I was with the whole thing, I held myself in check, and left without incident. The only reason she didn't escort me from the building was that I purposely stopped into the men's room where she could not follow. By the time I came out, she had left the hall. While I was unable to tell my coworkers what had happened to me earlier, I ran into two Care Advocates and briefly explained what had occurred. Of course, they thought it was unfair what was done to me, and offered their sympathy and wished me well. I walked out of the building with my head high, carrying my more prized possessions.
Of course, I felt like shit.
I have never been fired before from any job.
Predictably, T was upset at the news, but after talking it through, she has given me her undying support. Now comes the hard part. On a practical level, I need to find a new job, and make contingencies for our finances until that day comes around. Emotionally however, while I am trying to keep a positive face on the thing, my mind and heart are a wreck. As a fifty-one year old guy with few prospects, having to look for work in a poor job market, my inner voice keeps telling me...
What the hell am I supposed to do now?