Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Oooh, will probably get fired...

Good things come out of bad situations!  I am probably about to be unfairly fired from my job in the very near future.

After six months of having to handle two full caseload's (larger than every other company around as well) while management dragged their heels to replace an injured worker and successfully keeping everything up to date, increasing client engagement, and being thanked constantly by a number of grateful clients, today the new (as in been with the company less than two weeks) management team issued me with a formal warning to improve my work performance by end of April or I will be terminated. Yes, they have been made well aware of my achievements and good performance, and the serious lack of any support, resources and training, but well, they found a replacement (who has never worked in the rule-infested industry previously, and will learn something new every day for at least the next two years before they can start to work at a knowledgeable level), but well they want triple the business income.

Every other staff member (who don't do even half as much work or generate anywhere near as much revenue as I have) from other sites that this team have swept through and issued warnings to as well, is all worked up and stressed about how to save their jobs. And now they are working themselves to the ground in order to please (which will never happen) the unpleaseable to try achieve the impossible.

Me, I'll admit that I will not be happy being without a job, especially the not having enough money side of things, but I am actually seeing my soon-to-be fired situation as a potential huge blessing (and hope I can maintain this positivity).

Firstly, soon I won't have to suffer constantly being told you're not good enough any longer (when they should actually be saying 'well done, Char' or 'sorry it has taken us so long to find a replacement and give you the support we should have given you, so we have taken this into account as to why you haven't generated as much revenue as we haven't told you we want you to bring in'), and secondly, being fired will free me to explore new options and work towards gaining a decent employer, better and fairer work conditions than what I have tolerated to pursue some personal dreams, goals and aspirations.

A short stint of unemployment would also result in me being able to work furiously on writing the first draft of my manuscript, so no complaints on this score.  Since I returned to the paid workforce four years ago, I have not been able to take any of my annual leave to actually take holidays or a break from work, because the nature of the industry I work in involves working with many clients who don't possess adequate hygiene and social skills and I have had to use up almost every bit of my leave entitlements to cover many sick days over the last four years because I haven't been able to avoid someone coughing in my face, or just having to be in the same confined office with the door closed for privacy to carry out an hour long appointment. So, I haven't had any decent sized break to rest up from the stressful field and pursue my personal interest in novel writing for a bit.

There is absolutely no possible way that I can achieve by 30 April the performance improvements that this management team expect, and as I have no intention of knocking myself stupid in a futile effort in trying to become superwoman and achieve the unrealistic, I fully expect management may not wait until the 20 days they have given me before they terminate my employment (let's not forget that there are weekends when the business is closed during that time).  And if that happens, I am going to try to remember all the positives their action will cause me to gain.

As my grandmother used to say: 'Chin up, Char Mesan, walk with your head held high'.

I don't think I am going to stay within the same industry, I believe it is time for me to move on to other wondrous things... I wonder what I should try next?  The possibilities are many and varied, and dare I say it, exciting!

Update  12 May.  Well, I'm still there.  The management are as bad as ever, and not a week goes by without me hearing about some staff member from other sites having handed in their resignation or now left.  I'm still looking for another job, but there isn't much being advertised, so I am staying so I earn income until either I find another job or they fire me (that still isn't off the table - I didn't reach the impossible targets they set down for me.  I think they are just too busy trying to replace all the leaving staff that they aren't getting rid of me just yet, but that is in my financial favour). It is still a terrible environment to be working in, but I am finding some moments of joy - such as my appreciated jobseeker training earlier this week.  Ah, I cherish those wonderful moments to get me through the rest of the ****.

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