I had a job like this and the only way out was to leave. The culture was so bad that even being vulnerable or asking for a consideration (ie, "I need to have this hour blocked on Tuesdays for therapy") was later used as proof of slipping for performance reviews. Sometimes you can't change the culture.
As someone hired by companies to help employees relax, I wholeheartedly endorse this. My work was really not to add to employees' stress. Otherwise, they would feel like failures because the 1 hour a week I was there was not enough to make a difference in their stress.
This is literally my job right now! That I am leaving. I am an OT working for a small school district. My caseload more than doubled this year and when I asked for help I was patted on the head and told I was doing fine and that I had more plan time than a teacher so I should be having no difficulty doing my job. I was also told to group every student. Which was absolutely not appropriate for several of them, hampered their progress and made it that much more difficult for them to reach their goals. I did a workload analysis, which showed I was 10 hours short a week. They told me to work more and “timesheet it”. I refused because I would be paid the hourly rate of a teacher not the hourly rate of an OT (what a deal for them). After I was told I was being difficult they hired a contract OT to work 4 hours a week until the end of the school year. Evaluations continued adding even more students and I was told the contract OT was going away next year. The reasoning: “other districts our size staff their OT needs at .6 Full time equivalent”. Nothing about my workload. Or the workload at our district.
I began looking for another job. In all the interviews full time positions had caseloads the same size or smaller than what I was dealing with as a part timer. One district held their interviews in the evening, and their final question was “working in a school can be a lot, what do you do for self care?” I listed some things. Then I asked “does the district support a work life balance? Because we are all still here at 8 pm”. No one would look at me (from a table of 9 teachers and administrators) and the director turned bright red. She blamed the sub shortage for the evening interviews. Needless to say I didn’t get an offer from that district.
At my district I decided to send one last missile just to see if they would fire me. My email detailed the size caseload and number of evaluations I’d be willing to complete as a .6 staff member. I was sent a nice letter back saying I was just unhappy with everything they had done for me and a copy of my job description with a meeting time with the superintendent. I then resigned. I wasn’t going to convince them over and over I needed help.
They asked you at an 8pm meeting what you are doing for self-care! Infuriating. I am quite surprised to learn how much this cuts across professions like this. It's not just corporate execs and pandemic nurses. Good for you for calling them out on it!
I’m currently in a bizarre situation at work where I got laid off almost six weeks ago, but due to a contractual dispute, am still being forced to show up to work indefinitely (along with a few dozen others in the same boat). We’re still getting paychecks, of course, but can’t apply to other jobs because we don’t know when it will end, and if we quit, we forfeit severance.
The company, which is owned by a big private equity firm, could have resolved this limbo weeks ago if they were willing to pay a few hundred thousand extra dollars. But since they’re fighting it tooth and nail, all we get every week is another “Sorry!” and an invite to mindfulness training or a “go outside on your lunch break!” event. The only real self-care is community care: good worker protections, unions, actual flexibility for bosses to pass down to direct reports. But we’re all financialized widgets; from the perspective of those in control, to quote Succession, there are “no real people involved.”
American workplace culture is so outdated, isn't it? Why are we working 40 hours a week? Who said we all have to be in one cramped office after long commutes? Why is there no federally mandated paid time off -- not to speak on no federal paid parental/caregiving leave in general? I've been lucky to work at organizations that really do value work-life balance, but this should be the norm and not the exception. The whole thing needs to be rebuilt from scratch.
I'm also a younger employee, and one thing I've been trying to shake off is the guilt that comes with "job hopping." On one hand, a long-term tenure at an organization seems promising and is what older generations used to do. But when you live in an expensive major city and your wages don't keep apace with such price increases, are you really a bad person for looking for another job and moving along accordingly? I used to feel shame about this, but it's starting to wear off giving these circumstances.
I relate to this so much, particularly today! I have been trying to be "good" and do my walking, yoga, stretching every day; got up this morning and looked at my deadlines and said "it's not happening." Which means I'm more stressed, and won't work as efficiently, but I can't square the circle. Again, I work with very pleasant people but we all are up against tighter budgets/shorter deadlines industry-wide (I'm a TV/film editor) so they can't give me leeway because they don't have leeway, and the puppet masters pulling the strings to extract more of us are shadowy figures we don't interact with, so we can't wrench more time or money from them even if they were inclined. We just have to produce regardless. And I wonder why I'm stressed? (Narrator: she didn't wonder.)
Even with a leader at work who is supportive and gives you the space to work on your own health and wellness, the guilt of doing so can be intense - knowing the rest of the team is picking up slack and have their own challenges as well.
Currently experiencing textbook burnout after covering for a colleague for almost 6 months (without much of a plan). Superiors kept telling me to take time off and unplug. Never could because of the workload. Now coworker is back and I’m going on vacation but had to state out loud more than once that I won’t be joining virtual meetings or even checking in while away. Because the expectation is that I will.
I work for a corporate vet hospital. Vet med is famous for its burnout. The average tenure of a vet tech after they graduate is EIGHT years. Most of them leave the profession entirely.
Here's my take...the corporations are well meaning. The people are nice. They are suffering under the same paradigms that we are...namely...seeing more pets means we are doing a good job.
The problem is the paradigm...the paradigm...see more/do more comes from the idea that there is always more money to be made. That we must be making money. The Private Equity folx must get their 8% because they took a "risk".
It is the idea that taking risk with capital is inherently more worthy and more deserving of rest than taking risk with your body. It is a system patriarchy, colonization and chattel slavery.
I have taken risks with both capital and with my body. Both are hard. Neither is worth more than the other. Everytime I see an aggressive animal I take a risk with my body. Every time I make an investment in my business, I take a risk with my capital.
Those who risk capital have assumed they can tell people who risk their bodies what to do. Might be time to say no.
Thank you, Michele, so interesting and infuriating. If only we could take care of each other and our animals without private equity guys getting their cut ... ugh.
Saw this in your note repost of this :)
I had a job like this and the only way out was to leave. The culture was so bad that even being vulnerable or asking for a consideration (ie, "I need to have this hour blocked on Tuesdays for therapy") was later used as proof of slipping for performance reviews. Sometimes you can't change the culture.
So true! Glad you got out!
Sometimes a "class war" mindset is useful.
As someone hired by companies to help employees relax, I wholeheartedly endorse this. My work was really not to add to employees' stress. Otherwise, they would feel like failures because the 1 hour a week I was there was not enough to make a difference in their stress.
oh, interesting! thanks for sharing that!
This is literally my job right now! That I am leaving. I am an OT working for a small school district. My caseload more than doubled this year and when I asked for help I was patted on the head and told I was doing fine and that I had more plan time than a teacher so I should be having no difficulty doing my job. I was also told to group every student. Which was absolutely not appropriate for several of them, hampered their progress and made it that much more difficult for them to reach their goals. I did a workload analysis, which showed I was 10 hours short a week. They told me to work more and “timesheet it”. I refused because I would be paid the hourly rate of a teacher not the hourly rate of an OT (what a deal for them). After I was told I was being difficult they hired a contract OT to work 4 hours a week until the end of the school year. Evaluations continued adding even more students and I was told the contract OT was going away next year. The reasoning: “other districts our size staff their OT needs at .6 Full time equivalent”. Nothing about my workload. Or the workload at our district.
I began looking for another job. In all the interviews full time positions had caseloads the same size or smaller than what I was dealing with as a part timer. One district held their interviews in the evening, and their final question was “working in a school can be a lot, what do you do for self care?” I listed some things. Then I asked “does the district support a work life balance? Because we are all still here at 8 pm”. No one would look at me (from a table of 9 teachers and administrators) and the director turned bright red. She blamed the sub shortage for the evening interviews. Needless to say I didn’t get an offer from that district.
At my district I decided to send one last missile just to see if they would fire me. My email detailed the size caseload and number of evaluations I’d be willing to complete as a .6 staff member. I was sent a nice letter back saying I was just unhappy with everything they had done for me and a copy of my job description with a meeting time with the superintendent. I then resigned. I wasn’t going to convince them over and over I needed help.
They asked you at an 8pm meeting what you are doing for self-care! Infuriating. I am quite surprised to learn how much this cuts across professions like this. It's not just corporate execs and pandemic nurses. Good for you for calling them out on it!
I’m currently in a bizarre situation at work where I got laid off almost six weeks ago, but due to a contractual dispute, am still being forced to show up to work indefinitely (along with a few dozen others in the same boat). We’re still getting paychecks, of course, but can’t apply to other jobs because we don’t know when it will end, and if we quit, we forfeit severance.
The company, which is owned by a big private equity firm, could have resolved this limbo weeks ago if they were willing to pay a few hundred thousand extra dollars. But since they’re fighting it tooth and nail, all we get every week is another “Sorry!” and an invite to mindfulness training or a “go outside on your lunch break!” event. The only real self-care is community care: good worker protections, unions, actual flexibility for bosses to pass down to direct reports. But we’re all financialized widgets; from the perspective of those in control, to quote Succession, there are “no real people involved.”
ugh, "we fill your life with chaos and uncertainty, now go meditate!" hope it resolves soon ...
American workplace culture is so outdated, isn't it? Why are we working 40 hours a week? Who said we all have to be in one cramped office after long commutes? Why is there no federally mandated paid time off -- not to speak on no federal paid parental/caregiving leave in general? I've been lucky to work at organizations that really do value work-life balance, but this should be the norm and not the exception. The whole thing needs to be rebuilt from scratch.
I'm also a younger employee, and one thing I've been trying to shake off is the guilt that comes with "job hopping." On one hand, a long-term tenure at an organization seems promising and is what older generations used to do. But when you live in an expensive major city and your wages don't keep apace with such price increases, are you really a bad person for looking for another job and moving along accordingly? I used to feel shame about this, but it's starting to wear off giving these circumstances.
sing it!
I relate to this so much, particularly today! I have been trying to be "good" and do my walking, yoga, stretching every day; got up this morning and looked at my deadlines and said "it's not happening." Which means I'm more stressed, and won't work as efficiently, but I can't square the circle. Again, I work with very pleasant people but we all are up against tighter budgets/shorter deadlines industry-wide (I'm a TV/film editor) so they can't give me leeway because they don't have leeway, and the puppet masters pulling the strings to extract more of us are shadowy figures we don't interact with, so we can't wrench more time or money from them even if they were inclined. We just have to produce regardless. And I wonder why I'm stressed? (Narrator: she didn't wonder.)
It's so true! Your decency gets used against you, because the shadowy figures know that you don't want to burden your colleagues.
Even with a leader at work who is supportive and gives you the space to work on your own health and wellness, the guilt of doing so can be intense - knowing the rest of the team is picking up slack and have their own challenges as well.
yes, absolutely!
Currently experiencing textbook burnout after covering for a colleague for almost 6 months (without much of a plan). Superiors kept telling me to take time off and unplug. Never could because of the workload. Now coworker is back and I’m going on vacation but had to state out loud more than once that I won’t be joining virtual meetings or even checking in while away. Because the expectation is that I will.
oh, that's terrible. Glad you are sticking to your guns!
I work for a corporate vet hospital. Vet med is famous for its burnout. The average tenure of a vet tech after they graduate is EIGHT years. Most of them leave the profession entirely.
Here's my take...the corporations are well meaning. The people are nice. They are suffering under the same paradigms that we are...namely...seeing more pets means we are doing a good job.
The problem is the paradigm...the paradigm...see more/do more comes from the idea that there is always more money to be made. That we must be making money. The Private Equity folx must get their 8% because they took a "risk".
It is the idea that taking risk with capital is inherently more worthy and more deserving of rest than taking risk with your body. It is a system patriarchy, colonization and chattel slavery.
I have taken risks with both capital and with my body. Both are hard. Neither is worth more than the other. Everytime I see an aggressive animal I take a risk with my body. Every time I make an investment in my business, I take a risk with my capital.
Those who risk capital have assumed they can tell people who risk their bodies what to do. Might be time to say no.
Thank you, Michele, so interesting and infuriating. If only we could take care of each other and our animals without private equity guys getting their cut ... ugh.
wow, glad you got out!