The funny thing is I don’t even feel like drinking…
But I surely need to vent: SORRY IT’S A LONG ONE!
I’ve worked at an amazing company, 1st of it’s kind in the USA. It’s a 3 year transition to work and greater independence program, serving young adults 18 and older on the autism spectrum or with related developmental differences. It aims to transition the students to independent living, working or college, and greater integration in the community. Our method is a combination of Transformative Movement Education, Practical Skills, Therapeutic Education and Independent Living Skills. The Residential Independent Living Skills Program helps the students develop the practical skills necessary for independence as well as the social skills necessary to create and maintain, appropriate, positive, and fulfilling relationships.
I started it’s very 1st year as a Residential Advisor teaching independent living skills. It was an evening job I worked to supplement my income from working as an instructional aid at the local school district.
I was promoted within 3 months to a Residential Lead, working M-F 10:00am - 6:30pm. So I decided since this AMAZING job lined up with my own personal beliefs and that I would be serving a greater good in this position I quit my job with the school district. I was prompted with 2 other new hires. Neither of them lasted 3 months in the Lead position. I ended up having to do 3 people’s jobs practically by myself, and I did, and I did it well. I held that position for 2 years while we went through 5 different Leads only the last of which lasted more than 3 months. We finally had a cohesive management team running and we had our 1st graduating class. I was promoted to Residential Program Assistant Manager which consisted of a transition to a salary position as well as a raise.
Over the summer while we were preparing for the next academic year upper management decided all of Residential Management needed to work 11:30pm- 8:00pm to better support our staff. This was after already promoting someone to be the lead on shift in my absence (my schedule was supposed to be 7:30am-4:30pm because I handle the majority of the administrative tasks.)
Well I have a husband an 4 kids, I can’t work until 8:00 pm every night or I’s hardly see them because my ex has them every other weekend. My co-workers do not. Although it might have been a good move for the Residential Management Team to be more available to the staff in the evenings they lost one of their most dedicated, hard working, empathetic, roll model of an employee.
I’ve only had a little while to sit with this and process this but I’m starting to feel like I was pushed out. My direct supervisor is insecure. They denied her the title of Residential Director, after promoting me. When she told me the new hours that the Residential Management Team was expected to work, I said “O.K. so how long do I have to get back to you after discussing this with my family” and she just avoided the question and said “I know how much your family means to you, the president will come in and let you know what the next steps are” That was that. He came in with all my severance package information and paperwork and last check already ready to go. I was never even given the choice to accept the new hours.
Backstory: My direct supervisor misses a ton of work “out sick” she makes it in about 35% of Mondays. I do like 85% of her job. She has been in a conflict with another equal level to her employee for over a year now and neither of them can work it out, all of upper management knows about it, it’s major drama at work. I feel like she was threatened by me and that is why I was pushed out. They didn’t present a final check to my equal co-worker who was also offered the Residential Program Manager position… she was not nearly as much as a threat because she had been with the company for much less time. I think that my supervisor pushed me out because she thought her position was in jeopardy.
So here I am, now a consperisoy theorist, jobless, 27 days sober, sitting in my new huge house just 7 months after buying it with 4 kids and a $2,600 mortgage looming over my head. I’m heartbroken. It was an amazing program I helped build from the ground up, yesterday I was there, today I’m not, and I did not do ANYTHING to deserve it.
END VENT
