Rock and a hard place
About a year ago I left a large non-profit organization where I had worked for seven amazing years. When the pandemic hit, we lost a lot of money and I had to divide my time between three different teams (and three different bosses) and take on work that wasn’t very interesting to me. I left because I found a job with a similar organization, where I played one role instead of three. The new job has had many benefits: great colleagues, strong mentorship, professional development around skills I’ve wanted to work on for a long time. However, the workload is totally unsustainable. I’ve talked to my boss about this several times, and he’s said there’s no money to hire someone else and he can’t change the job description because of the increased organizational bureaucracy.
In January, a full-time job opened up at my old organization with a workload half of my current one, plus a slightly higher salary. I applied and was offered the job. Seems perfect except for one thing: a boss I can’t stand. I’ve worked with him before and he was barely bearable when I only spent a third of my time on that team. I find him sexist, full of hot air bravura and 15 years behind in his thinking about our field. He makes decisions that are detrimental to customers. Is it worth taking this job where every day I will be frustrated with my boss and where I think the organization is moving in the wrong direction, if it means reclaiming my nights and weekends?
– Anonymously
One of the less appetizing aspects of capitalism is having to choose between equally lousy professional options. What do you value more – a great boss and work environment but intense workload or a terrible boss and fair workload? Downtime is incredibly important. It’s a challenge to keep performing well at work if you never get the chance to recharge, spend time with loved ones, and pursue personal interests. At the same time, how much do you enjoy that downtime when you’re constantly aggravated by a horrible boss? Have you considered a third option: a position at a completely different company?
Email crimes and violations
I was recently fired from my company for adding “non desinetis vapulare donec animi vobis fuerint refecti” to the bottom of my email signature. It’s Latin for, essentially, “You won’t stop being flogged until you regain your strength” or a less literal translation of “whipping will continue until morale improves.” It’s a phrase I saw on a T-shirt in Key West. It had been part of my signature line for 10 months and honestly I forgot about it.
The new HR director told me that this did not reflect well on the corporate brand. I told the HR director that I would remove it, apologize for any violation, but that I did not think this was a violation that should lead to the level of termination. I could understand a reprimand. I would accept a personal improvement plan. He said it was a business decision and nothing more. There is no policy or procedure for creating an email signature rule. I received a rave review and raise in January with all areas meeting or exceeding expectations.
In discussions with colleagues after the layoff, we speculated that more had been going on since the senior leadership team had been replaced two months earlier. My immediate supervisor unexpectedly resigned three weeks before my resignation. Before he left, he suggested layoffs were imminent.
My question is: is this a criminal offence? Or was it a pretext to reduce headcount and costs so they could scrap my salary and not pay severance pay? Do I have a legal remedy? I know that work in my state is at will. I am 63 so I also wonder if there is also an age bias that led to the dismissal.
– Anonymously
If you work in a free will, anything can be a criminal offense as long as the dismissal is not based on discrimination. Your employer didn’t need a pretext. That said, it’s kind of strange to get fired for an email signature, especially when you’ve recently received rave reviews and a pay raise. How can a person’s email signature undermine the brand unless the brand has bad morale? Getting fired for a single, minor offense that isn’t particularly offensive is overkill at best.
I’m not sure how corporate executives can justify this without a pattern of behavior. If they were planning layoffs and wanted to cut costs, yes, they may have done this to avoid paying you severance pay, which is very unfair. I would consult an employment lawyer to see what your options are. Something is definitely wrong here.
Roxane Gay is most recently the author of “Hunger” and a contributing opinion writer. Write her down workfriend@CBNewz.
