A conundrum for discussion - working your notice
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 4:44 pm
So I have an employment problem that I thought I'd open up for discussion. Not the usual thing I see on here, but I'm hoping it will lead to some discussion maybe.
I've handed in my notice at work, I really can't stand it there any longer. The way I've been treated has made me ill. I work part time for a national DIY retailer and when I started there 2 years ago it was great. I enjoyed every minute of it, so much so that I extended my contractual hours. However, the management team has changed and while there are some great trading managers there, the store manager is a real piece of work. He's rude, arrogant, self centered, doesn't give a stuff about staff and encourages bullying. He's never liked me much, but recently I've been targeted for 'special treatment'. I've been singled out for unfair criticism, I've been given targets that cannot possibly achieved within my part time hours, I've failed assessments as a result of someone else's failure and things over which I have no control. It's not about performing badly, I am not a poor performer, I'm actually doing and achieving more than many of my colleagues. I've been formally warned because I spent 3 minutes talking to another member of staff, but no mention of the amount of my own time I give to the company every week. The manager walks around the store spying on me during the day, he's not monitoring the general goings on, he's targeting me. A month or so ago I had to spend the day in Hospital, I'd been advised that I may have Cancer and was admitted for some biopsies etc. The paperwork that I gave them at work clearly detailed that I would be unfit to work the day following my day surgery, however, ignoring this, my employer detailed me to work at 9am the morning after! It has been made very difficult for me to continue working there.
It doesn't help that after 30 years of service to my Country, I suffer with a complex mix of PTSD and OCD. Subsequently I can sometimes see things differently from others and if I feel threatened/closely monitored or at risk, I can overreact. You can't imagine how I feel some days at the moment. The manner in which I have been treated at my place of employment has made me quite ill and has forced me to seek help: I'm now currently undergoing a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy course to help me relax. Realising that it's my health or my job, I handed my notice in after speaking with my CBT counselor. I'm required to give 4 weeks notice, but wrote to my employer asking if this could be negotiated down given the health issues it's created. However, true to form, I haven't even even had an acknowledgement and they wont talk to me about it at all.
I genuinely cannot work there any more, and I am tempted to do something that goes against the grain - I'm tempted to leave without having worked my full notice period. Now I know that this is wrong, I would let my employer down, my colleagues down and I wouldn't feel great about myself, but I've got to get out of there quickly. Leaving would be better for my health, but I'd feel guilty. I would imagine that I would not get a future reference from the employer and I would think that they would withhold the money that I am owed. I was willing to be unemployed just to get out.
As it happens, this afternoon I was offered another little part time job, it's just right, working outside in a yard, no real targets and a decent crew. The hours and type of work would better suit my OCD/PTSD. They want me to start the week after next, which is within my notice period, although as said, I'm thinking of just leaving now anyway.
So, I think I've made my decision - any thoughts guys?
I've handed in my notice at work, I really can't stand it there any longer. The way I've been treated has made me ill. I work part time for a national DIY retailer and when I started there 2 years ago it was great. I enjoyed every minute of it, so much so that I extended my contractual hours. However, the management team has changed and while there are some great trading managers there, the store manager is a real piece of work. He's rude, arrogant, self centered, doesn't give a stuff about staff and encourages bullying. He's never liked me much, but recently I've been targeted for 'special treatment'. I've been singled out for unfair criticism, I've been given targets that cannot possibly achieved within my part time hours, I've failed assessments as a result of someone else's failure and things over which I have no control. It's not about performing badly, I am not a poor performer, I'm actually doing and achieving more than many of my colleagues. I've been formally warned because I spent 3 minutes talking to another member of staff, but no mention of the amount of my own time I give to the company every week. The manager walks around the store spying on me during the day, he's not monitoring the general goings on, he's targeting me. A month or so ago I had to spend the day in Hospital, I'd been advised that I may have Cancer and was admitted for some biopsies etc. The paperwork that I gave them at work clearly detailed that I would be unfit to work the day following my day surgery, however, ignoring this, my employer detailed me to work at 9am the morning after! It has been made very difficult for me to continue working there.
It doesn't help that after 30 years of service to my Country, I suffer with a complex mix of PTSD and OCD. Subsequently I can sometimes see things differently from others and if I feel threatened/closely monitored or at risk, I can overreact. You can't imagine how I feel some days at the moment. The manner in which I have been treated at my place of employment has made me quite ill and has forced me to seek help: I'm now currently undergoing a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy course to help me relax. Realising that it's my health or my job, I handed my notice in after speaking with my CBT counselor. I'm required to give 4 weeks notice, but wrote to my employer asking if this could be negotiated down given the health issues it's created. However, true to form, I haven't even even had an acknowledgement and they wont talk to me about it at all.
I genuinely cannot work there any more, and I am tempted to do something that goes against the grain - I'm tempted to leave without having worked my full notice period. Now I know that this is wrong, I would let my employer down, my colleagues down and I wouldn't feel great about myself, but I've got to get out of there quickly. Leaving would be better for my health, but I'd feel guilty. I would imagine that I would not get a future reference from the employer and I would think that they would withhold the money that I am owed. I was willing to be unemployed just to get out.
As it happens, this afternoon I was offered another little part time job, it's just right, working outside in a yard, no real targets and a decent crew. The hours and type of work would better suit my OCD/PTSD. They want me to start the week after next, which is within my notice period, although as said, I'm thinking of just leaving now anyway.
So, I think I've made my decision - any thoughts guys?
