I work for a major bank. I won’t say which, but it’s one of the largest out there. They’ve reduced staffing to skeleton crew levels and made it so that no one can take PTO if a coworker has PTO. I don’t know if this is the right place to post this, but I need to say it and it needs to be heard.
One of our cats was 17. His name was a Toby. He said was a sneezy, lovable orange thing. He loved the steam from a warm shower, boxes smaller than he was, and reaching out with his paw to tap your arm and remind you to pet him. He was 17 and had a bowel obstruction. Surgery would’ve likely killed him. We made the choice to have him euthanized as we didn’t have the money for surgery nor the confidence that he’d survive the surgery.
I did everything right. I didn’t call out. I showed up to work. I told the manager what was going on. I insinuated I wished I was there but that the skeleton staffing model made me feel like I couldn’t call out. My fiancé was alone. She text me to tell me she was filling out the paperwork for euthanasia. I told my manager. I had no appointments the rest of the day. I left because I was very nearly in tears. I walked around the building, composed myself and returned. I asked when I could leave. It was 10:10 AM.
My manager said earliest she could do was 2:15 PM. I was shocked. I told her it was a now ( and I’ll be there) or not ( and I won’t be there) kind of thing. She said that I could take my hour lunch right then instead of 11:00. It would take longer than an hour to make sure I got to the clinic, oversaw the procedure, and came back. I missed the passing of Toby.
My fiancé was alone.
She rode home alone.
I am in tears at my desk. No appointments.
I leave for my lunch at 11:00
I head home and sob on our couch.
My manager calls at 11:30 and tells me I can stay home.
Too little too late.
Profit, not you, is what matters. Make sure you realize this. I won’t make this mistake again. Don’t make the mistake that I did. I tried to do the right thing. Stay home. Hurt profit. Be there.