Wow, I was just “inspired to quit” by management at a small family-owned business.
At first, I was asked to meet because I stood up to an employee with seniority after she made a post in our company group chat that was a little closer to a call-out than just a general reminder. My response was pretty much: “Hey, let's have a conversation about this, it seems a little public-shamey and not really up to our values.”
At this meeting and with no warning, management sprung on me their intense disappointment in “reports” of “constant negativity” and “competitive, unproductive, and harmful language” from coworkers. Who only apparently “came forward” in the 48 hours between the emailed request for a meeting and our meeting. They would not tell me how many coworkers “came forward” nor what exactly it was said that I said, nor how long they had been receiving complaints about me from staff. They were clear from minute one that they didn't think i was a “good fit” for the company based on these reports. No reconciliation or conflict resolution was even attempted. I have had no other performance issues, always on time, on-task/meeting goals, etc.
In the two years I've been with this company, I've actually never received direct feedback on any aspect of my performance (aside from “good job, keep it up!”) much less any indication of discomfort or potential conflict with coworkers. And yet, it was indicated to me that I could either quit, or I would be let go. I chose to quit.
Like, don't get me wrong, I definitely complained about work at work (will be wiser about when/where/with who in the future) but only with people who were also complaining/venting, and only when we had an empty store/no management.
The kicker is now they're doing the same thing to another coworker: email for meeting, followed up with “we've received reports of negative, harmful, unhealthy language and no longer believe trust can be repaired.” My coworker is autistic, and I have ADHD. We are both apparently being punished for not picking up on nonverbal signals of discomfort from coworkers and not knowing the unspoken “no competitive language” rule. Am I wrong to assume that there is some level of ableism happening here?