I work as a bank teller. I’m a step parent to a 4 and 6 year old and have a lot of responsibility to juggle. I told my boss I need a mental health day for weeks ago. I planned my life to make sure it works around this job. I made sure to make it clear in the interview that I couldn’t do that unless I had a consistent schedule and reliably got out on time. I had to talk to HR 3 months in because I was getting my schedule 1 day before the week started and getting scheduled 10-7 instead of 8-5:45 like I was promised. That’s created a nightmare schedule where my day with the kids starts at 5:30 am, I have random time before work where I can’t commute home in time, and I’m rushing to get home to take care of my home life 45 minutes before bedtime. The washer broke, so I was spending 5 hours every other week at the laundromat or hand washing clothes for 4 in the tub. My parents split up, SO’s mom got cancer, and my brother relapsed on meth in the meantime. Obviously unforeseeable circumstances on top of taking on a lot. It’s only been 5 months. Sprinkle in 2 kids birthday parties, Christmas, working bartending shifts here and there to moonlight and budget.
I’ve done everything in my power to prevent my personal issues from slipping into work. I’ve had a solid sleep schedule, I go to the gym, I keep gratitude lists, I contribute the maximum to my HSA so I can afford therapy soon. I talk to family and friends on my commute home. I prepare for my days every night and weekend, I come in with a positive attitude. 2 weeks ago I told my boss I could use a mental health Monday soon to work out some personal issues. I wanted to plan ahead so I wasn’t seen as unreliable.
“I didn’t know mental health Monday was a thing.”
“I was trying to be coy. I could really use a long weekend and want to know the vacation policy so I can minimize the inconvenience”
“Let me know I’ll try to make it work.”
I left feeling invalidated, judged, and trapped. I tried getting help and doing the right thing and was dismissed. I got about 3 hours of sleep the next night. Drive kids, run, go to work. Tell her I was having nightmares and didn’t sleep well. Got two HUGE McDonalds coffees on lunch to make it through the day. Got diarrhea shortly after returning and had to beg her to cover my station. Came back after cleaning the bathroom and she left immediately.
A member comes through the drive thru window coughing violently wearing a paper mask. All over the check she handed me. “Sorry I just got back from my covid test. I want to cash this.” I was livid, but I’ve heard from others we still have to help them. I didn’t bother grabbing my boss because she’d say the same thing. She had the account number, name, balances, everything.
Well it was fraud. I didn’t have her send in an ID because we have it on file, didn’t think to have her pull down her mask, missed that the front of the check wasn’t signed.
My boss called out on Friday “caught my bug” didn’t acknowledge the situation until 4 pm Monday. She just blindsided me 2 weeks later in a meeting with her boss. In the middle of the work day. I acknowledged my stress spilling into work. That I was on my final thread and went into an irrational panic over potentially getting covid and missing a week of income, messing up school, custody schedules, etc. “We allow members to come in with covid. Their status doesn’t matter. You could get it anywhere.” They have no mask policy, no sanitation policy, no signs to call for help if they’re sick.
I’m so done.