So I'll try to simplify this whole experience as much as possible. But this is a long post. Keep in mind.
I used to work at a company for a while. The company was fairly new 4-5 years old. It was around 3 years old when I joined to work there. I spent 2 years in the company. The company was an offshore company, so everyone worked from their homes. Everyone except every employee that worked in my city in the country I live in. We had an office and could not work from home. We were simply not allowed. Whatever. I actually enjoyed working from the office as I could see my colleagues and we all got along very nicely.
That was the only positive, but since I am very patient, I went through every hurdle thrown.
Almost a year after I joined the company, my manager had to go on maternity and a lady with 0 skill in our processes had to take her position. “Okay, no big deal, she'll get the hang of the processes soon or later. We have a lot of stuff going on, so it's understandable if she needs to ask for clarification”. Except, this lady was borderline choosing favorites. From one specific nationality. And also people who would suck up. I'll explain a bit later.
It's not like we (all people from my nationality) didn't notice this behavior but we kept calm and tried to be optimistic as much as we can. We felt targeted. Legit.
We had over 30 employees that were from my nationality. Some were on very high positions. I have personally seen how they were treated. Some had way more experience than the new manager, yet were treated like idiots, harassed, gossiped about, etc.
Slowly, but surely, they all started quitting. At one point, I was the only one from my nationality that stayed in the whole project.
I was one of the best trained employees, my QA scores were almost always above 90%, I knew what I was doing. I dealt with some very very tough cases with a resolution rate above 90%. I also have the background knowledge of what I'm doing. I have a masters degree in the field of my job. I actually loved my job. It was frustrating at times, just like any other job but it was mentally stimulating. Problem solving is something I genuinely enjoy.
So, higher ups saw that and offered me a training position with a promise that I may become a supervisor depending on the results. I was told I have the experience and knowledge to train new employees. If I wasn't good at my job, they wouldn't let me train new people, right?
So for months I took in groups of newhires and each group took 2 weeks to train. I had a curriculum made for me by my then supervisor. Basically the points of the training and what comes after each stage. As guidance. I had codes, training passes for each and whatnot. I made myself an excel spreadsheet for each group, tracked their attendance, made quizzes for them, made fake calls and emails for them to train on, showed examples, the usual stuff. I had trained 35-40 people. For our company that was not a small amount. After each training, I would do my normal job and help out the newbies if they had any questions. I would sometimes pull them into meetings so I can show them and remind them on certain processes they might have forgotten or just to show them some tips or explain the situation and resolution. For months. I loved that. I loved training these people. I gave them every tip, trick and piece of knowledge I had. I wanted them to be the best most efficient employees possible.
In the meantime, the assistant manager had to go on maternity too. In her position a guy was hired. One from the same nationality of the grand manager. He also happened to be a close friend of hers. This guy seemed unsure of himself so I highly doubt he ever made a choice without discussing it with the manager. I tried helping too whenever he would message me with a question.
Near the season end, I decided to ask what's going to happen with me as we're approaching the last training groups. He told me “if a supervisor has more than 5-6 employees, we will have you be a supervisor and have your own group”. Cool. So I went on with my job.
They decided to have me manage a small group of newhires. But, I had no access to any metrics, no training for the position. The only training I had was with my then supervisor which was like 45 mins of us trying to figure out how to train me with no access yet. So I was just thrown there with no information of what the position is. They only said it's for the peak of the season but how can I do my job without proper training? I went with it. Meanwhile the assistant manager chickened off and bailed us at the peak of the season.
I had a vacation planned and approved for 2 weeks after all trainings and whatnot as I had gathered vacation days. It's the law in my country. You get yearly vacation as per law. No matter your job.
I went back from vacation and I was told I won't keep my position as a “supervisor”. They told me then that the length of which I've been in the company didn't matter (understandable) but what matters was how skilled I was. (Forgetting I literally trained 40 people and was one of the most skilled employees in the team).
I was “floating” for a couple of weeks without anyone telling me where to go and what my daily task is, so I decided where help is more needed and I found some things to do and help out.
Then my supervisor changed. He asked me to do QA on calls. Cool. I had access to see who is whose manager. Apparently the assistant supervisor lied. Every other supervisor had 9-10 people below them. I said whatever and did my job. Then, after a couple of weeks, I was given the most basic tasks. Tasks for newly hired employees.
To give perspective. A lot of people I trained were climbing the ladder 2 months after being hired. Some went to other departments with more difficult tasks, others went to HR, others became supervisors themselves, others excellent in different positions, and all my other colleagues who were not my nationality were climbing.
The newhires were hired at double the amount I started with. Even the old employees had started at double my paycheck. Except the people my nationality. We were all paid half of everyone else on the team. The newhires got their appraisal 3 months after being hired. By 1 dollar. While I, after everything I've done, and being in the company almost 2 years, only got a raise of $0.25. Here's where it started to go downhill.
Later in the year I was promised by the now new manager (as the old one decided to manage a different project) an interview for the sales team. The interview got pushed and pushed for later, I never heard anything about what's going on. I asked a couple of times, no clear response until everything went deaf. Later on, I see that 2 of the people I have trained myself were secretly hired for the sales team 2 months after being hired in the company. Okay, that's fine, but it would have been appropriate to hear something even if it's a no.
Earlier this year, I unfortunately got sick a couple of times. I had a bacterial bronchitis and took antibiotics and had steroid injections because I couldn't breathe properly. Later on, due to the strong antibiotics, the bacteria went to my stomach. I noticed myself going to the bathroom more often, but didn't pay attention as I have had gastritis since I was young plus the antibiotics were so strong, they could literally kill the plague. I'm not kidding. They effed up my stomach. I warned my supervisor about my medical issue. And he took notice. Then he, my new manager, HR and myself were called into a meeting. This guy had tracked the time I went to use the bathroom, the minutes I was in the bathroom, and asked me to explain myself. What do I say? That every time I eat something, I get explosive diarrhea and I have to run all the way to the end of the corridor of the office building or wait for someone to get out of the bathroom and relieve myself? I started taking meds and got back to normal. So I thought.
The jurisdiction of my country allowed work on public holidays for double the daily pay which our boss didn't want to do so he prohibited working OT or working on these public holidays. Additionally we had the labor inspectors drop by and they found our schedules did not line up to our country's labor laws. So our office manager was effed. I had to warn my supervisor of every irregularity that might cause trouble and at one point, since he was in a different country with different laws, I decided to actually show the laws with articles and whatnot so they don't think I'm lying. He went nuts, called me in a meeting and started screaming at me “why am I doing this to him” and making me cry from the accusations thrown at me. I'm only showing proof so y'all don't think I'm lying about the laws in my country. Trying to keep you guys from trouble.
I had a talk with him later on and talked about my gut issue and he said “well you don't have a reason to go to the bathroom so often”. Also, as a female, I did have other reasons too. So I went to a gastroenterologist to see wtf was happening with my stomach and a-ha, another gut bacteria I had to take another antibiotic for. Literally a couple of weeks after taking corticosteroids and a heavy ass antibiotic. I showed him proof. I apparently had a reason. I kept going to work, taking my antibiotics and meds.
Meanwhile, due to the HVAC being broken, nobody coming to fix this (as it was 5 days before the Christmas holidays) and having no choice but to sit in a cold room of 53F with lined boots, gloves, a winter jacket and a hat for 9 hours while my toes would freeze for days even with my boots being genuine leather with lining in them, and wearing 2 layers of socks, I caught a viral infection.
I had 3 days off soon after the HVAC incident (as they cut our hours so not only was I paid half of what my colleagues do, I got even less). On the first day off I noticed my throat being very sore.l and my voice gone. I sent an update in our team's groupchat in advance so they have an idea and could start planning the schedule better in case I can't show up. I did warn them that I'll take precautions to try and get better but will update them on the 3rd day.
For the next 2 days I had constantly been maintaining a fever of 102F. I had to call my GP and my gastroenterologist in case I have an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. At one point my fever rose so we had to call an ambulance (it's free in my country so) Meanwhile I let the team know that I am having a fever (plus added a photo of the thermometer) and I'll have to go to the docs again. To which a response in private message comes from a supervisor who became a supervisor 2-3 months after being hired (only because we had a client who pushed for the creation of a team in a specific language) that my updates are making the rest of the supervisors look bad in front of the team. Excuse me??? I didn't want to get sick.
I decided to quit that day. I still keep a bag of the documents given to me from all doctor visits, plus receips, plus everything. And I showed them to my manager and HR. I was so pissed off.
Last hurdle. I was supposed to quit on a certain date. My fiance had made plans to take me on a holiday so I can rest and chill after all bs. I had warned my boss that I will be gone 8 days after quitting. He said “I can do your documents even earlier so no worries”. I wanted to apply for unemployment while I look for another job. And there was a 7 workday window when I could apply for the best paycheck the government can give me based on my work paychecks and experience and whatever. 5 days before my quitting day, I called my boss. He had silently went off to another country and there was nobody who can sign my documents, therefore, I might miss the unemployment window. So thankfully I had gathered enough days vacation. I scrapped my quitting notice and wrote a new one. This time I did not get fucked.
Additionally, the same office manager took our microwave and nobody could make themselves a hot drink in winter, warm their food, etc. Fine, we brought cold food or bought ourselves thermal lunch boxes. No biggie. Then he would not supply us with either soap or toilet paper. As he should have. We bought our own. While our international colleagues' paychecks would be precisely given on the day they should, the paychecks of my team who were my nationality were always late. Sometimes by 5 days, other times by over 2 weeks. One of my colleagues almost lost their home since they didn't have the means to pay their rent. And nobody told us anything. Every time our paychecks were late, things would go hush hush. I know I was not entitled to anything but my paycheck. Not only did we get paid half of everyone else's paychecks, our paychecks were almost always late. We were also forced into unpaid leaves to cut our paychecks by -40 hours every month for the past 3 months before I quit.
Am I wrong to feel this way? Is this discrimination?