I’ve been working in healthcare at the same hospital for over 10 years as an outpatient therapist. On top of seeing patients on the hour, every hour, I also did administrative duties, was team lead in several teams, and the head trainer in several specialty treatments. I never got compensated with increased pay or protected time to do this extra work. In fact in the time I’d been there, my pay had only gone up $5k/year in all those years. In July we were told we had 3 options going forward: 1.)We would have one slot a day where we treated 2 patients at a time. 2.) We would work a full 8-10 hour day without any breaks (lunch, bathroom, etc), 3.) we would work an extra hour each day without pay.
I told my manager I didn’t agree to any of the options and said it was unethical. I was then told it wasn’t up for discussion, and I either had to pick an option or leave, so of course I left. I was tired of being taken advantage of and feeling like a piece of property to my employer instead of a person.
I’ve struggled with anxiety a lot in recent years- needing to take medication and even having issues with daily heart palpitations. Since leaving my anxiety has slowly gone away, and I haven’t had any heart palpitations in the last month. No job is worth your mental or physical health. Don’t stay as long as I did, and leave your employer if they are treating you badly. There are jobs out there that will treat you the way you deserve to be treated.