And I don't know how to feel about it.
(as per the title, somewhat long post – tldr; below)
So, this summer I finished my master's degree – it was extremely intensive and left me exhausted especially as I went into it straight after my undergraduate. Initially, I did plan to take an extensive break but was approached by a start-up for an executive assistant role for the company's CEO. I'm probably a little overqualified, but because I planned to apply for a PhD anyway, I thought it wasn't a bad way to spend the interim: I liked the company, and they had some sort of moral mission so it was palatable, it paid relatively well (£27k a year salary, so just nearly $30k, for you American readers) and the job seemed easy enough.
Now, I am big on work-life balance, and good work/home boundaries. I have hobbies and loved ones to keep me occupied outside the M-F 9-6 structure of work – often, I would switch off my phone straight up so my brain can switch off. After the experience of higher education, burning out several times, and ending up in several bouts of therapy, I made it my mission to try and not overwork myself ever again, because nothing is worth a burnout. I made this very clear to my line manager in our very first catch-up, and they responded to it quite positively, promising to keep this in check and liaising with CEO as they also experienced the same problem when they were previously full-time in my role.
During the interview process, there were mentions of working overtime sometimes if the work was unfinished – which is understandable. Though all the time I was there though, I never left any pieces of work (presentations, side projects, etc) unfinished. I even check with the boss and everybody if they need me to do anything else before I leave, usually at 6 on the dot (I usually made plans with my friends, family, or boyfriend after work). Three weeks in and for the most part, I was doing well in most aspects of the job (which also involved looking after the office itself) – except one, which ultimately got me fired.
That one thing was to be available at all times.
From Day 1, the CEO would text me at late hours with things which ranged from somewhat invasive questions about what I was doing outside work to non-urgent requests such as rescheduling meetings. Sometimes I genuinely didn't see the text as I'd fallen asleep or see it hours after I received it (and it was not life or death). I do always reply, however, first thing in the morning on my way to work. But I realised now that it wasn't exactly the point – they were all tests to see my response (or lack thereof). I think this was done maybe 3-4 times, and each time I just didn't reply for various reasons.
A few days ago, on my way out of work (again, on time, as I was seeing a friend for dinner) I was pulled over by one of the managers into a meeting room, where another manager was waiting for me. They sat me down and said, “we don't see this going forward, don't come back tomorrow”. I won't go into too much detail, but it pretty much boiled down to the fact that I wouldn't reply to the texts. I protested, asking why I wasn't given feedback or the opportunity to adjust (after all it has been three weeks, and this is my first job out of uni) but apparently, my response indicated that I wasn't a “natural fit” with the CEO – I had to grind as hard and eat, sleep, breathe work as they did and be at their beck and call 24/7. That I had to answer their texts at whatever hour, stay late, come in on weekends, etc.
After the conversation then the managers just got up and left me in the meeting room and went about their day. I just sat there for a bit and rang my friend who kindly came to pick me up. And that will be the last time I see that place.
Again, all of this was probably fair feedback, and better for the long run. On the other hand, I felt I was beginning to adjust better and I felt that had I had more time to get to know my boss better and warmed up to them and build an organic connection, with actual communication and feedback. But anyways water under the bridge now. Overall, there were both goods and bads (sometimes entered red flag territory) like most jobs (and I won't go into this, I don't want to get sued haha).
I'm not posting this to shit on the company, or whatever, but I am reeling a bit from the shock of everything. I guess I want to just hear from those with more experience here, if this is normal in the corporate world if my silly little insistence on boundaries was worth fighting for, or if this episode will have any problems on my future employment prospects, etc. Or Maybe a pick me up, or some tough love would be nice too. I just want to feel alright again. Thanks for reading.
tldr; got fired from my first job out of uni/college because I wanted to uphold my work-life boundary. Happened in a pretty darn insane way too, and I'm still feeling weird about it.