Hello everyone!
For context; I am a young professional in Canada. I used to work as a nurse in a hospital but left due to appalling working conditions. I applied for admin jobs and got one. I was hired as a coordinator and I WFH. I really like it! I told my manager during the interview that I can be a very flexible employee but I do expect to be doing the job that I applied for and being paid for. I was assured, that this would not be an issue! (That was a lie. Keep reading…)
However; a few months into the job my manager announced that I would need to help a colleague in the treatment specialist department. To be qualified to work in this department you need to have clinical experience/a background in healthcare and be bilingual, so they are struggling to staff the department but I just so happen to have these qualifications. At the time, I was given no explanation as to why I would be working this department but did as I was told and trusted my manager. I come to find out that they had an employee go on an emergency medical leave, since she had burned out and I was expected to replace her temporarily. I have been in this department since August and was originally told that it would only be for a month. In October I brought up to my manager that I was still in this department and I believe I should be getting acting pay since it is a lot more work and stress (I understand why my colleague burned out). She told me that she would discuss it with her supervisor and assured me it was in the works. I brought it up to my manager again a month later and was advised that they are looking into it. I find it hard to believe it takes over a month to look into giving an employee acting pay for a job they didn't apply for. I have been working as a Treatment Specialist and being paid a Coordinators wage for the past 4 months now and I don't believe they will be compensating me adequately until I increase the pressure on them.
To be clear, I don't want to leave the organization but have been upset enough by this situation to look into other jobs/options. I would prefer to find a way to rectify things with my current job. There are a lot of things about this job that I enjoy and I do like my colleagues and my manager but I believe I am being taken advantage of. I want to set some clear boundaries and be respected. I don't have as much experience with admin/office culture and was wondering if anyone here could offer some advice on how to handle this situation. I don't want to burn any bridged and want to be as professional as possible.
Any support or advice would be appreciated. Hope everyone is having a good day ️