I wish it had been a badly done joke. But it wasn't.
Some backstory first.
I've been working as a “temp” for an agency of a “pop-up COVID-19 clinic” for an absurdly well-off and big name university for about 8 months now. It's been around since July of 2020. It paid well, but everything else has been… crappy. (Crappy set-up, crappy equipment, little-to-no-support, etc.) But I liked it. It was as if I found my niche and I had been excelling to the point where my manager could trust me to take equipment home and finish some work if need be!
We always knew it was temporary. Or at least, hoped it would be. The pandemic, the lack of understanding of how COVID has been evolving (or rather, predictability of it), has been making it last longer and longer. A few months turned into a year, then a second year.
Despite problems galore (crappy upper management violating SOOOoooo many regulations and rules, including HIPAA!), I enjoyed it.
We were anticipating downsizing because cases have been dropping… then the new variant BA.2 caused cases to rise and I sensed that wasn't going to happen. Then I got the biggest bomb drop of my life.
I got fired… on April's Fool's Day.
Out of everyone of the remaining 40+ staff, I never expected to be among those who got dropped. So I asked why. Management's response…. implied my desire to have one fucking day a week with my son was an “availability” issue (on Saturdays!)… and the lack of “versatility” was another. (The versatility? BEING DISABLED! I can't stand for 8 hours and can't even stand for more than 30 minutes before collapsing in pain; I have degenerative disc disease and will eventually be in a wheelchair.)
There was no transition. There was no “Hey, we're downsizing in three weeks; find another job.” It was just a “You're fired.”
Before anyone asks: The availability? We were hired on the understanding weekends were voluntary only–then they made it mandatory! My manager never said it was an issue; he was happy to work with me on this! Don't say it's fine then use it against me! And to shame me for not being able to stand for hours and test people?! Accommodations could be done, but hey, that required upper management to have brains and help us out!
Screenshot of text message with manager about my firing for proof.
