Today is my last day of work at a medium-sized advertising agency in New York. Yesterday was my last day working in the office, so they did my exit interview in person.
For background, I have been doing two jobs for the last six months. A manager I was collaborating on some projects with left at the end of last year, and I was the only other person who knew how to do her job because she was a one-person department. I was told I had to run the department until they found a replacement. The old “In and out. 20 minute adventure.” I was told it would be 2 months tops. Then HR couldn’t find a candidate with enough experience. So I was told I’d be getting a support person to help me out while I train them to eventually take over. Fine. Then, a week before I give notice, they tell me that they’re actually not hiring anyone. I was livid, but also savoring the instant karma because I’ve had a plan to get out for like six months now. Of course, management panicked when I told them I was leaving the next week. Leopard, face, etc.
After telling the HR manager all the problems I had perceived in the company including racism, sexism, “boys’ club” mentality, and of course the fact that we are hemorrhaging lower-level employees and hiring more VPs instead of replacing the people who actually do the heavy lifting, she 1) agreed with me LOL and 2) gave me this juicy nugget:
My VPs have been determining my workload from the timesheets I hand in (I do get paid OT, thank God) instead of, you know, me TELLING them to their faces repeatedly that I’m overworked. They thought that because I was “only” working 6 extra hours a week, I was fine. When in fact I was just trying to set some bloody boundaries and actually, you know, see my partner, my friends and my family, work out, cook, all that good stuff.
I literally laughed. Like barked out a laugh. This was my Joker moment. I’ve worked in food service, crappy part time jobs, all of that. Never been so happy to leave a job.