Sorry to disappoint all the corpo bootlickers, but I still have a job. I'll get into that later, though.
First, I just wanna say that I did not expect to get as much engagement for that post as I did, and it was absolutely wild getting frontpaged for something I typed up in anger. Thank you to everyone who kindly messaged me about how inspiring I was. I also appreciate the people who provided genuine and meaningful advice for my situation. I'll even give a shoutout for the people who thought I was being rash but kept it cool. You guys all rock.
And to the hundreds of DMs and comments that were cucking themselves sideways for a corporation they don't even know the name of, suck my toes. I will say, however, that you've given me and my buddies in our discord server something to laugh about for the next couple weeks. We're already talking about how “inconsolable” we are when we lose a game.
(Also, just for clarification, I wasn't blubbering in tears over this meeting; I was downright pissed off. And it turns out I was right to feel that way.)
I had my meeting with my supervisor first thing when I got to work today. She said to me right as we got into our One-on-One room is that the type of meetings like we had yesterday are usually in person, and this was a one-time-deal. Apparently others had also given feedback that had a similar sentiment, and there's going to be a change in how these meetings are announced and executed. She took my frustration into account and gave me an exemption for future meetings on Zoom that would require me to come in early. Last thing she said to me was she knows it's not like me to be a complainer, so when she got my email, she knew to take it seriously. She thanked me for my feedback, and that's the last we talked about it. The rest of my shift went by very well, and not a single person mentioned anything I said in my email, so I think it's safe to say she hasn't shared it with anyone.
Did I get off scot-free? That remains to be seen. I still have the rest of my career for anything else to happen, but I doubt it'll ever come up again. Maybe she'll throw a jab at me next time there's a meeting, but it's nothing I can't handle. Unlike the way I was characterized by so many of you, I'm used to people giving me shit. I didn't survive 10 years in food service for no reason. What I can't handle and refuse to tolerate is double standards in my workplace, and that's what made me angry. Turns out I was justified and validated for this experience, and yes, there is (supposedly) a change coming.
Did I get lucky? Maybe so; this company seems different than others I've worked for. Different departments are constantly conducting internal surveys and feedback is always taken into consideration. So when certain commenters told me to “pick my battles,” I can comfortably answer that this was a battle worth fighting and it gave me good results. Could I have gone about it differently? Totally! I'm grateful to be in a situation where I can learn and grow.
Do I recommend others do this? Eh. There's a time and a place to say this kind of thing, and I think I might just be lucky given the environment and support I have from my supervisor. What I do recommend is getting with your buddy and talking about your work frustrations, then keep adding trusted coworkers to those conversations. Eventually, if enough of you submit the same feedback with a few emotionally charged words (or you know, don't include the emotional stuff because apparently that makes you big dumb), you can eliminate inefficient meetings and focus on what really matters at work.
Main lesson I learned is that I probably shouldn't have sent that email, regardless of the outcome. Second lesson I learned is that your average redditor works in a cutthroat work environment where people are taken out back and shot if they even dare show an emotion in the workplace. Third lesson I learned is that if a post gets locked, people will track down your oldest comment just to throw a punch at you.
Again, probably not the update a lot of you expected, but real life is rarely as theatric as you'd expect it to be. Some of you probably still think this is all bait but whatever. If I end up getting fired, well, you can expect that update as well. Just don't go holding your breath.