little bit of background info: i'm 19, im a full-time college student during fall/spring, and right now im part-time by taking just one summer course. i got this job back in april (i just left lowes, fuck that place) and i was very upfront in my interview that i'm in college and i need an uber flexible schedule (because i had one month left of school in april and i planned on this summer class) and my boss appeared/was okay with it because a lot of my coworkers are also college students. this job was to be a barista at a coffee shop inside a hospital – it can't be over the top/not chill, right? RIGHT?
on tuesday (7/5) i was about to clock out, and my boss pulled me aside and she told me we're going downstairs (where food services is at my work) and im sat down with her and the department head for food services.
the department head told me that due to my 90-day evaluation coming to an end (more on that), they were concerned with my attendance record. apparently i had 4 occurrences (“”prolonged absence”” – these occurrences were me missing one actual day, so i've made 4 call-ins) and the 5th one they'll give me a warning that i have to sign. the rule is, i can have up to 8 occurrences before they terminate my employment.
of course it's up to them if they want to follow the rule that they made, but i think it's very fucked up that they never let me sign the 5th warning and take the L, and they adjusted the rules in the middle. hell, i didn't even think, or really knew, about this 90-day eval. looking back, it seems like i had a 3-month trial at this job. so i wasn't at this 8 occurrence mark, much less even 5 occurrence mark, and they fire me anyways.
another reason they listed is that i've left work two times early because i get severely sick to my stomach at random, especially when i'm working long shifts. what they don't know is that i've been having some serious GI health issues since the beginning of the year. if i get sick at random, yeah it's inconvenient, but i'm not gonna be sick and remain around food/drinks. i don't even know why i'm having these GI issues. i don't like leaving work early, obviously. it is what it is though.
aaaand to decrease the amount of occurrences i get, if i needed to not go into work for some reason (sometimes i needed a day to catch up on academics, because i'm part time but i'm working 8.5hr shifts 3-4 times a week), i would ask if someone could cover my shift. i had good coworker relationships with everyone and they were fine with covering for me. and it's not like i did this very often – i think i actually asked to have a shift covered 3 times. i also have covered shifts!
but the minimal shift covering, leaving early like two times because i'm randomly nauseous, calling in only 4 times, the department head had said that i'm “inconveniencing other workers” and “other workers have had to work around [my] schedule.” i think another thing they said is that i ask off way too much. which is weird….because i don't ask off that much, and when i did ask off, it was way in advance, because it's respectful to ask off not last-minute.
now, i'm not really upset about it. i think i was blind to a lot of flaws, working in a hospital but as a barista is weird itself, and i was probably being overworked for being part-time.
i just can't decide if i'm genuinely in the wrong or if i was unfairly fired? if you think i am in the wrong with my “actions,” please say so, it's an opinion. if you think it's unfair, also please say so. i'm trying to gain perspective.