Opinions please.
I've been a massage therapist for 7 years and I've been working for an upscale spa in California for a little over a year (newly transplanted). My two previous jobs were great. They were both women run, small businesses who had cult-followings and really took care of their clients and employees. It was bliss compared to this.
I moved to California and struggled to find a place because I've worked at a spa before and I've built up a very specific set of expectations. I stumbled upon what I thought was my dream job and was happy for a few months. Quickly, I started to get the truth about the business and the people behind it.
I could go on and on about all the unprofessional things this family business upholds but the descriptions would be too obvious.
This place is a mess but they have people “managing” “directing” and “leading” us that have no prior experience. As you can imagine, it's really hard for me to tolerate all these issues that are not normal as a massage therapist. Alas, I love what I do in the room so it was easier to mind my own for a while and keep my head down.
Recently I got into a heated argument with the lead therapist about a lot of these things as a situation came up and she was upset that I clocked out (when I had no appointments for hours) after helping do minimum wage tasks. This is among the many things that are inconsistent within the business.
I called in for my shift on Saturday as I had yet another shift where there was a 3 hour break with no appointments and I didn't feel like dealing with the same issue as the weekend prior. Last night I recieved a voicemail from our director saying they've decided to take me off the schedule indefinitely and have me as an on-call therapist. To them, I've been calling in too much ( I work twice a week right now as I just graduated from a 5 month educational program). Before that, I was working 4 days a week, 9 hour days ( unheard of in this field) from when I started until my father unexpectedly passed away ( 7months) and I needed to take a month off.
To get an idea of the type of people managing me, 9 days after my father passed I was being bugged about returning to work. 9 days after he passed I was asked if ” I was feeling good and ready to work.” I will never forget that.
I need to have a conversation with the director and I've gotten some support and pointers from friends and my partners. At this point, their lack of integrity and support for their Therapists makes me feel relieved that they took me off the schedule but it is obvious that they don't have merit to fire me and this is their alternative.
On the bright side, as I am working hard to push my own business to the surface, I have a clear vision of how NOT to treat coworkers and employees should I ever employ others. I feel like this experience has solidified in me the type of person and business owner I am capable of being and the type of support and communication it takes to be a leader. For that I am thankful but it still hurts to be treated this way. Especially in the wellness realm. I already am in contact with a different studio that hopefully has more integrity but I think the conversation with my director coming up could be pivotal in standing my ground.
My question is, how can I guide the conversation so that they have no choice but to take honest accountability and acknowledge the ways they lack? I want to have a productive conversation and the end goal isn't to get back on the schedule but maybe to highlight the flaws in the business.
If you made it this far, I appreciate you taking the time and would love feedback on this situation.