Three months ago I took a job at a call center, taking calls for various businesses, doctors and emergency services. During the interviewing process I disclosed that (1) I have diagnosed mental illnesses and (2) I have social responsibilities that require me to take the second Saturday off. Both of these were acknowledged, I was offered a position at a not-great wage, and I took it. I started primarily with a supervisor who was very accommodating and continues to be so. I get along with a lot of my coworkers, though not all. I've received notice that some people say that I'm too negative and that I've got to improve my positivity. This was handed to me through a written warning that I had to sign over email and explain what exactly I was going to do to fix it. As any of you who have done this kind of work can attest, it's an extremely stressful job. I come from a violent household, I have a case of PTSD that is so severe that I'm only a handful of points away from intervention level. I've offered to give the employer proof of my diagnoses and they retorted with that they wanted handwritten notes from my psychiatrist and my physician. Which, this country being as it is, I can't just run out and get that done, especially considering that my psychiatrist has left the practice. I bring this up because when I took the job, I told them I was specifically looking for part time, 15-20 hours a week. I do about 25-28 at the moment. When I went through a traumatic call where I was literally threatened by a caller, I told them that I simply couldn't work more than six hours a shift. This is where I was and for the first time I was trying to be responsible with my mental health and my employer. Here is where the trouble started. I was turned down for my schedule needs because I couldn't instantly get those notes. I was chastised by the scheduler because my work has suffered in terms of what the customer expects from my call handling because of the denial of my very reasonable needs. My unavailability has been called into question on several different occasions, up to and including celebrating the holidays with my partner, as well as my monthly events. These things are compacted by another fact.
Our office supervisor has been demoted because they had to take time off for a surgical procedure.
I'll repeat that. In 2022, in a very progressive state, despite labor laws and reasonability, A person has been demoted for taking care of themselves; And apparently this is not the first time that this has occurred. I feel like the job is going downhill so fast that I find myself wondering whether or not I should actually show up for shifts at all. My mental health is having a hard time with this work at all, and the powers that be are not helping whatsoever.