Apologies, its a long one due to context. TLDR at the bottom.
A good friend of mine (F29) has been working as a receptionist at a real estate company for 5+ years and its always been a toxic and terrible place to work. They have incredibly high turnover and pay the bare minimum wage for above and beyond work.
As the pandemic hit in 2020 and restrictions came in (Melbourne, Australia), working from home was required by the state unless your job was impossible to do from home. So you'd think a receptionist, who's work predominantly consists of answering phones and working on a computer would have made an easy transition to WFH? Nope, my friend was made to go into work each day still. She was alone in the office working 9 am – 5:30 pm while her colleagues worked a few hours a day from the comfort of their own homes and cashed in on Job Keeper (government handout if you lost over a certain amount of hours due to the pandemic), making almost double her salary each week.
Her work insisted she needed to keep coming in, despite her speaking up a few times that she was less than comfortable doing so. She also doesn't drive and had to take public transport at the height of the lockdowns.
Recently, shit hit the fan in a staff meeting (I'm vague on the details, apologies) and 2 staff quit. She mentioned it might be time to move on and I just about screamed with excitement.
Last week she told me she took a new job and I can't even be excited for her. It's longer hours and the same pay, just above minimum wage. It's also at a car dealership, with opportunities to move into sales. Did I mention she doesn't drive? She's certainly capable and able to do so, but she's never gotten her license because she's too anxious. Not really the makings of a great cars salesperson…
She put in her resignation and barely got more than a 'you'll be missed' after they fought for her to stay longer than her required 3 week notice (this is a legal requirement here). Within the week they told her she'd been replaced by a virtual assistant in the Philippines making a quarter of her yearly salary. They hired a worker not even in the same country or time zone when she wasn't even allowed to work from home during the pandemic lockdowns.
I'm angry. So angry. I love my friend to bits and she's a lovely person and hard worker. She deserves so much better than that shitty place and they should have valued her and her health far more. I'm just hoping the new job isn't more of the same but honestly, I'm not holding my breath. I'm so tired of shitty workplaces.
The real kicker of the whole situation? She worked for a family friend. What a joke.
TLDR: My friend got replaced by an overseas virtual assistant when she wasn't even allowed to work from home during Melbourne's lockdowns.