I started a new job about six months ago. The first red flag was when they interviewed me for a director level role, then offered me the same role at the manager level. No change in scope, just a lesser title. I had a director level role in my last job, same role, same industry at a bigger organization in a bigger market. But I had just moved to the area for my spouse’s job, and there are less opportunities in my industry here, so I took the job.
Huge mistake. There was no onboarding, and asking my boss or colleagues for guidance or help leaves me with more questions than answers. I’m stuck with 4x the workload compared to my last job, and I’m just so miserable in general.
My experience has worsened now that I need to have surgery and need two weeks off. I do not have enough PTO accrued, and they don’t allow for more than 5 consecutive PTO days anyway, so that wouldn’t have mattered. I haven’t been there long enough to qualify for FMLA. My spouse is the primary breadwinner, so if I were to take unpaid time, we’d be fine enough, but they wouldn’t entertain that option. The best they said they could do was give me five days off using PTO, then maybe I could work from home if my doctor filled out some forms.
My doctor won’t fill out the forms. The questions on the forms are too invasive, and if my doctor filled them out and faxed these forms to my employer, they would be in breach of HIPAA.
My plan right now is to resign with no notice period or just let them fire me. I realize I will burn that bridge, but it’s not like I would ever want to work there again anyway. I just find it so ridiculous that I have to quit my job to get 10 business days to deal with a medically necessary surgery and recovery.
The whole situation has given me such crippling anxiety, and I feel like I’ve somehow handled this all wrong. Plus there’s the financial anxiety of being unemployed with medical bills, but thankfully my skills are transferable to other industries, even if that isn’t my first choice. I’ve always been anti-work, but my people pleasing had me giving 110%. You’ll never catch me doing that again.