I worked at this company for nearly 5 years. To put things in perspective, they focus really hard on company culture and work/life balance (or so they say).
I started out as a dispatcher and worked my way to an opportunity with the technical department as customer support. I had no technical background so wanted to learn as much as possible. At a certain point I asked if I could get some “on the road” experience. This meant they had to give me a car. I did say from the beginning that I was not planning on doing this permanently as I just wanted to help out a bit and learn from the experience. We agreed on doing it 2-3 days a week and revert to support on the other days.
The time went by and I was being sent out more and more. Getting less support days and going to customers daily. At first I didn't mind but they started to give me really shitty jobs with customers that had a reputation of being “very difficult”.
I felt like I was not able to continue for that much longer so I brought this up during one of many 121 sessions with my teamlead. He kept nodding when I told him about our agreement but he kept sweeping it under the rug. At one point he even said that I was expected to cut into my private time. If I didn't see my kids then that was just collateral damage. He kept reflecting his own situation and he was fine not seeing his kids before they went to bed and even when they got up to go to school. He expected the same from everyone else. No one liked this but they never spoke up. So I did. I went to a confidential advisor and explained the situation. I was close to a burnout. (Mind you, the teamlead suddenly took 2 weeks off because he felt like he was crashing)
She understood what I was going through and wanted to discuss this with the teamlead. A few conversations went by with the advisor and my teamlead and eventually they said that it might be best to check for another opening within the company. IT would be my best choice. Luckely their was an opening and I started to apply for it.
I had 3 meetings with the IT manager and he was very optimistic about it. He said that I would get the job 9/10 but that he wanted to speak to my teamlead to finalise a few things.
The time came when they had to tell me their decision and it went completely south. The IT manager said that eventually he decided that I was not fit for the job as he thought I was not “flexibel” enough. I knew then and there that I was screwed over by my teamlead. The first blow was dealt, the second was about to follow.
My teamlead entered the meeting room and said that HR would join shortly. They decided to let me go. There was no place for me in this company. Safe to say I was furious.
There were a few other cases before me that were relocated without issues. I knew there were more opportunities for me in this company but clearly he made it impossible for me to stay. He hated the fact that I spoke up and exposed him as someone who puts his numbers before his people. For a company that values mental health, work/life balance and a positive company culture, I was very disappointed. The fact that my teamlead had to take some time off for his own health really bugged me. I chose to keep working so that my colleagues would not be impacted. Instead I should've just said f* it and go to a doctor. I handled the entire discussion with respect but they simply would not put in the time to guide me. I've always given my best and even went beyond what was expected from me. Only to be shot down because I didn't want to do something anymore that was going to be temporary in the first place.
I felt discarded.
Luckely I now learned that they were not all that. I got a better job (in IT which they said I would not be able to do), better pay, more work/life balance (which they said I would never find) and much more opportunities to grow. I just want to rub it in their faces. From now on I am going to do what's best for me, without valueing an employeer too much and just work on my own career.
There were many more situations that led me to the point of asking for help but I tried to explain it with a small example.