Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Terminated

I was terminated from my job of 10 years week before last. That is a huge adjustment but I am actively trying to keep an eye on my mental health while I adjust.

It was a shock. I wasn't allowed to take anything with me but my purse, and after 10 years I had plenty of personal items in the office and breakroom. They packed it all up the next day and my husband went after it all. He said my boss turned his head and wouldn't even speak to him.

They said it was because my position was being eliminated, but it happened just four weeks after I came back from a 4 week MLOA due to what I pretty much think of as a "nervous breakdown".

I had never in 10 years been out of work before that. They said the MLOA wasn't it, but who knows. I had asked for help in the past couple of months; basically asking if the guys in the office could help with the constant phone calls coming in. I was having a hard time concentrating and being constantly interrupted was NOT helping.

I was told that it was my job and that wasn't going to change. Just weeks after asking for help they fired me.

For 10 years I had received yearly raises and bonuses. Nothing negative in my file at all. Then I got sick.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

How awful for you. I do sympathise. I worked for the same company for over 18 years, and when I returned to work after having spinal surgery for a tumour (as well as dealing with my son having a breakdown brought on by the stress of my operation), I was delivered the news that I was being made redundant. No warning and, as with your experience, had no time to collect my belongings. It hit like a truck...but (allowing time to readjust), I got back up & moved on to a job that was less stressful. It was a blessing in disguise (although didn't feel that way at the time).
Keep faith in yourself & your abilities. Good luck. :-)

Surgeon In My Dreams said...

Thank you Anonymous...I look at it as a blessing in disguise as well. It was a very stressful job and they didn't seem to understand that you cannot just keep putting more and more on a persons job description without breaking them at some point.

I was also an "underling" to one guy who was a yeller. The yelling was tolerable before I was out on LOA, but when I went back it just kept me torn up.

I loved the work I did, but I just could no longer keep up and was relieved when he fired me. I kind of wish he had done it some time other than 4:15 when I had worked all day and completed the billing and invoicing for the week, but you know....

Raine said...

I'm sorry I am so late in responding. I have been sunk in my own depression and havent been around blogworld lately. I am so sorry for your loss. After I had ECT and it failed I was disabled. Its not the same but still. Its hard to lose a career. I hope you are doing ok?

Surgeon In My Dreams said...

Raine, I know how it is with us. There will always be times we just are not..."available". Nothing to apologize for at all.

I am doing okay. It is taking some getting used to, being alone with my thoughts all day, but I am okay.