| Working World
By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Difficulties on the job are not the exclusive domain of people with disabilities. Able-bodied workers face problems on the job as well. Take my son Joel for example. At age 36 he is working as a graphic designer for a small advertising agency that is being hurt by the downturn in the economy. There isn’t enough work to go around.
To the credit of the employer, he doesn’t want to lay off his employees. He keeps them around, but does not have many assignments for them. Joel has to look busy even though the employer has told him he has no work for him to do. But if he catches Joel—or any of his other employees—playing games on the computer or reading a book, he is livid and berates him.
To add insult to injury, Joel doesn’t get paid for going to work and sitting there all day with nothing to do. The employer is running three weeks behind in paychecks for all his employees. Joel consulted with the unemployment office and was told he does not qualify for benefits because he is still technically employed, even though he is not drawing a salary. And if he quits or is fired, he will not qualify for benefits either.
What’s a fella to do? Joel is looking for another job, but it’s a tough market out there for all of us, disability or not. He has to accept the abuse for now and try to disregard it. His boss is under a lot of pressure now, too.
A woman who brought her Ticket To Work to my agency for job placement told me a tale of woe about her last employer. Carol worked for a family owned bakery for several years, arriving at work by 5:30 every morning to get the breads, rolls and pastries ready for the morning rush. Rather than appreciate a dedicated, reliable and honest employee, her employer, too, would berate her for the slightest error or misjudgment. After suffering two years of his verbal abuse, Carol couldn’t take it any more and quit in a huff.
While Carol said it felt great and was empowering to quit—and Joel would love to do the same—it’s not a good idea in this economy when it is hard to obtain another job. Carol came to UCP’s Employment Connection after being out of work for two years. I hope Joel can contain his anger until he locates another opportunity.
I recall my own experience with an unpleasant boss some two decades ago when I was a copy editor and reporter at a daily newspaper in Ithaca, New York. The managing editor, Kathy, promoted me to assistant city editor, which required that I start work at least an hour earlier than previously. That meant getting my babysitter in earlier, which she was willing to do, but it would of course cost me more. So while I was pleased at the promotion, I was not so happy that there was no bump in salary to cover my increased costs.
That was not so terrible, but my husband Jack also worked for the same newspaper as the illustrator and art director on a part-time basis. Kathy told him she liked his work so much that she wanted to make the job full-time . . . and he was welcome to apply for the job along with everyone else. Jack was outraged: If she liked his work so much, then she should hire him for the full-time position!
Jack didn’t quit on the spot—not with 4 children at home—but he did start looking around for other opportunities. He did things the right way. He let his anger at Kathy motivate him to start networking, telling everyone he knew that he was contemplating a change and was open to new possibilities. That led him to a colleague who worked as an editor at Newsday on Long Island and soon to a job as art director there. (And for those of you who might recall one of my columns from a while back, his buyout from that job has blossomed into many creative endeavors he might never have pursued if he had remained gainfully employed.)
Many people have situations at work that are not to their liking, but in this economy you should hold onto your job if you’ve got one. But keep working on your making your next move.
Tamar Asedo Sherman is an employment specialist. She can be reached at tsherman@unitedspinal.org.
