Q–I have been working as a temporary employee for several months and things seem to have been working out. Then I experienced some health problems and had to leave a particular assignment. I wanted to focus on short-term jobs but have been having trouble finding them. I thought that temping was the answer to wanting a flexible schedule. I am normally conscientious and responsible but I have to contend with these problems for a while.
A–Temporary agencies usually want replacements on a full-time but temporary basis. Companies may want some to fill in for someone on maternity leave, medical leave, vacation, etc. But they are not typically amenable to flexible schedules where the employee can come on go as needed. You may be better off looking for part-time rather than full-time temporary work until your health problem clear up.
Q–Our company has three levels of jobs in its production and shipping departments, grades A through C, with C the lowest paid. Once you reach the highest salary at C, you have to be promoted to the B level to receive more. I became a B level in my department but was then transferred to a different department and returned to a C level.
I’ve been at the company for six years and in that time have taken only four sick days and have never come in late. There are employees at the A and B levels who have been there for only four years, but my record and seniority seem to mean nothing. I’m beginning to think I should get out now Your advice, please?
A–Ask your supervisor why you were lowered a level and what you need to do to get that promotion again. Also find out how the company assigns a value to performance levels compared to reliability. Unless you are in a union job, seniority alone means little in today’s job market where companies stress, “What have you done for us lately?”
It’s common for workers to have to change companies to receive substantial pay raises. Generally, the longer a person stays in a job, the less desirable he or she becomes to another company.
Q–In the one and a half years I worked for this company, I saw one of its owners purposely try to make people cry, physically hold his office door shut so he could yell at employees without them walking out, scream at employees in front of their co-workers and sabotage projects to protect his own ego. My breaking point was when the company wouldn’t pay me for time off when my grandmother died because she wasn’t “immediate” family. I threw a fit, called the parent company and created quite a mess. My boss then told me to go home for the rest of the week because I was disturbing the workforce and spreading negativity. It’s amazing how anger can motivate you. Within three weeks, I found a new job in a wonderful environment with happy, fun-loving people. Meanwhile, my former co-workers are suffering from all sorts of emotional and physical problems.
A–Your experience will hopefully encourage others to turn negative energy at work into a positive job search. Although your initial response to a management decision may have been a bit overboard, you succeeded in letting go of a bad situation.
———-
Write to Lindsey Novak, Jobs, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, 60611. E-mail her at AtWorkbyLN@aol.com
