Im getting fed up with my employer. When I first started just under 5 years ago the only person who I had a problem with was the head guy of HR. He was a real piece of work. Thankfully he has retired as of a few years back. I cant say that most of us are sad to see him leave. That guy almost caused me to quit but I figured things would get better when he is gone. Mostly, thats been the case. Benefits are decent here, 401k with 6% 0.50 per dollar matching, medical (I dont use), dental (used once), vision (dont use), sick time (never been used), vacation that accrues over time (rarely used and Im currently past max allowed), sick time buyback over 80hrs (helps my vacation bank), profit sharing. Pay is lacking for my position and field. Im not even to where I was at my last job when I was a maintenance tech. Now in engineering.
My issue is coming to light due to this virus scamdemic. I have respiratory issues that Ive had since I was in middle school. The smoke from the fires almost did me in. I should have gone to the hospital but Im stubborn. I had to wear a P100 respirator (valved) at my desk to not be on the floor coughing up a lung until I got home. We could see the flames from one of the fires over the hill out back and the building was very hazy inside but we kept working. Fast forward to the weaponizing of OSHA and the mask mandate. You guessed it! More respiratory issues! Now I get to go home and lay on the floor and have coughing fits until I feel like throwing up. Yay! My boss came by to make some comments about mask usage (I "comply" with it below my nose since I run out of oxygen otherwise as he is well aware of) when the rest of the department (and all of upper management) was there doing the exact same thing, as he repeatedly took his off and put it back on during the conversation. Now, both of us know its stupid and useless but now we are making a big deal about it I guess. Now Ive been told to take one for the team (I already do a lot on my own time and a lot outside my job description) and suck it up. He is aware of my concerns and issues and has told me that the company come first over my health or personal well being. This is also after being told I could not possibly do any work anywhere else but my desk with a mask on when I asked for options and suggested options. Im honestly more worried about what this is doing to my lungs than I will ever be about getting sick. I am not the only one there with issues like this or even in my department. I work with an asthmatic ex-smoker. Poor guy is probably worse off than me and has fits daily where I think Im going to have to put a lung back in and give him oxygen.
Sorry, shield does not good either. Think of the eye ache and migraine you get when you forget your reading glasses then have to stare at paperwork all day long. Choices are to suffocate, finish off my lungs or not be able to see strait and have sound/movement/light sensitivity migraine. We wont even go into the safety issues in the machine shop with these jokes of PPE. Ive gotten my fair share of face burns and will not wear either one on a machine. Having them melted to your face sucks.
For the most part I enjoy what I do. I get to design and make cool stuff and help people make stuff happen. I do not like being used because of my employment status and I do not like being told that the company that touts all that they do for the employee (this is a smaller family owned company, ~100 employees) doesnt care about the well being of the employees if it causes them (employer) some difficulties. These are two major contributors as to why I left my last job and I still have problems from my time working there. My last job was the type to use you up and throw you away. They went through people like most people change their socks. Turnover was insane!
I worry about how this will end up in the future. What they will demand of us in the future. I also feel that I have no more room to grow there. My coworkers have been in the same seats with the same responsibilities for 20 years, we still have no direct boss after a little more than a year of the old one retiring and the only places for one of us to "grow" to is supervisor/manager which would be pretty much the top and I dont want to give up my hands on position for a desk jockey.
Thanks for putting up with my rant/brain dump.
Any of you folks have any recommendations or words of wisdom to a young whipper snapper?
My issue is coming to light due to this virus scamdemic. I have respiratory issues that Ive had since I was in middle school. The smoke from the fires almost did me in. I should have gone to the hospital but Im stubborn. I had to wear a P100 respirator (valved) at my desk to not be on the floor coughing up a lung until I got home. We could see the flames from one of the fires over the hill out back and the building was very hazy inside but we kept working. Fast forward to the weaponizing of OSHA and the mask mandate. You guessed it! More respiratory issues! Now I get to go home and lay on the floor and have coughing fits until I feel like throwing up. Yay! My boss came by to make some comments about mask usage (I "comply" with it below my nose since I run out of oxygen otherwise as he is well aware of) when the rest of the department (and all of upper management) was there doing the exact same thing, as he repeatedly took his off and put it back on during the conversation. Now, both of us know its stupid and useless but now we are making a big deal about it I guess. Now Ive been told to take one for the team (I already do a lot on my own time and a lot outside my job description) and suck it up. He is aware of my concerns and issues and has told me that the company come first over my health or personal well being. This is also after being told I could not possibly do any work anywhere else but my desk with a mask on when I asked for options and suggested options. Im honestly more worried about what this is doing to my lungs than I will ever be about getting sick. I am not the only one there with issues like this or even in my department. I work with an asthmatic ex-smoker. Poor guy is probably worse off than me and has fits daily where I think Im going to have to put a lung back in and give him oxygen.
Sorry, shield does not good either. Think of the eye ache and migraine you get when you forget your reading glasses then have to stare at paperwork all day long. Choices are to suffocate, finish off my lungs or not be able to see strait and have sound/movement/light sensitivity migraine. We wont even go into the safety issues in the machine shop with these jokes of PPE. Ive gotten my fair share of face burns and will not wear either one on a machine. Having them melted to your face sucks.
For the most part I enjoy what I do. I get to design and make cool stuff and help people make stuff happen. I do not like being used because of my employment status and I do not like being told that the company that touts all that they do for the employee (this is a smaller family owned company, ~100 employees) doesnt care about the well being of the employees if it causes them (employer) some difficulties. These are two major contributors as to why I left my last job and I still have problems from my time working there. My last job was the type to use you up and throw you away. They went through people like most people change their socks. Turnover was insane!
I worry about how this will end up in the future. What they will demand of us in the future. I also feel that I have no more room to grow there. My coworkers have been in the same seats with the same responsibilities for 20 years, we still have no direct boss after a little more than a year of the old one retiring and the only places for one of us to "grow" to is supervisor/manager which would be pretty much the top and I dont want to give up my hands on position for a desk jockey.
Thanks for putting up with my rant/brain dump.
Any of you folks have any recommendations or words of wisdom to a young whipper snapper?
