S
Sling_Shot
Guest
Hello, thank you all at Catholic Answers Forums for your prayers and support.
I have written about quitting my job back in February forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=946089
SUMMARY: To make a long story short, three weeks ago I began applying to other places, last week I put in my two-weeks’ notice, now I have an opportunity to pursue my dream to work with my art, but I feel bad. (Feel free to skip down to the conclusion at this point.)
Details:
The job was providing respite care for adult brothers with severe developmental delays, a field I have been in professionally for over ten years. I gave notice in part because of a violent incident detailed below, in part because of becoming burned out, and in part due to frustrations with the lack of communication and negative atmosphere.
I have studied art, and recently did well in an illustration contest. I use most of my spare time each week to work on commissions and my portfolio. I am relatively young and newly married, and I want to give my dream a shot while the opportunity is here. But I feel bad. Why?
Examples of administrative frustrations:
-Behavioral incidents were not reported; I had to specifically ask my coworkers when I arrived for my shift if anything happened. When I heard of alarming behavior, I asked if they had emailed a report to the supervisor. No, they hadn’t. Once I experienced such an incident first-hand, I immediately wrote a report to the super.
-A meeting was called, which I was only able to attend over the phone – teleconference. I re-arranged my day to be available for that phone call, and never heard anything. After the meeting, there were no notes, and what one co-worker told me was contradicted by another.
-Incident charts were then made available, (after I asked for a way to communicate/record behavior among staff) but after a few weeks, I am now the only one who uses them. Again, I would arrive at work and hear of the same alarming behavior, but there was nothing written down. I even witnessed some very alarming incidents, and the staff involved said, “Oh, I mentioned it to the super.” But that leaves nothing for other staff, so I wrote a report for her.
-Two weeks ago, my client became uncharacteristically violent towards me.* I had not altered my friendly and personal treatment that I had with him since beginning there eight months ago. This incident was so intense that I had to sneak out of the house by a different door. I was so exhausted, I was barely able to complete my next shift (a child with autism). *Because of the disordered nature of the behavior, I suspect biochemical, rather than behavioral, issues.
Examples of negative atmosphere:
-My coworkers continually complain about other staff members. When one staff was unable to make it to work due to his car battery, another staff said outright, “no it’s not, he’s lying!”
-Another time when he was late due to traffic, a different coworker, disbelieving, vocally looked up traffic patterns on her phone, apparently to catch him lying.
-The most senior staff member, and the only one besides myself who is really trained for this work, arrives a half-hour late every day, and does not notify me when he (frequently) takes a day off, something I have specifically asked him to do several times.
-When I took time off for Christmas/New Year’s, my supervisor said, “Ok, if you take all that time off, someone is going to have to cover for you.” (I think I took maybe six days off) They are very understaffed, vacation policy is unclear, and because of being understaffed, some of my coworkers take on tons of extra time (overtime is unpaid) and… complain about it to me, but will not mention it to the super, as I suggest each time they bring up their hours.
CONCLUSION: (Finally! Whew!)
Now that I have put in my notice, my supervisor has offered me a raise if I stay, and even the option to work one day a week. I still have my evening shift, but it does not generate a lot of income. My husband is very supportive of my leaving; he very much wants me to pursue my art. I feel like I am leaving a “Christ-serving, healing” line of work (I like the work, not the workplace) to pursue something “selfish” that I really really want.
My art would involve me working from home (my sky-in-the-pie dream is to create intelligent and beautiful children’s books), which I could hopefully adjust to compliment motherhood, God willing. (I would quit away-from-home work for the babies, anyway.) But I would do my art anyway, even if no one was paying me for it. (Getting paid is nice, though, ha-ha)
Any advice is appreciated! In the meantime, I will continue to pray. Thank you all who take time to share their wisdom.
God bless,
-SlingShot
I have written about quitting my job back in February forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=946089
SUMMARY: To make a long story short, three weeks ago I began applying to other places, last week I put in my two-weeks’ notice, now I have an opportunity to pursue my dream to work with my art, but I feel bad. (Feel free to skip down to the conclusion at this point.)
Details:
The job was providing respite care for adult brothers with severe developmental delays, a field I have been in professionally for over ten years. I gave notice in part because of a violent incident detailed below, in part because of becoming burned out, and in part due to frustrations with the lack of communication and negative atmosphere.
I have studied art, and recently did well in an illustration contest. I use most of my spare time each week to work on commissions and my portfolio. I am relatively young and newly married, and I want to give my dream a shot while the opportunity is here. But I feel bad. Why?
Examples of administrative frustrations:
-Behavioral incidents were not reported; I had to specifically ask my coworkers when I arrived for my shift if anything happened. When I heard of alarming behavior, I asked if they had emailed a report to the supervisor. No, they hadn’t. Once I experienced such an incident first-hand, I immediately wrote a report to the super.
-A meeting was called, which I was only able to attend over the phone – teleconference. I re-arranged my day to be available for that phone call, and never heard anything. After the meeting, there were no notes, and what one co-worker told me was contradicted by another.
-Incident charts were then made available, (after I asked for a way to communicate/record behavior among staff) but after a few weeks, I am now the only one who uses them. Again, I would arrive at work and hear of the same alarming behavior, but there was nothing written down. I even witnessed some very alarming incidents, and the staff involved said, “Oh, I mentioned it to the super.” But that leaves nothing for other staff, so I wrote a report for her.
-Two weeks ago, my client became uncharacteristically violent towards me.* I had not altered my friendly and personal treatment that I had with him since beginning there eight months ago. This incident was so intense that I had to sneak out of the house by a different door. I was so exhausted, I was barely able to complete my next shift (a child with autism). *Because of the disordered nature of the behavior, I suspect biochemical, rather than behavioral, issues.
Examples of negative atmosphere:
-My coworkers continually complain about other staff members. When one staff was unable to make it to work due to his car battery, another staff said outright, “no it’s not, he’s lying!”
-Another time when he was late due to traffic, a different coworker, disbelieving, vocally looked up traffic patterns on her phone, apparently to catch him lying.
-The most senior staff member, and the only one besides myself who is really trained for this work, arrives a half-hour late every day, and does not notify me when he (frequently) takes a day off, something I have specifically asked him to do several times.
-When I took time off for Christmas/New Year’s, my supervisor said, “Ok, if you take all that time off, someone is going to have to cover for you.” (I think I took maybe six days off) They are very understaffed, vacation policy is unclear, and because of being understaffed, some of my coworkers take on tons of extra time (overtime is unpaid) and… complain about it to me, but will not mention it to the super, as I suggest each time they bring up their hours.
CONCLUSION: (Finally! Whew!)
Now that I have put in my notice, my supervisor has offered me a raise if I stay, and even the option to work one day a week. I still have my evening shift, but it does not generate a lot of income. My husband is very supportive of my leaving; he very much wants me to pursue my art. I feel like I am leaving a “Christ-serving, healing” line of work (I like the work, not the workplace) to pursue something “selfish” that I really really want.
My art would involve me working from home (my sky-in-the-pie dream is to create intelligent and beautiful children’s books), which I could hopefully adjust to compliment motherhood, God willing. (I would quit away-from-home work for the babies, anyway.) But I would do my art anyway, even if no one was paying me for it. (Getting paid is nice, though, ha-ha)
Any advice is appreciated! In the meantime, I will continue to pray. Thank you all who take time to share their wisdom.
God bless,
-SlingShot
