Hating life and making more, or loving life and making less.

AlyceInWonderland

Alllrighty, so this week has been insane. If any of you remember my most recent thread, I just recently had to put my dog down. That sucked greatly, and I'm still heartbroken. Well, just yesterday my house burned down, and I'm now staying in a hotel until my insurance company finds my dad, boyfriend and I an apartment to live in for 3 months while they try to rebuild my home. Well, since my house burned down, I couldn't make it to work, and while I was able to make it to work today, I was informed that the board members that run the animal shelter I work at want to fire me because I missed work (and apparently suck at my job.... which I don't. trust me on this). My manager (who is awesome) doesn't agree with the board members, and think that I was justified in not coming to work.

So, she told me that she can fight for me and let me keep my job (I hate my job and my co-workers, and the board, and just about everything about my job, and only make minimum, but I can't seem to find another job), OR she can fire me and she'll fill out the unemployment form for me so I can still make some money. She doesn't want to see me quit, and not make anything, and she would hate to see me stay at that job and be miserable.

So, what should I do? I hate my job and it's making me a bitter person, should I just be 'fired' and collect unemployment? Am I even eligible? I just want to make sure...

cooljammer00

Well from the way you've boiled down your situation, I'd like to think you probably need some "happiness/life loving" right about now. Then again, I suppose you'd need to be making some money to gird your finances in these dire times.

Dunxco

Oh geez Alyce, I read about your dog, then your house burnt down? That is some terrible stuff, my sympathies.

Honestly right now, I'd take the opportunity for the unemployment, get some time to sort your affairs (dear me that sounds some final), and make a move from there. With things going from one bad to another, taking a little time out to collect yourself might make things a whole lot easier. Take the unemployment if you can swing it. It sucks to be stuck in a job you hate, surrounded by people you hate, but if you have to stay in it you have to.

I'm plugging things get better for you soon.

Hevach

If you hate your job, even if you make more income, you'll end up spending more on things to try to make yourself happy, if only temporarily. When I've had bad jobs, I'd spend twice as much on alcohol, random one day trips, video games, etc. When I've had good jobs, I find myself just content to sit on my ass during leisure time, and life's just not that expensive. Making $15 an hour at a job I loved, I found I was putting more into savings than making $25 an hour at a place that made me dread getting out of bed in the morning.

The only concern I have is that you said you can't find other work. Is it for lack of serious searching or lack of a local job market? If you're confident you can find other work if you were really looking and not just occasionally checking around, take the firing and take some time to deal with all the other crap going on. Sounds like it'll be on fairly amicable terms, you can cite schedule conflicts as your reason and your manager should be good for a recommendation.

VisionOfClarity

Instead of her firing you can she lay you off? This way when you apply for new jobs you were laid off because of blank rather than fired.

RocketSauce

Sounds like fate is ready to deal you a new hand, I'd move on if I hated my job that much.

AlyceInWonderland

I've been looking for a new job since about a half a year into my current job. I may have found a new one doing basically the same thing, with MUCH better people (my boyfriend knows the manager there, and she's a top notch lady and so are the employees there). My current manager said she'd still give me a good reference, so that's good.

So, I'm most definitely going to get 'fired'... I'm just curious as to how much I'd make in unemployment.

Elin

I believe it's half of what you were making. They take your salary for the last 6 months and average it, and then pay you half. At least that's what I got in Ohio when the company send my job to Canada.

EggyToast

Thing is, you already make minimum wage, and for most people unemployment is temporary. So you'd only be making "less" for a short while. Considering your house burned down and your dog loss, you should take this as a sign that the job was not very good and you should take a "vacation."

Casually Hardcore

Be careful with being 'fired'. Depending on the state, you can not collect unemployment if your lose your job to fault of your own, I.E. if you get fired because you never show up. Now, if you get laid off due to no fault of your own, you can collect unemployment.

SatanIsMyMotor

Rule of thumb in Canada is that you make about 40% of your wage on unemployment. It also doesn't last forever.

That being said, and I don't really recommend this as advice, I would call those board members out on their bullshit prior to quitting.

AlyceInWonderland

Yeah. I think I am going to take the 'vacation' I haven't had a weekend off since I started. It will be nice to actually be able to spend a whole day with my boyfriend. He works week days, and I work mostly weekends (they cut my hours to around 3 days)

I will continue to search for a job. I'm tired of being mistreated. Infact, when my house burned down, a co-worker left me a comment on myspace calling me a liar and a slacker, stating "did your house really burn, or are you just burning us?" among other horrible things. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of her. I want to get out.

BlindZenDriver

A job you hate needs to pay A LOT of extra money to enable you to buy happiness if that is even possible. I like my life with my current job a lot more than I did with a job a while back which payed double for very few working hours.

Take the good way out you have been offered and find a job you like.

Cauld

There should be a website that tells you exactly what you'll make in unemployment. In mn it was a state government website, and I put in my SS # and it told me what my unemployment would be (it checks on reported wages over the previous 18 months, I think).

eternalbl

With the bad things that've happened in the last while, I don't think adding to that the stress of having to find a job because you're unemployed is the way to go.

Get something lined up before you quit.

Veevee

Cauld wrote: »

There should be a website that tells you exactly what you'll make in unemployment. In mn it was a state government website, and I put in my SS # and it told me what my unemployment would be (it checks on reported wages over the previous 18 months, I think).

Different states, different rules. here in Wisconsin they only check the previous 6 months, and they tell you what you get in a letter.

eternalbl wrote: »

With the bad things that've happened in the last while, I don't think adding to that the stress of having to find a job because you're unemployed is the way to go.

Get something lined up before you quit.

It sounds like the stress of the job would be worse than the stress of unemployment.

cooljammer00

AlyceInWonderland wrote: »

Yeah. I think I am going to take the 'vacation' I haven't had a weekend off since I started. It will be nice to actually be able to spend a whole day with my boyfriend. He works week days, and I work mostly weekends (they cut my hours to around 3 days)

I will continue to search for a job. I'm tired of being mistreated. Infact, when my house burned down, a co-worker left me a comment on myspace calling me a liar and a slacker, stating "did your house really burn, or are you just burning us?" among other horrible things. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of her. I want to get out.

Can you tell her off before you leave this job? Please?

Thanatos

cooljammer00 wrote: »

AlyceInWonderland wrote: »

Yeah. I think I am going to take the 'vacation' I haven't had a weekend off since I started. It will be nice to actually be able to spend a whole day with my boyfriend. He works week days, and I work mostly weekends (they cut my hours to around 3 days)

I will continue to search for a job. I'm tired of being mistreated. Infact, when my house burned down, a co-worker left me a comment on myspace calling me a liar and a slacker, stating "did your house really burn, or are you just burning us?" among other horrible things. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of her. I want to get out.

Can you tell her off before you leave this job? Please?

I would file a grievance against her, then let them fire you. With a letter of recommendation from your previous manager, the firing shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Actually, you might want to take that to a lawyer. That could be considered "creating a hostile work environment."

ceres

Thanatos wrote: »

cooljammer00 wrote: »

AlyceInWonderland wrote: »

Yeah. I think I am going to take the 'vacation' I haven't had a weekend off since I started. It will be nice to actually be able to spend a whole day with my boyfriend. He works week days, and I work mostly weekends (they cut my hours to around 3 days)

I will continue to search for a job. I'm tired of being mistreated. Infact, when my house burned down, a co-worker left me a comment on myspace calling me a liar and a slacker, stating "did your house really burn, or are you just burning us?" among other horrible things. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of her. I want to get out.

Can you tell her off before you leave this job? Please?

I would file a grievance against her, then let them fire you. With a letter of recommendation from your previous manager, the firing shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Actually, you might want to take that to a lawyer. That could be considered "creating a hostile work environment."

^

If your coworkers are so miserable that they're harassing you OUTSIDE of work, and now management is threatening to fire you, I would definitely talk to a lawyer at this point. Print out/take with you the evidence that you have, and talk to someone about this, because it's not right.

Shadowfire

AlyceInWonderland wrote: »

Well, since my house burned down, I couldn't make it to work, and while I was able to make it to work today, I was informed that the board members that run the animal shelter I work at want to fire me because I missed work (and apparently suck at my job.... which I don't. trust me on this). My manager (who is awesome) doesn't agree with the board members, and think that I was justified in not coming to work.

Do they have documentation? If they truly believe you are a bad worker, they would have documentation of that fact. If they do, you may be boned, but you should still fight.

If they do not, and they choose to fire you after missing one day of work for a perfectly legitimate reason, you may have a wrongful termination case on your hands. Even if they fire you "without cause," you seem to have evidence that they want you gone anyway. You can make a case.

Honestly, like others have said, be very careful on the "get fired and collect unemployment" thing. You may be screwed out of that unemployment payment if they fire you certain ways.

JaysonFour

Geez. My sympathies for everything that's happened.

At this point, I would just get fired and take a little time to get everything sorted out. You have a lot on your mind currently, you do NOT need to be putting up with some dipstick at work trying to needle you. You've already mentioned you hate it there; why on earth would you still want to subject yourself to these people at a time like this?

Right now, you need some peaceful time to spend with those who you love and who love you back.

I'd let myself get "fired", take a few weeks off to recharge and heal your physical/mental/emotional self, and then I'd take the job with the nice people. Working with people you enjoy being around will make you feel better inside, and you need all you can get right now.

Oh, and block the stupid woman from your soon-to-be-previous job on your MySpace. Don't ever deal with those people again if you don't have to.

VisionOfClarity

ceres wrote: »

Thanatos wrote: »

cooljammer00 wrote: »

AlyceInWonderland wrote: »

Yeah. I think I am going to take the 'vacation' I haven't had a weekend off since I started. It will be nice to actually be able to spend a whole day with my boyfriend. He works week days, and I work mostly weekends (they cut my hours to around 3 days)

I will continue to search for a job. I'm tired of being mistreated. Infact, when my house burned down, a co-worker left me a comment on myspace calling me a liar and a slacker, stating "did your house really burn, or are you just burning us?" among other horrible things. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of her. I want to get out.

Can you tell her off before you leave this job? Please?

I would file a grievance against her, then let them fire you. With a letter of recommendation from your previous manager, the firing shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Actually, you might want to take that to a lawyer. That could be considered "creating a hostile work environment."

^

If your coworkers are so miserable that they're harassing you OUTSIDE of work, and now management is threatening to fire you, I would definitely talk to a lawyer at this point. Print out/take with you the evidence that you have, and talk to someone about this, because it's not right.

Unless she has a lot of proof, nothing will happen and she'll be painted as a bad seed. When I came down with mono my boss threatened to fire me if I didn't come in, told me I was faking it and then someone who worked in a lower position that wanted my job told the boss I was totally faking it. I hated the job so it wasn't worth fighting. I handed them my strongly worded resignation letter on the day the boss demanded I come back (one week later, apparently mono is no biggie despite my doc recommending 2 wks no work then only limited hours if I was up to it) with my doctor's note, a copy of my blood test. Despite having a lot of the back and forth in emails, the attorney general's office really didn't give a crap and it wasn't going to be worth the hassle of trying to take it to court. Especially since I live in an at-will state.

ceres

I was referring not to the fact that they're telling her she's lying, but the fact that they're actively nasty to her, and even harass her outside of work. Wrongful termination and creating a hostile work environment aren't the same thing. I don't know if she's been wrongfully terminated or not because I don't work there and don't know any of the people in question, but if they're coming into her personal life to tell people she knows that she's lying, there's something really wrong with that and someone *might* be able to help her.

It might be worth asking a lawyer, anyway.

1/2 man 1/2 bear 1/2 pig

AlyceInWonderland wrote: »

I've been looking for a new job since about a half a year into my current job. I may have found a new one doing basically the same thing, with MUCH better people (my boyfriend knows the manager there, and she's a top notch lady and so are the employees there). My current manager said she'd still give me a good reference, so that's good.

So, I'm most definitely going to get 'fired'... I'm just curious as to how much I'd make in unemployment.

I unfortunately had to lay someone off this Friday and trust me there is a HUGE difference in being laid off and fired, at least in New Jersey. If you're laid off you can collect unemployment. If you're certain you'll be "fired" for what sounded like negligence you won't be able to collect, or it will be extremely difficult. Keep in mind this is just what I've dealt with in Jersey.

Thanatos

What you will and won't be able to collect unemployment for varies widely from state to state.

I highly recommend talking to an attorney with some experience in labor law, both for the "hostile work environment" issue and for the unemployment issue.

AlyceInWonderland

Alrighty, big update.

I was 'fired' today, and my boss is putting down that I'm being laid off. She said I was hard working, nice, and never started any trouble, and that I didn't deserve to be treated the way I was. She's putting down on my unemployment papers that I worked full time (instead of part time, like I was doing, cause they cut my hurs in half), and she's also going to give me a good reference when I apply to other jobs.

I don't want to bring in an attorney because it's just not worth it, and I honestly don't care any more. What's done is done, and I'm happy now. Thanks for all your help, I feel like a big weight has been lifted.

Shadowfire

AlyceInWonderland wrote: »

Alrighty, big update.

I was 'fired' today, and my boss is putting down that I'm being laid off. She said I was hard working, nice, and never started any trouble, and that I didn't deserve to be treated the way I was. She's putting down on my unemployment papers that I worked full time (instead of part time, like I was doing, cause they cut my hurs in half), and she's also going to give me a good reference when I apply to other jobs.

:^:

NightDragon

Glad to hear she did that, Alyce. Very sorry about what's happened, and I really hope things start to look up for you. I will buy you a unicorn.

I'm always aroond on AIM if you ever want to chat or vent or anything, of course. Many hugs!

AlyceInWonderland

I love unicorns!
Thanks Jenn, for everything

Looks like I'll be taking this much needed vacation!