Advice · 11:41pm Apr 30th, 2021
So I work in sales. As anyone who has followed me for a long time knows, I am an epileptic. Fun. Tons of all kinds of fun.
Now, my manager has assigned me to a specific store. I have been tasked with taking it from the worst store in the district to a profitable store, despite the fact that I have no experience doing this, and my past job history doesn't scream that I'm capable of it. I've stuck with it since October, but my paychecks took a significant hit. To make matters worse, I, being epileptic, cannot drive, and the store I have been placed at is half an hour away from me. Which means that four times a week, my wife and I load our two year old and two month old into the car, which they both hate, for a total of two hours of driving for work for me every day I work at the store. A fifth of my paycheck goes toward gas. There are four stores that I could bike to.
I have had several conversations about it, all of which have ended with nothing being done. I have a new temp manager who is going to talk to my district manager, but I expect nothing to come from that.
What should I do? I love my job, but me not being able to drive or bike to a close store means that it's incredibly expensive to work there. It's eight hours a week driving time for my wife and small child to take me to the worst store in the district. My store closes late, so my family tends to have dinner around 9:30-10:00. It wouldn't be quite as bad if I was the one doing all of the driving, but that's not a possibility. I don't want to quit, but I'm also frustrated.
I dunno. Thoughts? My manager is a great guy, but I'm frustrated that he doesn't seem to care at all about actual legitimate problems that I have.
I honestly would start looking for a new job. A lot of employers will change their tune if you threaten to quit on them, but it seems like you really ought to just cut your losses and try to find a job that's more accommodating. Which sucks if you like your job, but unless they change their tune fast, that sounds completely unsustainable.
Is there an HR line? You might be able to go over their head.
That's really odd.
While you, alone, can't really do much due to your position and role in whatever company name you work in, there are some things you could raise as a potential risk regarding your role within the store you're working in.
First flag: You're a worker who was directly sent by the managers of the company to supervise the store and guarantee within your limited capabilities that it flourishes and starts to generate more income. The main reason as to why this can be used to drive the point forward is simple. As a worker for the company who happens to suffer from epilepsy, if anything happens to you when you're being forced to have your wife drive you to work along with your infant and toddler sons, they could be open to being sued for not meeting the medical standards that someone with epilepsy needs in order to get to work and not have a 2-hour commute there.
Second Flag: It sounds a bit iffy, imo, that the company you're working for can't pay for a place for you to stay that is either more near the store you need to drive to get there. While it isn't a problem for them that you're having a hard time to get there, it does mean that your official working hours could be boosted by a total of 2-4 hours per day if you weren't so far away from said store.
Third Flag: If what you're saying is 100% true regarding you need to utilize all of one of your paychecks for gas in order for you to do your job I recommend that you talk to both your direct superior (the one that personally sent you and your family there) and HR to talk about being compensated for the amount of money you're being forced to purchase in order to get to the store in order to do whatever it is you're doing. After all, in both the short and long term, you're doing the company a favour by making sure that this store, which according to you is bleeding money, can now generate an income.
I do have to wonder if this could fall under an ADA issue. I’m pretty sure your employer has to make reasonable accommodations for disabilities like epilepsy, and right now it doesn’t sound like they’re being all that reasonable to me. Granted, not a lawyer or HR expert.
I'd really start looking for a new job. It sounds like to me that your employer is trying to stress you out. I'd definatly ask about the ADA accomodations with a lawyer who specializes in those cases. Maybe just the threat of you sueing or bringing it up to the state labor commision will be enough for them to help you. But if they've been this uncaring so far, I would count on them doing much. Looking for a better position would be a good idea, regardless.
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I was wondering about ADA myself, although I'm also not a lawyer or especially well-versed in disability law.
The real problem with liking a particular job is that we tend to spend a lot more energy convincing ourselves that any issues we face aren't as serious as they actually are than we otherwise would. Sometimes, though, looking for a different occupation may be the best option.
I would advise against going straight for a lawyer, though. It may well be more productive to contact HR first and let them know your concerns that your epilepsy - which is a legitimate condition and a legitimate disability - is not being taken into account on your work assignments despite bringing this to your manager's attention several times, and that reasonable accommodations are not being made for you. A big part of HR's duties is to shield the company from legal liability; it would be significantly easier to allow you to expense your fuel/mileage to the company or even to grant you an allowance for taxis or rideshares than to try and cover the liability generated by doing nothing or by releasing you from your employment (which, under ADA, might be illegal unless they can prove their cause had nothing to do with your epilepsy, which could be difficult and/or costly).
Have you analyzed the bus routes and disability discounts for monthly passes?
Probably won’t work unless there’s a good line but orth a look even if it is only one way and drove the other
One thing I've learned in no uncertain terms from being stuck in a six-year contract to do a job I hated: if your job isn't treating you the way you need to be treated, it's time to leave at your earliest opportunity.
I'm a big believer in the concept that there's a reciprocal social contract. An employer making problems for you is not holding up their end. Your obligations to them are voided. Walk away. Their problems as a company shouldn't become your personal problems impacting you and people you love at home. That's a huge personal life boundary violation that you don't need.
So:
A) You've been assigned to a job site that is excessively burdensome to get to, not only in time, but money and inconvenience, as well;
B) And been assigned a task that lies beyond the scope of your education, training, and experience;
C) With a performance goal that appears to be unachievable.
I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it sure looks like you're being set up to quit or be fired. I hope you documented the times you brought up the issues with your managers. You'll need a paper trail for your meeting with HR, which is my immediate suggestion. You might want to start discreetly looking for a labor lawyer for a contingency plan. And, I'm sorry, but you'll want to update your resume and keep an eye out for other job opportunities, for a go-to-hell plan.
It's okay to love your work; matter of fact,
"loving your work" and "being good at your work" are almost co-requisites. But, it's like the man said: don't ever let yourself fall in love with your job.
Because, no matter how much you love the job, the job will never love you back.
All I can say is that if it's "expensive to work there", your labor is being undervalued, to say nothing of your self. No 'good' job is worth that.
And if your manager doesn't respect you, then there's no reason you should be respecting him. Other specific advice in these comments seems good to me.
Okay, you are definitely in a tough spot. I'm not a lawyer, and not qualified to offer any advice, so I can only speak from my own experience.
It is a positive that your manager has asked you to take on this difficult task. Even if there is no expectation you will succeed and the intent is to circumvent ADA protections by placing you in a job you cannot perform - allowing them to terminate you with cause - it is also a chance to succeed beyond expectations if you can.
From the company point if view, that's a win/win. No reason to terminate you if you actually pull it off. And a reason to do so if you do not.
My experience with ADA is it is not necessarily the 'golden shield' it is assumed to be, but it is a good protection from some of the inane stupidity that would occur if it were not there (like being terminated because dealing with your disability is 'too hard' ). I am a paraplegic so unfortunately I have some experience with this.
Regardless of whether you end up with a lawyer or not, the advice to 'document everything' is solid. Even if you do not need a lawyer, when you go to HR, as you most likely will, having documentation to present to *them* allows them to take more decisive actions on your behalf. Yes - HR ultimately works for the company, but they will work with you to bring about a resolution workable for both you and the company if possible.
That said, when all the chips are down and counted, you do what is right for you, and your family. It's who you are and what you do.
Also it is reasonable to request some form of reimbursement or renumeration for having to travel 30 minutes each way (or in the case of your family, each way twice). I know the MTS Access here where I live has very strict requirements that you may not meet, so you likely would be left just using normal bus / trolley / subway type of transportation. Here in SD, a '30 minute trip' to my doctor's office is easlily 2 hours each way if I take the bus and trolley. Not sure if that is an option for you, but it's likely better than what you have. Uber / Lyft etc. are right out as they are about $50 each way and that's more coin than I have. And likely true for you too if gas is tagging you that hard.
We'll be keeping you and yours in our prayers and thought!