hiriki
Well-known member
- Oct 19, 2014
- 536
- 742
- Parrots
- (Birdie - Jenday Conure)
(Kiwi - Green Cheek Conure)
(Elby - Lovebird)
(Gorou - Ringneck Dove)
This is where I've been doing most of my posting/reading lately so even though this isn't really about birds, I thought I'd post it here. Just a vent.
I work at an animal shelter, and it's by far my favorite job I've ever had. It isn't the most well paying (I used to work IT, and that paid fairly well) but on a good day, I get to spend time with cats and dogs and advise adopters on the best practices for those species which makes me feel like I'm making a difference in an animal's life. But I've been pulling my hair out frustrated for the past few weeks!
Without going too much into specifics, we have multiple locations--a main location, as well as several "adoption centers." I was hired to work at an adoption center where my day is about 50/50 animal care vs adoptions. I did, however, volunteer early on to *sometimes* take hours at the main location, where I strictly do adoptions... no animal care whatsoever. And it's crazy busy. I recently asked that my scheduling manager please not put me on the schedule 6 days in a row, and please not schedule me for weekend shifts at the main location, where it's basically nonstop moving and talking with no breaks (even a 15 min one) because there's just no time baked into the schedule for anyone to take a break. In the same email, I stated I'm unavailable until 1PM on Tuesdays. Right to my face, my scheduling manager pointed to the "unavailable until 1PM on Tuesdays" section of my email and said "this is the only real part, right?" on a week where she scheduled me six days in a row AND scheduled me 3 out of my 5 days at the busy location AND scheduled me there on a weekend. I honestly think she was in a rush and not thinking about how blatantly inconsiderate it was to act like my other requests were just gentle suggestions but now it's Friday, and next week's schedule isn't even DONE yet, so I have no idea whether I should be dreading next week as much as I did this week.
In addition to this, someone in a position I outwardly expressed interest in months ago put their two weeks in recently... I found out about her resignation under the table so I didn't reach out to anyone in regards to taking her spot, but by the time it was common knowledge that she was leaving, someone else had already been given her position. It would be one thing if this person was more qualified than me but she isn't; she's newer than me, and knows our operations director personally. I would just shrug it off except that it feels like someone rubbing salt into the wound, since the scheduling nonsense has made me less satisfied in my current position.
I'm so frustrated! I just wanted to vent. I really love this job when I'm doing the job I was hired for, at the adoption center, spending a good deal of my day training dogs and socializing cats. But the last two weeks have tested my patience. I already tried sending an email to my scheduling manager, which didn't exactly pan out. I don't know if I should send her another email or go straight to HR? Or if I should start putting my feelers out to see if other animal shelters need help? There aren't very many jobs in animal care as it is, much less at a no-kill shelter like mine (I have nothing against the existence of county pounds but I think it would be emotionally taxing to work at one).
I work at an animal shelter, and it's by far my favorite job I've ever had. It isn't the most well paying (I used to work IT, and that paid fairly well) but on a good day, I get to spend time with cats and dogs and advise adopters on the best practices for those species which makes me feel like I'm making a difference in an animal's life. But I've been pulling my hair out frustrated for the past few weeks!
Without going too much into specifics, we have multiple locations--a main location, as well as several "adoption centers." I was hired to work at an adoption center where my day is about 50/50 animal care vs adoptions. I did, however, volunteer early on to *sometimes* take hours at the main location, where I strictly do adoptions... no animal care whatsoever. And it's crazy busy. I recently asked that my scheduling manager please not put me on the schedule 6 days in a row, and please not schedule me for weekend shifts at the main location, where it's basically nonstop moving and talking with no breaks (even a 15 min one) because there's just no time baked into the schedule for anyone to take a break. In the same email, I stated I'm unavailable until 1PM on Tuesdays. Right to my face, my scheduling manager pointed to the "unavailable until 1PM on Tuesdays" section of my email and said "this is the only real part, right?" on a week where she scheduled me six days in a row AND scheduled me 3 out of my 5 days at the busy location AND scheduled me there on a weekend. I honestly think she was in a rush and not thinking about how blatantly inconsiderate it was to act like my other requests were just gentle suggestions but now it's Friday, and next week's schedule isn't even DONE yet, so I have no idea whether I should be dreading next week as much as I did this week.
In addition to this, someone in a position I outwardly expressed interest in months ago put their two weeks in recently... I found out about her resignation under the table so I didn't reach out to anyone in regards to taking her spot, but by the time it was common knowledge that she was leaving, someone else had already been given her position. It would be one thing if this person was more qualified than me but she isn't; she's newer than me, and knows our operations director personally. I would just shrug it off except that it feels like someone rubbing salt into the wound, since the scheduling nonsense has made me less satisfied in my current position.
I'm so frustrated! I just wanted to vent. I really love this job when I'm doing the job I was hired for, at the adoption center, spending a good deal of my day training dogs and socializing cats. But the last two weeks have tested my patience. I already tried sending an email to my scheduling manager, which didn't exactly pan out. I don't know if I should send her another email or go straight to HR? Or if I should start putting my feelers out to see if other animal shelters need help? There aren't very many jobs in animal care as it is, much less at a no-kill shelter like mine (I have nothing against the existence of county pounds but I think it would be emotionally taxing to work at one).
Venting is perfectly fine and we're here to listen. I don't really...want to tell you what to do but thanks for posting 
