Two years ago, I worked for United Healthcare on their AARP Medicare Part D for the open enrollment period. All of the new hire process could only be called a clusterfuck, with issues and annoyances that were supposed to be fixed in week continuing on three months later.
I left that job when a supervisor, specifically, a call center floorwalker, decided to strike me repeatedly on the floor while I was on the phone with a customer. I asked him not to do that. He replied that he had to do his job and struck me again. Before the end of that work day, I reported him to his supervisor and thought the matter would be settled.
And it was settled. When coming in the following day, I was sat down in front of the floorwalker so he could yell at me, asking how dare I try to get him fired when he had child support to pay. After twenty minutes of this, I got up and walked, deciding that I would never work for United Healthcare again or any of its related companies.
After two years of un- and underemployment, an agency got in touch with me for a job with Optum, the mail order pharmacy division of UHC. Okay, I thought. Two years later, things may have improved and, if nothing else, I'm working for a different part of the company. It can't be as bad, yes?
They hired by the cattlecall system. That is, hire groups of thirty without looking over the applicants and apply such pressure to weed everyone out. Training was of variable quality, receiving heavy, hands on from one teacher, but being left hanging once one is on the floor of the call center, despite their protestations to the contrary. Coaching was promised, though, in five weeks, little to no coaching was provided. What little coaching there was, and none of that was personal, one-on-one coaching, was always contradictory, either between supervisors or, in one case, one supervisor contradicted themselves on a procedure in the same conversation.
Overtime is provided for what is termed "top performers." My first post-Academy (on-the-job-training) schedule had me working five days a week, ten hours a day. For reasons I don't want to get too into, as much as I need the money, I couldn't work that schedule at this time. (And if I'm a "top performer," sell your stocks in Optum and UHC.) I took it to my "coach" who could do or would do nothing. I went to her supervisor, who immediately went on leave for two weeks. I then went to the agency and was convinced that, like most employment agencies, they're useless. I finally went to the man in charge of the project I was hired for, and he managed to get it fixed, for all of thirty-six hours before everything slid back into the unworkable schedule.
In part of my discussion with the agency, I mentioned being denigrated before a customer by someone with UHC. This pharmacist was lying to the customer over their concern while insulting me, putting the lie to their supposed company culture. They were made aware that we received no coaching since leaving the classroom, despite what we were promised. I had another conversation with the agency yesterday, and I mentioned that we've been in Academy for five weeks now with no coaching.
My anxiety is high today. After thirty minutes on the phone, I knew that I couldn't make the rest of my shift. I went to the only supervisor on duty and talked to him, getting permission to get off the floor and go home. I follow procedure to make certain everything is covered, calling the attendance line and checking myself in (or out, as they case maybe.)
I don't even make it home before the agency calls me to tell me that a supervisor reported me as leaving the floor without permission and I have been terminated.
That's certainly one way of looking at it, but I can't help but think that if I had been silent and just bowed down, I wouldn't have been fired.
