An update on my ongoing situation. On Wednesday during my regular one on one meeting my boss told me my VP wanted to join the conversation. They started by asking me if there's anything I would like to tell them about my situation which may be affecting me. I told them yes, since this process started I've been anxious and seeking psychotherapy to deal with it. They strongly suggested taking some time of time off such as short term leave "as a friend" (over and over again). I said my doctor didn't agree with it the first time and that because it was situational based on this situation my conversation with the psychotherapist would be to find a new job to help me. They still suggested the leave to get better. They said the expectation when I came back would be to take on another big project in a PM capacity (the role they moved me off in August). I said the therapy takes a long time to get better. I said I didn't know what the leave suggested would look like but I got the strong hint that if I said no, there would be negative consequences. They said they'd look into it and get back to me. A couple hours later my boss pulls me into an office and says that a certain leave is unpaid so to do short term leave. That obviously has to pass through a doctor and the insurance so she said next week to take off sick and she'd get the process started from there. She asked for my personal email and phone number to send me the bonus information coming out next month and for communication purposes. More on this later. Fast forward to yesterday later afternoon, she contacts me to talk through the process of going on short term leave to confirm I know it. She ends the conversation saying she'll also be emailing a letter with our conversation. Half hour later I get a letter and am gutted. It says:
1) That my performance has not been up to standard since summer where I was coached and that next steps will have to be taken to bring my performance up to standard. It says they removed "tasks" from my plate to mitigate the risk for the company.
Facts about this is that my VP called me up suddenly during the summer and said all coaching and plans for PIP would be stopped and they'd like to utilize my skills in a different way on a different project more in a BA capacity where I could work with others. It was not my specialty but I said what the hell and went with it. At the time my project was pretty on track. A few weeks later before going on vacation in September I told her the best idea for my mental health would be to move to a new role elsewhere and I'd like to give her the courtesy that I'll be applying within the company. She said all the right things at that time. In October when I came back I was told two expensive contractors on the project were let go (probably known to her since August which is why they wanted me), as the budget was not approved to keep them beyond October. Then as I mentioned in another post I was given a terrible performance review end of October. First of my career.
2) The second part of the letter stated that they understand I'll be seeking short term disability for my health and that they support my well being and here are company resources that may help with that.
Facts: I already knew of those resources and utilized them. But it was them suggesting to take short term leave. Normally an employee initiates it by informing the employer suddenly. In this case we literally had a meeting to plan it then they positioned it as them understanding I was going to take it.
3) They asked me to sign and date acknowledgement of the letter
I haven't received acknowledgement of the letter and have put in a call to my lawyer for Monday. I'm hoping he's not pissed it deteriorated since August and will return my call. I didn't sleep all night. Who positions themselves as friends and good righteous people, then screws me to my face by twisting the situation in a letter to save the risk to the company? Further I provided my personal email and phone which I'm positive they'll use to run a query to see if it shows up anywhere for evidence gathering (which I've found out they hire external company to do for emails and chat messages). I recognize they've duped me by pretending to be acting in my best mental health interest only to change the narrative by saying all the right things and methodically mitigating their risk by addressing potential human rights and other violations by listening carefully to what I was saying and putting it in writing that they care. But their Friday afternoon letter right before going on leave says otherwise. 2/10.
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