I quit my job so I'll be taking a few commissions while I'm in the awkward "looking for the right fit" phase.
I don't normally talk about my personal life but I think it's worth explaining what happened given my public statements that I wouldn't be taking commissions anymore due to mental health issues. For context I worked with Goodwill at the donation door but very quickly was promoted to being a Team Leader (basically a manager but I don't do anything regarding hiring).
I was very happy with my job until we got a new regional manager. Our store was just starting to get back on it's feet after years of being short staffed but this growth wasn't good enough for them. The new regional manager was strictly enforcing production goals, a lot moreso then the person previously in their position.
Since most probably don't know the inner workings of Goodwill, the expectation is to produce 60 items an hour. Even seasoned producers can't accomplish without putting out things like chipped plates or torn clothes. Previously it was treated as something to shoot for in the best case scenario but the shift we were being put through was this lofty number becoming the bare minimum expectation. More production means the company makes more money and I'm sure anyone can see where that leads to. This regional manager in particular began to ridicule us during meetings and make threats to cut hours over not meeting these numbers. Being even 0.05% short on our store goals was met with vivid anger and increasingly I was pushed to correct this shortage since I was a manager. I recognize we live in a capitalist society and I'm sure plenty of people would tell me to have seen this coming- but actually being asked to crack down on my 60+ year old coworkers and those with serious mental health problems to go beyond human limits was too much for me.
I'm too compassionate and so I gave my letter of resignation only a few weeks after my promotion which included how I personally felt about the situation and the direction our particular region was being taken. It included stating the blatant disregard for the non profit companies supposed values and how the stress affected me. I had lost 10 pounds in a short amount of time from it and was spending almost every night crying myself to sleep. I shared it with a few people because they asked to see it. I was loved and adored by every single person there, including my assistant managers and store managers. They read it, talked about it, and word spread very quickly that I was quitting directly because of the actions of my regional manager.
My letter of resignation was apparently so problematic not only was I let go only a few days after putting it in, I have been blacklisted from applying to any Goodwill for essentially... attempting to unionize my coworkers. I was told by the regional manager to either "stop spreading slander" or leave my keys on the desk. They explained in depth how the numbers are actually not that strictly enforced. How expectations are actually pretty reasonable and they can't imagine how I got the idea that low production numbers were being used threaten people! People with severe physical and mental limitations. Oh woe was the regional manager, they told me my words were making things feel hostile for them and they didn't appreciate how I twisted the facts against them. Needless to say, I left my keys on the desk. I had done all that I could anyway and I know I'm replaceable. Really gives me some fire to work on my comic at least and I'm glad I gave the company the best middle finger I could.
Anyway, that's why I'm open for commissions now!
