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If you only had a car accident as your time of being late, it would not have been an issue.
But you were clearly seen as an employee who is out a lot. They probably had conversations in the office going "Is vikesfanmb here today?" and someone else jokes "Do you really need to ask?"
Perception is reality so whether it was doctor appointments, a car accident, traffic on the freeways, tornadoes, hurricanes, kids being sick, deaths in the family, flat tires, etc...it doesn't really matter because while individually they can be one offs, collectively it points to a person who just doesn't seem to take work seriously.
It probably shouldn't be this way but I don't go to the doctor or dentist as often as I should because I don't want to miss work. I don't get my AC fixed at home as quickly as I'd like to because I don't want to leave work early...I try to schedule appointments really early in the morning or late at night. For doctor appointments I do the same thing so that I end up just leaving work an hour early or coming in an hour late as opposed to scheduling things in the middle of the day where I end up missing 1/2 day of work, etc. DMV? I drive further away to go to the one that's open on weekends, etc.
I hope that at least you learned a little bit from this in that when you take your next job, do whatever you have to do to be there on time every single day. Don't take long lunch breaks, don't leave early, don't be late in the morning...every day for months. Work is #1, not #2, etc...sounds harsh but that's how it is when you're on a probationary period, etc.
If you only had a car accident as your time of being late, it would not have been an issue.
But you were clearly seen as an employee who is out a lot. They probably had conversations in the office going "Is vikesfanmb here today?" and someone else jokes "Do you really need to ask?"
Perception is reality so whether it was doctor appointments, a car accident, traffic on the freeways, tornadoes, hurricanes, kids being sick, deaths in the family, flat tires, etc...it doesn't really matter because while individually they can be one offs, collectively it points to a person who just doesn't seem to take work seriously.
It probably shouldn't be this way but I don't go to the doctor or dentist as often as I should because I don't want to miss work. I don't get my AC fixed at home as quickly as I'd like to because I don't want to leave work early...I try to schedule appointments really early in the morning or late at night. For doctor appointments I do the same thing so that I end up just leaving work an hour early or coming in an hour late as opposed to scheduling things in the middle of the day where I end up missing 1/2 day of work, etc. DMV? I drive further away to go to the one that's open on weekends, etc.
I hope that at least you learned a little bit from this in that when you take your next job, do whatever you have to do to be there on time every single day. Don't take long lunch breaks, don't leave early, don't be late in the morning...every day for months. Work is #1, not #2, etc...sounds harsh but that's how it is when you're on a probationary period, etc.
Well, the silver lining in this whole thing is . . the job I left to take this job has called me and wants me to come back and start ASAP. It's a slight demotion but I've been gone from there less than a year (approx. 9 months) so I will get my years of service back, 5 years to be exact.
To those folks who think I'm some "young buck" who doesn't know any better, I am a 49 year old woman, divorced single mom with 25 years in healthcare and health insurance. Before this job that I was fired from, I worked for over 15 years at a major BCBS plan where my work was in the top 10% and my attendance was NEVER an issue. I only left that job to relocate to another area of the country to help out my family.
Since then, I've had quite a share of bad luck. In addition to the car accident in July of this year, I was also in a wreck (my first ever) last year where an 87 year old driver pulled out onto a 55 mph speed limit highway and stopped in the oncoming lane of traffic, giving me about 2 seconds to respond. There were multiple witnesses including an off duty deputy sheriff who saw the whole thing transpire. This happened approximately 1 week before beginning this latest job (which I was just fired from) and I started said job in a cast, on a walker and eventually on crutches, in a LOT of pain - but I was lucky enough to live through it, the other party deceased as a result of the accident.
So . . I will count myself blessed not only for living through a horrible accident but that I'm coming back to a place that is familiar with my work and WANTS me back and values me as an employee, even if it means slightly less $$.
And just to head off any further questions . . yes, I do have a lawyer in regards to the car accidents and the fact that I lost my job on Friday will surely "play" into both cases. And yes, I did provide my ex-employer with proof of the car accidents in both incidents, including the actual police reports, hospital records, doctor's notes, etc.
AND by the way, when I was terminated on Friday . . I lost over 40 hours of vacation time and almost the same amount of sick time. Not that I expected them to pay out either considering the circumstance, but I just wanted to make a point that I was NOT using the time I had accumulated, again minus 1 hour here or there. I was mostly making up the time or scheduling the very last appointment of the day and frankly,
sometimes not going at all even when I should have. I have permanent damage in my knee.
I have no advice for the OP, but I feel badly for folk that get nailed for not being on time every day. To be clear, I don't mean being late for meetings/appointments. Just the idea of having to have your rear in your seat at 6/7/8:59 AM and not a minute after policy. I was fired from an office job when I was very young for punching in at 6:30am almost everday instead of 6:25am. I just couldn't get there five minutes earlier and they canned me for it. That was definitely not the line of work for me!
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