Yom Kippur 1988 - Happy Endings

Back in 1988 I worked for a small medical company in San Diego as a secretary to the Vice President of Sales, Mr. Peterson. When hired, I mentioned to HR and Mr. Peterson that I would be taking days off for all the major Jewish holidays and of course, everyone said they were fine with that. 

Until the High Holidays. 

Giving a good 2 months notice, I informed Mr. Peterson and Darlene, the President’s secretary, which days in September I would be out. That’s when Darlene (Queen Bee) said I could not take off on Yom Kippur because the other two secretaries would be on vacation that day and there would not be enough coverage. I had never been asked to cover for anyone and no one had ever covered for me, so this was an odd excuse. 

I politely told Darlene that this is a major religious holiday, my boss and HR approved my days off, and I will not be at work that day but maybe they could not pay me and hire a temp instead. Within no time, things escalated and the President came to tell me that if I didn’t work that day, I would be fired. 

We had one other Jewish employee, an older gentleman and an executive, who took me aside and asked me to please come to work on Yom Kippur. “What’s the big deal? So you miss one holiday? You’re making all of us Jews look bad.”  It was one of my first experiences standing up to a superior at the office, and an elder, and saying, “shame on you!”  We were perhaps two generations apart in age which may have partly explained the difference. Before the law changed in the 1960’s, you could get fired for taking a religious holiday off without your employer’s permission. 

Being young and inexperienced, I called my synagogue to ask for advice. “Call the Jewish Anti Defamation League”. I did. I think I left a message on their answering machine (very ’80’s)

The next afternoon at work, the President came storming over to my desk and yelled at me in front of a room full of people: “If you think you’re going to intimidate me with some loud-mouth lawyer, you’re wrong, young lady. If you don’t work that day, I will personally fire you.”

I guess the ADL sent a lawyer, unannounced, to barge into the President’s office to threaten him. I never met the guy. 

I took the day off. 

There were several happy endings to this story. 

I was not fired. 

I resigned a couple of weeks later. 

Mr. Peterson and the secretary who replaced me fell in love, got married and lived happily ever after.

At a young age, I strengthened my convictions about standing up for my rights and what I believe in. When do you go along with things to make problems go away and when do you fight for what’s right?  I stood my ground in the storm which was really hard. I learned about egos and empty threats and about the concept of religious freedom. 

During the High Holiday season, I have found that the act of asking for the days off and letting managers and coworkers know when I’ll be out of the office and why is a ritual on its own. The ritual has its own phrases uttered, preparations, stories and repetitions. 

And after that comes the ritual of sending out Rosh Hashanah cards. 

May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.  Happy 5779!  

Proof that I'm Responsible

Why endanger the lives of others when an employees work on a spreadsheets?

Why risk health or injury when a team member schedules a meeting in a conference room or books a flight?

I spend my entire days at work sending Outlook email and calendaring meetings, adding data to Excel reports or editing someone’s PowerPoint slides for spelling. Sometimes I order office supplies or a catered lunch for a meeting. 

I was wondering why companies have been so trusting all these years that I could use these dangerous tools and execute such risky tasks without any sort of test. Today was the day their trust has finally ended. 

I had to take a drug test for my new job. 

I entered a very small room with a man. I was given a sheet with instructions of many steps of collecting my “donor specimen”. I had to empty my pockets, step away from my purse and my possessions, go wash my hands, listen to elaborate instructions that involved not flushing and then sign several documents. Then I was instructed to pick up the cup from that table, enter the restroom on the other side of this door, and I was given precisely 4 minutes to pee. Afterwards, I repeated the process in reverse, putting the cup back, washing my hands, signing, collecting my possessions. All while this man was watching me (except while I was in the bathroom).

This is where my newest employment situation has led me. I need a drug test to use Microsoft Office and sit in a cubicle with a laptop. 

It's been a bit of a journey getting here. 

In May 2016, I was part of a large layoff at a company where I had happily worked for 11+ years. Greg and I moved away from the lucrative but frenzied world of Silicon Valley to Sonoma County, where life is a lot quieter but there are few really good companies. I have developed a preference for working in publicly traded techy companies. There are very few of those in our new area. 

I began applying for Executive Assistant jobs at formidable companies in early 2017. There were very few jobs posted so I went to a classic “temp agency”, where I got an assignment for a small private medical company supporting the CEO. They made me an offer to hire me directly and I worked there for about a year. They had some financial challenges and laid me off in March 2018. 

Before starting a proper job search, I turned my LinkedIn profile to “available for new opportunity” and my phone started ringing daily. The tech companies have a new business model - they hire most administrative people through 24 month contracts through MSPs (Managed Service Providers).  The benefits are minimal and not really beneficial. Their health insurance plan is often higher than whatever you already pay on your own. You don’t accrue vacation days or sick days. 

A company posts a job requisition for a 24 month contract. All these MSPs rush to find candidates to submit and win the contract. They are extremely aggressive and pushy. They want you to reply to every request in the next 5 minutes. They call, text and email incessantly until they hear from you. 

In May I started to work at a great company with local headquarters on a contract as an admin assistant. I settled in quickly and enjoyed the work and the people and they have been happy with my work. Then I got an offer from another great company, at a much higher rate. Although my nature is to be loyal and continue where things are going well, I can’t turn down the higher pay when I’m not receiving any benefits. 

The goal is to get hired as a direct employee. The business model of hiring contractors is difficult for employee and employer. As an employee, just after I got trained, I am moving on to start all over again elsewhere. My employer is sorry to see me go and they have to start all over again to find a new person and train them. 

That’s the job climate now. The economy is good. Companies are hiring but fewer direct employees. There is a shortage of skilled experienced employees like me. Yet it’s really hard for employees to find a full time direct hire job with benefits. 

So in addition to the routine background check, I took my first ever drug test to prove that I am responsible. If I pass, my new employer can feel secure knowing that I won't come to work high and injure anyone with my mouse or show up staggering drunk and send a ridiculous email.