Dear NezumiT:

You wrote: “I know for a fact that I was let go because of a few minor anxiety related absences and that my employers didn’t think I could handle the stress of the job”-

Can you elaborate on those “few minor anxiety related absences”, durations of absences, reasons, and such. I would like to understand better.

anita

Dear NezumiT:

I googled “at will employment”. It reads: “At-will employment is a term used in a U.S. labor law for contractual relationships in which an employee can be dismissed by an employer for any reason (that is, without having to establish ‘just cause’ for termination), and without warning.

You wrote in your original post: “there was no reason why I was fired”- reads to me that there was a reason, which is the employer’s concern about your evident, expressed anxiety harming your performance or not wanting otherwise to deal with an employee with evident anxiety issues. They don’t have to give a reason, but they have a reason.

It is unfortunate of course, that you are suffering from anxiety and that you were sexually assaulted recently. And it is unfortunate that you enjoyed your job so much and cannot continue it.

It is fortunate, on the other hand, that your husband has maintained the same job for eight years. I wish it didn’t bother you so much that you had sixteen jobs during these eight years. The reason you had so many jobs is not because you are “not really ‘adulting'” (what an interesting, unique made-up verb, never read it before), but because you suffer from anxiety. You are an adult and a responsible one, reads to me.

Your anxiety, if you’d like to share its origin, history, please do.

anita

Dear NezumiT:

I will not be able to read your latest post until I am back to the computer, in about 17 hours or so. Am looking forward to read and will reply then.

anita

Hi Nezume T,

I am sorry to hear about your job. I have been “forced to resign (even when I was in training), once, I was on the job for three weeks, I was new. The supervisor was not very nice to me and made me very nervous. I got home one night after my shift and got a nasty message on my voice mail from her telling me that they needed someone to “take the job and run with it”. I have been fired from jobs without warning, if it as “at will” they don’t have to give you a warning. I too suffer from (with me) debillitating anxiety and panic attacks. The panic attacks started in 2005. I was working in call centers at the time, I really liked it, I liked being on the phones talking to customers and helping them. Then, the job started to get to be too much for me, I guess. We were required to answer 100-200 calls a day. We had to get “monitored” (where our calls were listened to). The job, started becoming more stressful, the warehouse made mistakes with shipments, breakages, orders were being “padded” I think by sales department because retail customers would order 14 of a particular item and they would be charged for 19. They would call and get irate. I used to be able to handle it..then something happened, I would put my phone on “idle” alot and go to bathroom and have “anxiety attack” and the attacks got worse.

I got hospitalized for major depression and anxiety in 2005. I was put on an antidepressant and Klonopin for panic attacks. I went back to the job, but it wasn’t the same, I no longer enjoyed it. The economy wasn’t that great, and I could not find another job. Two months later, the company had another massive layoff, I was layed off. 4 months later, they were bankrupt. I tried to find “easier jobs” but still got let go due to stress and anxiety and finally had to file for disability.

Are you on any meds for anxiety? Sometimes they can help with job stress. But, yes, employers can let you go without warning unfortunately.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by Eliana.

Hi NezumiT,

I can relate very much. When I got my BA in the Psychology and Social work profession, I so badly wanted to find an entry level job in that field. Then I applied at Hamilton County, because they often hire people out of school, no luck. Everyone wants the LISW, (Master’s Degree). I got accepted to the School of Social work masters program, but by this time, I was over 50,000 in student (Stafford, Perkins Loans) debt, so I dropped out. No one in my family supported me. I had to get my degree mailed to me, because no one bothered or cared that I was graduating and wouldn’t come to my graduation.

What really hurt, was when my Dad, the person I thought was my best friend, and loved me unconditionally, said “what a waste of a college education” why don’t you go to work for a fortune 500 company, like I did when I graduated from Harvard”. That hurt, because I knew and felt like a disappointment to him. So, I got a call center job as a Financial representative at one of the world’s largest fortune 500 investment firms. Not good enough for my Dad. So, I studied and studied, they put me through school, I hated it to get my series 7 and 63 license to become a trader/stockbroker. My third week out in the floor, we had a snowstorm, blizzard like conditions. I wanted to call off, but figured I was too new..so I had several anxiety attacks driving the 35 minutes, which turned into two hours to get there. Usually there are about 200 people on the trading floor where I worked and because of the terrible conditions, only 30 people showed up for work.

My supervisor/lead in the floor told me to get on the “loop” to take junk bond calls. This is very complex, and new people should not be doing this until a year being there. I got monitored. I was so frazzled and nervous and have the called the wrong information. The supervisor stood up and called me “worthless” and yelled at me, in front of everyone. I started to shake real bad. They came over and told me to pack up my stuff, and I was escorted out of the building.

I don’t really know right now what my dream job would be. I do know I like rescuing animals and animal welfare. But, every time I think about even working again, if I do get better, I’m so afraid to get fired again.