Do You Feel Your Job Holds Back Promotion's Because of Your Condition?

[Stacy Without An E]

Maybe I'm paranoid or sense a little conspiracy, but I've been working for the same broadcast conglomerate now for eight years.  I've learned every job possible from music programming, scheduling staff, managing syndicated programming plus do a daily five hour radio show.  It's a lot of multi-tasking and decision making and everything runs very smoothly.  When it comes down to it, I'm doing the work of two people while not being promoted to manager or earning higher pay.  My Dialysis treatments only keep  me from hosting station events Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights.  The GM has never made an issue out of it, but I get the feeling in my gut that it's keeping me from being considered for a management position.

The position has remained unfilled for the second time in two years.  I'm only an hour from UC San Francisco where I'm waiting for a kidney.  If I find another job elsewhere, it will most likely be out of the Bay Area, which is why I'm hesitant to move.

Has anyone else ever experienced possible job complications due to your Dialysis?

Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.


EDITED - fixed spelling in subject line - okarol/moderator

[Aldente]

There is only one way to find out... Ask!  Does the GM know that you want the management position? What you want to achieve in your job should be part of your yearly work appraisal.  During that appraisal is when you can voice your aspirations and have your manager set benchmarks for you to achieve that goal.


EDITED - fixed spelling in subject line - okarol/moderator

[Ang]

i  don't  work  anymore  but,  i  reckon  theres  some/  a heap  of  truth  in  your  post,  i  reckon  employers  out  there  have  got  no  idea  how  to  broach  the  subject,you'd  reckon  that  if  you've  been  a  loyal  employee  for  a  number  of  years,that cut  you  a  bit  of  slack,  but  generally  speaking  its  easier  to  toss  us  on  the  scrap  heap,thats  my

[KT0930]

Absolutely!

I have had my job for just over a year and a half, and my boss has told me on many occasions that I am the best that he has ever had in that position. I went to talk to him the other day about taking on another position in the company, and my health and frequent absences because of it came up in the conversation more than once. He kept saying "once you're better." I had to explain to him that it may be five years or more before I get a transplant and I'm not going to get better until then, but I can keep working and working well. To be honest, I was a little relieved, because my health was his reason for not putting me in a job I really don't want!!

Another job I had, they found another reason, but I lost it about six months after getting a transplant, and I'm convinced it's because of all the time I was taking for doctor's appointments.

[livecam]

Santa Rosa is a beautiful city.  I used to ride my motorcycle up through there and back through the Napa valley when I worked in Sacramento many years ago (KCRA-TV LiveCamera 3 aka livecam).  Just an educated guess here but I'll bet you work for a Clear Channel station.  Being radio and being they've had you in that position for 8 years, doing the work of two people etc;  I'm wondering if this isn't more a case of "they have you at a certain price and why should they pay more"?  Where I work you need to make your best deal going in because thats just the way things are done there.

As we both know the radio industry is notoriously cheap and pretty cheesy as well.  Consolidation over the past 25 years or so has cut the heart out of what was once genuinely local radio.  I worked in radio for a little over 4 years before moving to television along with a few adventures in long distance communications and radar.

To get back to the topic though, yes I had some problems just at the time I needed to start dialysis.  My department head at the time, a d..k we'll call Frank (because that is his name) decided to stick me on the 4AM Morning News call which is an absolutely miserable time of day to have to start work.  At the time I had been very sick for most of the past year and was actually beyond the point at which I should have started dialysis.  I wasn't sleeping at night and felt lousy all the time.  Fortunately as it played out emergency dialysis started abruptly one day and took care of the 4AM call issue before I ever started it.  Frank's superiors got sick of his act and that problem went away when Frank was sent home in unemployment mode.

To summarize I think your boss is just being cheap.  From what you've been doing at the station it would be hard to find fault with your work ethic or any aspect of what you do at work.  If someone else less qualified or with less time at the station were to be moved into the management position then my antennae would start to rise.  If that were to happen you do have remedies at your disposal depending on whether or not you feel you can handle the fallout from applying them.  The American's With Disabilities Act provides strong job related protections for renal patients and persons with other medical issues.   I  hope they see the value in what you bring to the station and decide to do the right thing for you soon!

[MattyBoy100]

I went from being a manager to a checkout operator.  I applied for every management position going and I have 16 yrs of retail management experience.  One day my store manager came up to me and said "I want to do something for you.".  So, he gave me a job as a supervisor in a petrol station.

All my years of experience have literally turned to shit because I can't get a management position.  No one has said it of course as that would be discrimination.

While I was on the checkouts, my dialysis times changed and I told the checkout manager so he could reschedule my shifts and do you know what he said?

He said "I'm not being funny but people will think "what the f**k can you do?"".  I didn't say anything, I just felt like shit coz I was battling this illness as well as trying to stay in work.

The policy at my workplace is to start disciplinary proceedings if someone is off sick from work 3 times in a year.  The year I was diagnosed, I went off sick 4 times and they didn't say a word.  The stupid checkout manager tried to start proceedings against me but I think he was told to leave it by the Personnel Manager.  I have never even been spoken to about being absent from work - my absence record was perfect before being diagnosed and I think that stood in my favour and of course, being a national company they wouldn't want bad publicity about treating me wrongly and I would go to the press if they did.

Generally, I have the feeling of "why should I break my back for the wages I'm on when I used to earn 3x as much as a manager.".  Now, I do my job and go home or to dialysis rather.  I don't take work home with me, I leave it at the office.  I used to be keen and eager but I have lost the motivation.