When Advocates Stop Being Ally’s

What happened to my employment at Advocate? I’ll keep it brief. So there it is, another nice job taken away from me. When I start a new job, I always notice how my superiors treat me, how my coworkers treat me, and how their behavior changes after the first month. I’m not sure what it is, but I can’t stop being great. I love to learn, and when you teach me something, I take it seriously and give it my all, even if everyone else is draining me, while I have nothing in the tank.

My job here was fantastic; I enjoyed interacting with the patients and delivering food to their station or room. I wish them well, and I had an almost perfect shift that began at 6:31 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m. My supervisors were quick to notice, and several even congratulated me on my performance. I figured this would work fine for me, and I’d switch to another Advocate in the future. But, not even three months into the work, someone makes an anonymous call to the employee hotline and tells an incredibly harmful and untrue narrative about me when I’m on my 30-minute break.

Now, as usual, I was targeted again, job at risk, and grilled for something I did not do. My managers questioned me, and I informed them that I had not committed such a foul act, so they spoke with HR. I assume this was my ex-fling’s attempt to get me fired since I refused to go to Iowa. She tried to actually destroy my life.

Things are fine for the next days; I’m working, I’m not thinking about leaving, and I intend to stay for a while. But, without warning, the staff collaborated against me again, and the supervisors believed them.

On my first break, I had a craving for a chicken Panini from the Starbucks inside Advocate Hospital. I went upstairs and asked for ONE sandwich, and the worker, who is my colleague (the Starbucks is run by advocate), began speaking, saying, “No more free sandwiches; someone asked for 6 chicken paninis the day before, you must pay.”

I said okay, paid the $7, took my chips, and moved on since I simply wanted to eat anything; my stomach was empty. The second older lady she was working with appeared to be planning on making up more lies about me that day. I returned to the kitchen to find my coworker Lisa gossiping about why they could no longer obtain free food from Starbucks. They did this on a regular basis. She then pointed at me in an aggressive manner, stated because of her.

I instantly reacted calmly, “Don’t do that; I paid for my chicken panini” Of course, when workplace bullying is happening, no superiors are ever around to hold them, accountable for their behavior.

Unfortunately, much like at Northwestern University, no matter how long I do anything or how valuable you know I can be to the organization. Unless everyone is treated equally and there is no hatred between coworkers, you won’t have a great chance of achieving retirement or long-term goals.

So, naturally, I do what I do best when everyone is assaulting me at the same time. I’m gone, ghost, and my mental state is too disturbed to process an explanation for anyone. Not to mention that I had been homeless while working here, and you would think that others would offer words of encouragement to me and tell me to keep going. But all I’ve ever received is hatred and judgment, as if I were nothing. Why would anyone be humiliated just for money? I’d rather be broke than have others spread rumors about me.

I’m sorry, advocate, and I truly enjoyed being here; I wish I could return to my job, see the patients, and attempt to boost their spirits. Dear, bosses, please listen to the new employees (fresh eyes) that are coming through the door. Because they can notice things your comfortable staff cannot. My coworkers never take the time to get to know me, therefore anything made under false pretenses will inevitably turn out badly.