Ageism (the first and only time I’ve experienced it in my career). There’s no HR staff in the Horsham office and it generally took up to 4 working hours to hear back from the HR staff in the Erie office when I’d reach out to them. You’re required to punch in and punch out, even if you’re a salaried employee. You’re also required to take a full hour for lunch, and you’re not allowed to skip it or take a shorter lunch to leave earlier. The office has temperature control issues.
While I liked my boss, my team lead was challenging to work with at times. A smart individual and even likable, but very competitive, territorial, and controlling. I felt like he never considered any input or ideas I had, but rather looked for reasons not to accept them, or for his own alternatives. I was happy to learn whatever I could from him, but he was unwilling to learn anything from my experience. Ironically, one of the things I learned from him is how not to lead a team, by his example. It’s something I put to use every single day at my current job, and I am honestly thankful for it.
I have a lot of experience and a good work record with good references, but most of the work I was given at Vert Markets was the sort of work you’d give an intern or kid right out of school. I realized pretty early that this wouldn’t change, despite my requests that it would. I also watched the same mistakes being made repeatedly, with the same outcomes. The team lead was often condescending and I was made to feel stupid on a regular basis. When I gave my notice and told my boss why I was leaving, I was told that I should have expressed my reasons for unhappiness and that otherwise nothing would change. I replied that I had, multiple times, but that it hadn’t been heard. It was the best last day of my career, I was so glad to be out of there. I moved on to a new job that gave me challenging work, valued my input, and treated me with respect.