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could you guys or gals explain to me how this scam works? if she is indeed getting kickbacks from the drug companies or our medical director, how does my attendance and signing my name at these functions translate into $$ for her? it almost seems like since the other social workers attended and i didn't, they want me to pick up the slack for them. but its difficult to know exactly since nobody ever mentions names, making it always appear like some secret scam sham
but what am i REALLY upset about you ask? not so much about going to a dinner but being maneuvered and lied to since its happened many times before with others with nobody to complain to and nobody caring, ive never resolved it in my own mind. my only relief is getting the 'revenge" on people by walking out the door when everybody is stuffing their faces
i simply don 't know who to trust and ive learned that if something seems fishy--it most likely IS
but what am i REALLY upset about you ask? not so much about going to a dinner but being maneuvered and lied to since its happened many times before with others with nobody to complain to and nobody caring, ive never resolved it in my own mind. my only relief is getting the 'revenge" on people by walking out the door when everybody is stuffing their faces
i simply don 't know who to trust and ive learned that if something seems fishy--it most likely IS
///MPower could be onto something, indeed. For what it's worth, I find his assumption to be very plausible in this case. You're also right to trust your instincts within this scenario, and if you really are in a situation where you don't know who to trust, CYA first and foremost. You're already behaving a bit dangerously by simply walking out early.
I don't mean to insult your intelligence when I say here and now that you are placing yourself up against one of the most powerful business interests in the world (big pharma). I would urge you to be a bit more discrete with your objections until you feel your rear is sufficiently covered or at least until you find a like-minded ally with clout. Chances are good that there is a symbiotic business model at your place of work, and at the other end of that relationship are those drug reps which provide the funds, to put it very loosely, that the government provides not enough of. Your supervisor understands this a lot better than I do, and you are fortunate that, at least on the surface, he can empathize with your objections and suspicions with the way he lets you sit out these "meetings". Alternatively, he realizes that you don't deal with prescriptions anyway and probably never will, thus the freedom from attendance that he is granting you in writing.
Consider my previous suggestion for passive intelligence gathering. Walking out early is a mistake because, while gratifying, it makes you negatively stick out in the minds of those with general apathy towards what it is that funded those meals. There are better ways to find relief just as there are better ways to protest.
his permission for me not to go was never put in writing it was all verbal. and it was in response to a fight i had with the medical secretary 2 years ago and it had nothing to do with the dinners, i had just incidentally complained to him about being nagged to go and he told me i didn't have to
and you say i am placing myself against the most powerful business interests in the world. how can i be held responsible for their operations? im just a social worker with a license working under the at will employment system. i am not formally contracted with my employer and certainly not with the drug companies. i have no obligation legally to anyone of those parties. CYA, how does that apply in this case? CYA from what? this is NOT my job. no youre not insulting my intelligence but i don't understand the CYA thing
i just had my annual written review and there was Absolutely nothing about my lack of attendance at the dinners in the review
my lowest rating was a "good" for relations with staff (the other 2 areas were either outstanding or very good).
First and foremost: if you haven't already done so recently, please have a nice warm cup of chamomile tea
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlrl
his permission for me not to go was never put in writing it was all verbal. and it was in response to a fight i had with the medical secretary 2 years ago and it had nothing to do with the dinners, i had just incidentally complained to him about being nagged to go and he told me i didn't have to
and you say i am placing myself against the most powerful business interests in the world. how can i be held responsible for their operations? im just a social worker with a license working under the at will employment system. i am not formally contracted with my employer and certainly not with the drug companies. i have no obligation legally to anyone of those parties. CYA, how does that apply in this case? CYA from what? this is NOT my job. no youre not insulting my intelligence but i don't understand the CYA thing
i just had my annual written review and there was Absolutely nothing about my lack of attendance at the dinners in the review
my lowest rating was a "good" for relations with staff (the other 2 areas were either outstanding or very good).
My apologies. I thought your supervisor left you a note saying you don't have to go to these functions. I got mixed up there.
I'm not surprised by your lowest rating of "good" due to staff interactions. Smells like politics to me because it's probably no secret to your coworkers that you have certain objections that may be contrary to theirs.
In truth, I have no clue if this is really the case, and all I can do is say what I would suspect were I to be in your shoes. It could also be their unwillingness to look past your (social?) anxiety issues, as well, but I would seriously hope that they'd be past that considering the nature of your workplace.
You said earlier:
Quote:
i get the impression people(like the other social workers) are complaining that i never attend and i don't know why.
If they really are complaining, finding out why is paramount because then you'll have a better understanding of how you can solve this problem. If the complaining goes beyond petty gossip, that is. If you are willing and able to ascertain the details behind your weakest rating, then you'll be that much closer to knowing how you can protect yourself from the situation you are in. This is partially what I meant by CYA and I'll try and elaborate further.
While you don't have any of these obligations to deal with prescriptions as part of your job description, your place of work might due to contracts, agreements, etc. A lot of emphasis on might because I would not know how deeply embedded the pharmaceutical industry is with your particular place of work. You shouldn't be held responsible for stuff you didn't sign up for - I agree with you. However, it might still reflect unfavorably upon you if you visibly place yourself at odds with the symbiotic relationship I spoke of earlier.
Just because you perceive (and rightfully so imho) that you didn't sign up for this sh** doesn't mean that your employers and peers completely agree with that assessment. You cannot and should not be held responsible for their actions as an industry, and as you also said, there is no legal obligation binding you to further their interests. However, you can't simply continue to think that you should be rightfully immune to the pressures that you are currently enduring because, clearly and unfortunately, you are not. Also, it would seem that some barriers are beginning to weaken from that pressure. By this I mean your ability to cope with this as that is something that can be seen from the frustration you're expressing.
Ultimately, when I suggested that you CYA, I didn't mean that in the legal sense. What I meant was for you to figure out how it is you can find a better balance between the peer pressure and your personal dilemmas before you find yourself in a worse place than you are within now. You might have to compromise a little and show a little more complacency, and I suggest this only because it may lead to an easier work environment for you. Remember: just because you have no formal obligation to participate doesn't mean that your unwillingness is fine and dandy for everyone else around you. This is relevant not only from a job-stability perspective, but also because if you are making someone somewhere upset with this, then they will likely retaliate in the ways you are being encumbered with here and now. The subtle notes in your office might be evidence of this, or it may not.
i appreciate the advice. you may have thought that since im a social worker i get things in writing all the time but i have a general job description nothing else
as for the 'good" that is the lowest rating you can get on an eval. anything lower than good has to be explained further by the supervisor. i think its a good idea it avoids being inflammatory towards the employee when the employer can't really get any evidence to say anything bad
nobody actually knows im avoiding the dinners to be a ***ck its just that ive come to physically dislike employee group activities. co workers in these environments can be dysfunctional and when i have attended in the past i have often felt like a tag along and that i didn't fit in because in these venues my role that i play at work evaporates. interactions are frustrating like radio static. one co worker talks to me just to make convo and if i respond she suddenly cuts me off. others make facetious faces when i pass by. its sickening. and i just cannot stand to be around that medical secretary. she tries to say the "right" things but ends up embarrassing me (not intentionally) and feeling emasculated. she has very poor boundaries and i don't like her playing host. shes like a female Archie Bunker. its like, precisely just what is my role here??
you know if this was hosted by our medical director who formally asked us to go I probably would go. instead i dislike the scattershot invitation of "so and so wants us to go". using lay people with character disorders to invite people. to functions. this has often led to trouble. often these "invitations" are merely just an excuse to collect $$$. i was "invited" to a party in one of the worst areas of The Bronx possibly in the nation. i was horrified that someone would even consider bringing co workers into that area and of course there was an "admission fee" to be paid. just total recklessness.
the "note" may have been the invitations that were left on my desk. i found them when i returned after my 2 days off.
i may also be in a bad mood in general and i may be personalizing this a little too much . im taking steroids which are raising my blood sugar into the 300's. hi sugars can make you more irritable and paranoid. my doc is lowering the 'roids doses because my cancer treatment will be ending next week. its just been a cranky rough time and i only have patience for co workers who don't provoke me
my current supervisor got a promo to associate exec director he has the same degree and credentials as i do. he works closely with the acting exec director who used to bully me when he was climbing the ladder. he no longer does that now. our former director resigned due to sexual harrassment allegations. he didn't give a whit if i didn't attend those functions
what worries me is that he may be putting pressure on my supervisor or med secy for me to attend tho i seriously doubt he would choose to focus on me, someone who he has utter contempt for, with all he has on his plate
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