Beautiful service to the community, god-awful as an employer
Pros
It was a pleasure and honor to assist clients and patients with the many facets of their needs. I have always found work in the social service field to be so rewarding. LIAAC provides individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS with so many vital services, covering the spectrum from initial testing to end care support.
Cons
It was a surprise, after knowing the valuable work that LIAAC does in the community, when I began my employment there. It was as if the organization was run by a group of OCD individuals, and the micro-management was at the most bizarre level I have ever witnessed. Employees from one area were afraid to have lunch with employees from another area, because they may not be in the same position grade, and believe it or not, you would get disciplined if you did this: both parties would be accused of fraternizing. Heaven forbid you sat at the same lunch table as a supervisor! Eventually, to avoid getting into any lunch time trouble, I resorted to eating in my car, which the majority of other case workers did as well: better lonely than written up! On another occasion, it was a well liked employee's birthday. We were not allowed to get her a birthday card; there are no cakes, socializing, cards, etc allowed. This is all considered "unprofessional" and "fraternizing." Someone better tell the rest of Corporate America. One day I was spoken to for having a 3 minute conversation, where I asked someone how their daughter was doing. The social restrictions were strange enough. There was also a very strict dress code that was quite bizarre. You could wear regular closed shoes, or open toe with closed back, or sling back shoes but then they had to have a closed toe - ok? No slapping of the shoe back up to your foot, or there would be big trouble. No deodorant, no body lotion, no perfume - ok, I get the perfume, the clients can be sensitive to that. You could wear nail polish, but only certain neutral colors which the powers that be were ok with. One girl had her own little version of rebellion: she painted her toes blue and wore closed shoes to hide them. Our clothing was dictated, and under inspection from your supervisor at all times. Finally one day, I was called in to HR, and let go, I was told it "wasn't a good fit." Not poor performance, not some bizarre infraction or unknown violation, but "not a good fit." I had incurred a migraine three weeks prior that would not go away. The day after I was let go for the "not good fit" I woke up with no trace of the headache. They get away with this by recruiting young people right out of college. These kids are so eager to do well, and have little to no other work experience to compare this dysfunctional management style with, so they adapt well and come to believe that this is a normal work environment. The culture is controlling and oppressive.
