[ad_1]
Background: I’m in consulting. Because of covid many state agencies have launched call centers they couldn’t staff so they outsource to consulting firms. I’m currently working for a state DOL handling their pandemic unemployment program. This is my first time doing any call center work and I’m just waiting for my next project. This isn’t an interesting story I just need to vent.
So I get a call from a guy whose benefits are on hold because he was working part time and then was fired. Any time a situation like this occurs, standard practice by state DOL is to pause the benefits while they review the case. Review times are ridiculously long at the moment because pandemic, but there’s nothing I can do about this.
The situation has been explained to this man multiple times, I reiterate and educate him on additional assistance programs at his disposal. He requests a supervisor, so I reach out to my supervisor knowing they will tell this man the same thing.
While waiting for my supervisor’s response, I can hear his girlfriend Sobbing in the background about how they need money. He then makes a comment about how I don’t “give a fuck if his baby starves” or if they become homeless, and that I probably just “sit on my ass drinking coffee all day”. Eventually I transfer him because my supervisor is unavailable and then hold back tears on my next call before ultimately putting myself in break to furiously smoke a cigarette and write this.
Holy shit though, I hate this job. I get that the guy is frustrated and there are 10373839 problems with the system and he’s desperate right now, but it’s so unfair to put that baggage and accusations of apathy on me. I FUCKING HATE HAVING TO TELL PEOPLE THAT ARE STRUGGLING THAT I CAN’T HELP THEM. THIS SHIT WEIGHS ON MY CONSCIOUS AND MY MENTAL HEALTH HAS BEEN A MESS BECAUSE OF WORKING THIS PROJECT. I don’t take any sort of delight in telling people that there’s nothing I can do. Just ugh. There’s nothing else to this story, I’m just trying to pull myself together before I go back to taking calls. Thanks for reading :/
[ad_2]
