I Heard You Kicked Up A Fuss

Bosses/Owners/Managers, Call Center, Editors' Choice, Health & Body, USA, Wisconsin | Working | February 7, 2020

(I work in quality assurance at a call center. I suffer from hyperacusis, which means that my hearing is sharp enough that it actually qualifies as a disability. I even have a letter from my doctor on file, saying that I need sound-cancelling headphones, but for some reason, HR has been dragging their feet about that part. Without them, it’s very hard to filter out what the people on the call are saying from what the people all around are saying. It wasn’t so bad at first, because the company was fairly new and there weren’t that many people in the office. But, as more agents were hired, the ambient noise got worse. I’ve even tried finding some on my own, but there is only one brand that works with the particular system this company used, and they are $400. As if that wasn’t bad enough, after five months, my desk was moved to the section near the elevators and break room, which is the noisiest spot on the whole floor! Several complaints and reminders later, and several occasions where I came in on Saturday or during times when the rest of the staff were gone, just because it was quieter, I still don’t have the headphones. It’s becoming kind of a running joke with the people nearest me, because they can see how frustrating it is. Then, one Wednesday, I arrive at my desk just in time to hear the director — whose office is on the other side of the floor — yelling at someone:)

Director: “WHAT THE H*** WERE YOU THINKING?! NO, GET OUT! YOU’RE FIRED! GET YOUR STUFF AND GO!”

Me: *IM-ing one of the assistant managers, whose desk is closest to the director’s office* “Who just got fired?”

Assistant Manager: “Somebody just got fired?”

Me: “Yeah, I could hear [Director] yelling.”

Assistant Manager: “I didn’t hear a thing.”

Me: “It sounded pretty bad!”

Assistant Manager: “His door is closed. You can hear him from there?”

(The special headphones arrived the next day.)

This story is part of our Invisible Disability roundup!