I work in a somewhat specialized role, which has led me to be in the position of working regular hours at an office, but I’m actually employed by a third-party staffing agency specializing in my role. The role I’m in is experiencing a shortage of qualified people, so it’s easier for offices to use third-party staffing agencies than to hire for themselves.
This arrangement has been largely positive. I get along with all of my “coworkers” and “managers” at the office, and I am treated like an employee when it comes to events such as staff lunches or Christmas gift exchanges. However, there are some key differences between me and the office’s regular employees, which will become apparent later in the story.
I have been working at the office for about three years when the manager who is generally considered to be my direct supervisor decides to retire. A new manager is hired, and fairly soon after, he starts implementing changes. Because I work through the staffing agency, I don’t immediately notice any of these changes, but I hear my “coworkers” complaining about them often enough to know the basics.
But one day, there’s a new bank of lockers in the break room, which is tough to ignore. Apparently, employees were assigned lockers, and they are now required to keep their phones and other personal belongings in their lockers while on the clock. I was never assigned a locker because I don’t work for the office, and even if I was given a locker, I use certain apps through the staffing agency as part of my job, so I can’t give up my phone.
About a week after the lockers are installed, the manager sees me on my phone.
Manager: “[My Name], why are you using your phone?”
Me: “I’m looking at [information for my job].”
Manager: “All personal items, including cell phones, are supposed to be in your locker.”
Me: “I don’t have a locker. As far as I understand, they were assigned based on your payroll information, and I don’t get paid by [office] because I work for [Staffing Agency].”
The manager hesitates for a bit before responding.
Manager: “Well… you should keep your phone in your car, then.”
Me: “I can’t. I need [apps] for work because that’s what [Staffing Agency] uses. Without access to those apps, I literally can’t do my job.”
Manager: “It’s not fair to the other employees who have to put their phones away if they see you on your phone all day.”
Me: “Then maybe you should rethink your plan to take their phones away?”
The manager grumbles to himself for a bit before walking away. I later hear that he went to the office’s Human Resources staff to try to complain about me, but because I don’t work for the office, HR obviously couldn’t do anything about it.
A few weeks later, there’s another incident. I’ve decided to take a short vacation and have filed it with the staffing agency accordingly. The next day, I tell the manager at the office about it so he’s aware.
Me: “Hey, [Manager], just so you’re aware, I’m going on vacation between [date #1] and [date #2]. If you need someone to cover for me, [Staffing Agency] can probably get someone reassigned from another office, but I’m not working on anything super critical, so I think you’ll be okay.”
Manager: “I don’t think we can do that. [Employee #1] and [Employee #2] both requested that week off already, so we’ll need you here.”
Me: “[Employee #1] and [Employee #2] don’t have anything to do with my job, so their being gone at the same time isn’t relevant at all.”
Manager: “I meant we’ll need you to cover for them.”
Me: “I have absolutely no training to even think about covering their positions. And besides, I don’t work for you.”
Manager: “I’m going to deny your vacation because I need you here.”
Me: “You have literally zero control over my vacation time. I don’t work for you; I work for [Staffing Agency]. They’ve already approved it, so that’s all that matters.”
Manager: “You’re not very dedicated to this job, are you? First your phone, now this… Maybe we need to reconsider your employment here.”
Me: “You know what? Maybe we should. You need me in this position a lot more than I need you. I can talk to [Staffing Agency] about getting reassigned to a different office, and that’ll solve both of our problems.”
Manager: “Hold on. We need someone working on the projects you do for us.”
Me: “Right. And if you lose me, how long do you think it will be before [Staffing Agency] can find a permanent replacement for me if I tell them that I refuse to work here because of your attempts at mistreating me?”
Manager: “…”
Me: “Do you see what I mean now? I’m willing to cooperate and keep working here, but you have to realize that you literally have no power. You can either lose me for a week when I’m on vacation — which isn’t going to hurt you that much anyway because, like I said, there’s nothing super critical right now — or you can lose me forever, and who knows how long it’ll take before you get a replacement?”
Manager: “Fine. Enjoy your vacation.”
Ever since this second incident, the manager has generally backed off some of his controlling policies — not just against me but against his actual employees, too. For example, storing phones and personal belongings in the lockers is now “optional” rather than required, and employees are allowed to keep their phones on them as long as they don’t waste time playing games or surfing social media or anything while they’re on the clock.
Apparently, enough employees were inspired by me standing up to him that they decided to threaten to quit as well, and he realized that it’s better to treat employees like humans instead of cattle.
