Relevant responses from OOP:
Replying to u/Kamenriderfan001(@Size_Master)
- Thank you for sharing this, I can definitely relate to your ex! Your story has given me something to think about. Big-Tiny employment integration efforts have been going for some time (the past decade or so), but at the same time, it still feels pretty new? If that makes sense. I’m aware that there are some protections, especially for tinies, but I’m not very familiar. I just started assuming people would already be doing the right thing, hence why I wondered if maybe I was just overthinking things, or expecting too much. This is also my first full-time office job so I really don’t know what’s “right or wrong”. I can’t afford legal advice, but I will do some research into what my rights are!
Replying to u/RancidMango3223 (@Olo)
- We were very lucky that my country’s isolation let us avoid the MINUS pandemic. I can only imagine what it would be like if I, or any other Tinies got even smaller! Would they even be able to communicate with Bigs at all?? What a strange disease…
I mean, I don’t know about the whole “conspiracy” thing where you are, but Tinies are definitely a reality here (hello!). Though you do sound like you’re one of those anti-Tiny conservatives that picketed the Dean’s office back when I was at university.
Update posted February 15, 2XXX
UPDATE: So on the recommendation of many of you, I started looking into my country’s work laws, worker’s rights and other things. And you were right: they were really similar to your own health and safety laws. Unfortunately, some aren’t as robust, like certain actions that businesses should be doing that are just “guidelines” or “strongly recommended”, like accesses and egresses. I believe there are new laws coming in, but the bills are yet to be passed (I’m also no law expert, so a lot of this is WAY over my head).
But coincidentally, a few days after my original post, the company owner/big boss visited the office. It was a random drop-in apparently, to see how things were going. Despite being given some notice, my manager didn’t give me a heads up, like he didn’t want me to know the big boss was coming in. I only happened to meet the big boss when my “corner office” started shaking and I ran out of there (a habit I developed after the time I broke the window). He was standing so close to it that his next step would have landed right on top of it. He stopped though and was just staring at it. He looked really mad. It’s already scary having a Big towering over you (no, you never get used to it), let alone a very angry one.
I was so terrified that I couldn’t move. I just stared at my small, vague reflection on the toe of his polished boot. Luckily, he turned back at the small crowd of Bigs behind him (my manager being among them) and demanded to know what the “Tiny advisor was doing in a shoebox.” He didn’t give them an opportunity to give their excuses, and told them how deplorable and insulting it was that they were subjecting me to these conditions.
When he looked back at me, I had to stop myself from screaming in fright. But he bent down, offered me his hand and apologised on behalf of the company. He took me aside into a private one-on-one meeting (save for his assistant) and we had a long talk.
It started when he asked me how I was doing. I started answering, slowly first, but then it all just came out. I just talked and didn’t stop. I told him everything I mentioned in my original post, plus more. I even offered to forward the emails I sent to my manager (thank gods that I kept a trail!). I was in tears by the end of it. Big boss listened quietly, but his expressions said a lot (mostly anger). He was really disappointed to find out all of this because, he said, he was genuinely invested in making the company more Tiny-friendly. In fact, he was the one that pushed to have my position created in the first place.
He said that wanted to know how I was going from the beginning, but his schedule had been extremely busy lately and so he had to rely on my manager to keep him informed. Apparently, my manager never gave him my report, or even any updates beyond “oh she’s doing fine”. Also some nonsense about how I was “struggling to settle in”, which I guess wasn’t wrong, but he made it sound like it was my attitude that was the problem. Big boss was actually starting to worry about my apparent lack of progress, but felt that something seemed off. So when time opened up, he decided to drop by and see for himself.
He was probably just being polite, but I really felt heard. He gave me a tissue (I had to tear a corner that I could realistically use) and his finger to hold because I was shaking so much. He stayed with me until I calmed down while his assistant stepped out to make arrangements for my immediate transfer to head office. He told me to take as many days as I needed, and that when I’m back, to let him know and he’ll be the first to greet me at the door. I felt such overwhelming relief that I hugged his finger without thinking. I know it’s probably inappropriate work conduct, but I was just so happy to be out of that place. I don’t care enough about my manager to want to know what will happen to him, so long as I never see that snake again.