It didn't feel particularly good at the time
...but looking back it was undoubtedly the right thing to do.

II used to work at a care home for mentally handicapped people with challenging behavior. Not the most PC of sentences, but you get the idea.

My Dad was the manager, and he did a fucking good job. I am proud to say that his people skills were excellent, and he had a real rapport with the staff. He listened, he smiled a lot, and most importantly, he actually cared.

You'll have to excuse the sketchiness of the next paragraph. I'm not 100% on the details, but be assured it is true and it's enough to make my point.

Overnight the company changed hands. This was done without my Dad knowing. They had planned to get rid of him for ages, presumably because he was spending too much money, in their view. This new company ran the place like a business, not a care home, and within a week or so my Dad was made redundant. He did have a shot at a court case but a lot of official feet dragging made him miss some sort of deadline that made the case void.

The staff were up in arms, and were extremely hostile to the new management. Demands for my Dad to get his job back were ignored, even laughed at. To this, the staff threatened a walk out, which never happened.

I left pretty much immediately, because the place was falling to pieces. I don't think I went through any proper channels, either. I just...left. I remember one of the new managers trying to ask me something and I just looked at them, and the expression on my face must've said it all, because they fell silent and walked away.

None of the staff had the balls to stand up to them in the end, no formal complaints were given, basically after my Dad bent over backwards to make his staff happy, no-one helped him. He's never been the same since.

So I left.

Things are a bit better now, his new job on a building site has toughened him up lots and he's lost his flab, but financially we're not half as well off.

Apologies for the lack of cheer...
(oneltrchardonnay, Sat 24 May 2008, 15:43, 1 reply)

I hate it when this happens.
While not a care home, I once worked in a company that was taken over by new management who seemed to be unaware of the low staff morale. The old management were terrible managers but at least they tried to keep spirits up - even if they did it badly (before they fucked off and resigned).
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Sat 24 May 2008, 17:26, closed)