Hey guys, I just realised I never got around to posting about this!
Okay, so I'm always on here reading about the bad things that happen at work, and so I thought maybe it was time to hear a good thing or two! I work for a large retail company in Australia and I finally came out to everyone a couple of months ago.
I was originally hired on a three month contract over Christmas, and so hearing all of the horror stories I didn't want to give the company a reason to cease my employment at the end of my contract, so I thought I'd suck it up and just not tell anyone, which was pretty difficult for me, as I don't believe I need to be in a closet about these sort of things. Well anyway, reading through their policies I discovered that transgender people are specifically covered, and after a long period of debate and having my employment extended and made official, I decided I couldn't take any more of the bonkers-making references to my womanhood... and blew up at everyone about being trans.
Holy crap, everyone was fine. In fact, my store manager said that if I didn't mind she'd tell the higher ups, so that she could make sure the company was aware that these situations crop up, and that her replacement (she was leaving) was to be someone who would deal with my situation appropriately. She asked if there was anything else I wanted, and I requested that I have the 'Miss' taken off of my payslips (I went into the job with my male name all legal). It turns out that the filing system we use
needs to put some type of title in there, so they changed it to 'non'. Which is not amazing...but definitely better than it was.
Skip down the track about a month, and I was made a keyholder, and then put into management training. Our national manager (Boss Of Everything! -quakes in boots-) came to my city and told my boss that he wanted a meeting with me, to 'talk about [my] future'. Anyways, the guy was great and we had a pretty straight forward conversation about my roll at the store and why I wanted to become management, then fifteen minutes later we were done and he was moving on. I was later told by my store manager that he hadn't known my circumstances at the time, but that she had told him and he was cool with it.
Skip ahead a week and I was working with another store's assistant manager (who is a good friend of mine and understands everything), when he turned to me and laughingly said 'You confused the hell out of [national manager], it was hilarious!' And I said 'Really?' He nodded and went, 'We were in a meeting the other day and he said "Max is a good gir-boy! Ugh..person?" and I cracked up and said "Max is a boy."'
I just kind of stood there in shock. This man has had to meet dozens of people like me, lowly little cogs in the greater wheel, and met me for a mere
fifteen minutes on a routine check in, a week later he's talking to other people
when I'm not even present, and he's stumbling over pronouns in an attempt to get it right.
Jesus.
Good people
do exist, and they
do run companies, and you
can be treated fairly and correctly in the workplace.
I now believe it, so I hope you guys can too.
