To think as a volunteer you shouldn't be spoken to like crap.

[user1472333009]

I've volunteer at a homeless place in winter for 4 years & really enjoy it.
Last night I was mopping up when the manger asked me why I was using that mop, apparently its only used for toilets, I had no idea. She followed it up with "you're spreading shite everywhere" this was said across a room in front of all the other elderly volunteers. I got my coat & left feeling very humiliated & upset.
This woman has a been quite abrupt with me a few time now but I've let it go

I definitely won't be going back to volunteer & it's put me off a wonderful place that does such good. One of their main things is promoting & encouraging confidence growth which i suffer with & this hasn't helped.

Surely you should be nice to volunteers or anyone!

Should I email her bosses & tell them or leave it.

I think this is quite serious because there doesn't seem to be proper training in place. Just because you're working in a voluntary capacity, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't be trained and briefed properly.
The manager didn't seem to think it was her responsibility to brief you about how to do your role, and this again suggests that she hasn't been trained in her management position. (She was also bullying you)
My friend does voluntary work and she had a few days of training first.

Sorry, I didn't answer your question. Yes I would email her bosses and ask about training, person spec, etc. As to your manager's behaviour, I would ask for the policy which details how managers should treat staff I wonder if they have one You'd be doing them a favour to point this out to them, in my view.

From what you've written you seem over sensitive and quite childish leaving like that. The adult thing to do would have been to finish the shift, have a wordifferent with the woman who spoke to you about the mop saying that you felt humiliated and gone from there.

You don't sound childish OP. And you are an adult.

Tell em to stick it. That manager will soon struggle without volunteers, who (in my opinion) should be treated with greater respect than paid employees.

She humiliated you. You should definitely email her boss. She shouldn't be speaking to anyone like.

Of course you should be nive to volunteers they should be treated with the same respect any member of staff should be treated with.
I’m chair of the PTA at our school and the headmistress treats us like absolute shit it feels like she is actively trying to put people off of giving their time. I don’t blame you for leaving if I wasn’t so worried about the lack of resources at the school I’d have resigned long ago too!

YANBU

volunteers still need to be trained, you can’t just throw people into a role and expect them to know everything.

I was at a scout jamboree last year so all the thousands of adults there were volunteers. They ended up having to put signs up in the staff catering reminding these adult volunteers not to verbally abuse the (mostly 16-19 year old girls) volunteer catering staff. You’d think being volunteers, people would know better than to abuse other volunteers, but apparently not.

Not childish at all,I wouldn't have been happy either!Volunteers give their time for free and deserve to be respected and appreciated!

Red OP has stated she has confidence issues so approaching the manager is something she would have struggled with.

The manager definitely sounds like she needs training in terms of her approach. She could have stopped at “you’re using the wrong mop” (and like hell you’d be spreading shite everywhere you don’t clean the inside of the toilet with mops, and they should be properly cleaned anyway!).

I would definitely email her now expressing your views and that you’re considering leaving despite you’re long service. She may offer an apology (had a bad day?). Has she spoken to you in this way before?

Did you get a volunteer agreement,role description, and basic training? Thee are legal issues around volunteering that have to be adhered to and no volunteer should be treated like that. Definitely make an approach to senior management. It's horrible.

Heslerton, no, she's never said not to use that mop. That's what upset me most. I told her twice I had no Idea & she still went on. I even asked another long term volunteer who said it was fine.

Could you not have said “oh, ok. Which one should I be using?”

Yes, they should be nice to volunteers (I volunteer for a charity myself so have experience), and as pp has said, they should offer training in correct procedure where relevant. But walking out and not going back after four years involvement sounds an extreme reaction under the circumstances.

Yes, email the relevant person and ask for some training and mention that you would like to see any policy documents they have on management of volunteers. Please don’t give up on this over something so minor. Use this experience to support your own confidence building and personal development. We all have to deal with difficult people and situations in life.

Yanbu and you don't sound childish.

I think you're being over- sensitive.
The manager could have been less abrupt, but in the scheme of things, what she said was true. The only objectionable part is use of the word white, but would you have felt differently if she'd used the word faeces in stead? I don't think so.
More training g might be useful, but you can't realistically expect to have training to cover every situation. Sometimes in life you will be doing things wrong, you will be told not to do it - at least you were told why- and you can't just walk out every time you are embarrassed that you didn't know something.

The lady shouldn’t be talking to anyone like and needs training.

I would email and explain in the work place she should have spoken politely and this isn’t acceptable behaviour

If a manager told me off in front of others I would be well within my rights to put in a grievance as it’s not appropriate behaviour. It’s nit a case of being over sensitive, it’s nit allowed as it’s shameful.

I had a similar situation when I was doing work experience as a teaching assistant in a primary school.

The main teacher said I was doing great - really helping with 1-1 literary and numeracy. However, the other class teacher basically took me as a slave, constantly running to printer for her, speaking to me like I was a child, undermining everything I said about my goals for when I finished college, not letting me have my breaks making me tidy up on them.

When I left a complained about her. X

I got my coat & left feeling very humiliated & upset.

Were you due to leave at that particular point or did you walk out as a result of what was said?

I certainly would raise the point about the manager’s attitude and lack of training with the organisation.

But I also think your response of instantly downing tools and quitting after 4 happy years over one - relatively minor - incident is a bit extreme.

((((Hugs)))))))) user1472333009

An No, you aren't being oversensitive

I'd have told her to shove the mop where the sun don't shine!

I think you handled this very well.
its true some people would have answered her but you couldn't so you did the best thing for you and that was remove yourself.
Hopefully she will see that that is no way to speak to anybody.
And yes file a complaint in case she doesn't get it.

The way she spoke to you wasn't professional. It wasn't respectful, and I can see why you felt humiliated.

Having said that, I do think you are being sensitive. Surely it would be better to raise this with the appropriate person (HO, volunteer manager for instance?) rather than throw in the towel and miss out on a role you enjoy and which is valuable to the community.