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Part-time box lifter, full-time lazy bastard. Sometimes I pretend to go to college.Age:
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Translucent0313Member Since:
March 12, 2006Answers:
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about
re-lo.I am a blunt, cynical, nerdy nymphomaniac, incapable of shutting my mouth (partially due to chromosomal content). On several past occasions, I've managed to convince someone that my IQ was larger than my breast size, but my general intelligence and comprehension capabilities waver somewhere between a waffle cone and a gerbil.
I know nothing about everything, in stark contrast to poncy intellectuals everywhere, but I can maintain a pleasant facade of knowledge in these categories: alternative lifestyles, (alternative) sexuality and culture, embarrassing nuances of human behavior, grammar, dorkiness, makeup (I wear a shit ton), ancient cultures, art, mental illnesses, body modification.
advice
I've been working with this one company for about 5 months now. My 3 month probation is over and I'm in the union now. It's quite a large store; it has grocery and clothing and everything else. Anyways; I havent been very happy there for a long time. For one thing it's only 20 hours a week and pays minimum wage. My supervisor can be extremely moody. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around her. In the past she has yelled at me. She also gave me crap for signing out 1 minute early once and warned if I did it again she'd deduct 15 minutes off my pay. She was being nice to me yesterday but then threw in a dig. She told me she had been hearing I havent been putting my garbage away after putting out stock. This wasnt true. She was really mean about the way she said it too.
I don't think anyone in my department is happy; everyone has been really grumpy lately. All I know is that I show up for work and give it my best. I've never phoned in sick; have covered for others, and I'm pleasant to everyone. I think for the ammount of effort I put in for a minimum wage part time job far exceeds the ammount of respect I'm getting. I'm sure I could find a better job that treats me nicer.
Does anyone have any advice for me?
I was in a job for 3 years that I hated exponentially more every day. It really was the little things that got me- my manager treating me like a child, subtle digs on my performance (which was in no way sub-par), lies or rumors being taken as truth by management, being paid too little, having too much expected of me (picking up extra hours and overtime was expected, and you were punished if you chose not to), etc. There wasn't anything huge, but the low-grade mental anxiety really screwed me up over time. It has been scientifically proven that anxiety affects your health in a negative way. When I finished school and began working full time, I started getting sick more often, angry without provocation and extremely depressed while thinking about/at work. I finally quit about 3 months ago, and, while it was scary (I was dumb and didn't find another job first) it was a really great feeling. I have 2 jobs that I love now, in which I'm treated equally, paid enough, and the expectations are reasonable. Honestly, you're too young to live with that much crap for minimum wage. I say get out of there. I swear it'll be like a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders. Even if you don't have a ton of experience, there are MANY jobs that pay more than minimum wage. Try places like the help wanted ads or google "jobs" to find some in your area.
I will tell you that working retail is synonymous with having pissed off bosses that resent the fact that they're powerless and take it out on the employees. The only way to avoid it is to look for work in which you're not constantly supervised.
What skills do you have? What hobbies do you have? If you like books, try a book store; art, art store. What would you like to learn about? My friend ended up working in a game store (he didn't know ANYTHING about games until then) and it was incredibly fun and informative. Don't ignore obvious jobs, ex: babysitting or being a lifeguard at a pool. Almost everyone can handle kids or swim, and they both pay more than minimum wage. Or if you're going to get a minimum wage job and there's no other option, try to make sure it has other benefits that make up for that, like a really big discount or free merchandise or something. For example, working at a theater means you get to see all of the movies free. Sometimes seasonal work pays more, has more flexible hours and doesn't insist that you stay there forever. Don't be afraid to get another job if you dislike one- you have more options than you think, especially at your age, and you'll be happier in the long run. Hope this helps.
p.s. Trust me, get another job before you quit this one. Not only will you have a more continuous job history, but you won't be as stressed out about money coming in.
(Rating: 5) Wow, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who feels this way. I'm thinking about what you said about working at the theatre. I LOVE movies. I think I'll take your advice and just quitly start handing out my resumes before I quit my job. I really don't think I'm cut out for retail.
Thankyou for your great advice, it really has helped me!