Retail

[Guest_25216256]

Not sure where to put this so I hope Depression is okay.

I’m sick of being stuck in this job.

I’ve been working at a big company’s department store for three years now when this job was meant to be a ‘while I look for something better so I can make money in the meantime’ job - needless to say, job hunting hasn’t gone well, and it feels like I’m going to be stuck here forever.

I don’t mind my immediate coworkers - they’re friendly enough. We don’t have anything in common beyond the job (I’m a twenty-one year old closeted transmasc amongst middle aged women), so naturally we aren’t particularly close or anything; which is fine. I like the manager we have in the later half of the week too, she’s nice. But that’s it. It’s not ‘good’, but the only not-bad part of it really. Aside from getting paid I guess.

The job I (and my immediate coworkers) do is essentially tidying and putting returned stock out. It’s also meant to be organising stock (i.e: putting an arm of shirts in S->M->L->XL etc), but more on that later. We also do customer service & price checks.

It honestly feels like nothing I do here is ever good enough. I’ve been told I’m a part of the ‘strong team’ for our half (clothing half), but that’s where the praise ends. I run around like a headless chicken every shift to try and make sure I get all the returns back onto the floor, the tables are folded & everything is in it’s correct place/nothing is on the ground (which would be natural if this was only happening at this time of year, Christmas leadup - but it’s been all year). I don’t take any of my fifteen minute breaks - and I’ve started skipping the thirty minute ones I’m entitled to when my shifts expand beyond the mere 4 hours I usually get.

I haven’t sized since before the Christmas rush last year. I haven’t had time. The year prior to last year, after Christmas - when it’d quieted down, we had a fair amount of people on (minimum three - our half of the floor is best split into three) and had decent hours for shifts (always at least four) which allowed us to catch up on all the stock to put back out & fix sizing. We had a new guy start doing the rosters last year, and consequentially when the store quieted down - he cut us down to as little as he could and we couldn’t catch up. During the quieter parts of this year, we’ve only had two people on, both for the minimum time you can roster on (three hours), meaning each had to now do 1.5 of the work prior within a measly three hours. Of course, it was simply impossible to do sizing as well as regular tidying & folding as this is done while we’re still open. 

Yesterday, a manager who’d recently come back from a month off was complaining about the lack of sizing - which beyond being annoying for the fact I, and my coworkers really don’t have the time for it, is also annoying in the fact that she didn’t notice this prior to her time away. Nor has anyone else complained about it. My shift was four hours long yesterday and I still didn’t manage to even finish my section without doing sizing, without any fifteen minute break. Yet this is the same manager who will tell me I need to take my fifteens. Which one is it? Do you want me to take the break? Or do I need to work harder? Because even though I put everything into trying to get everything done I just can’t? I run around with my stomach cramping from hunger on my longer shifts, my left hip/knee randomly acting up sometimes (I don’t have any actual problems, I’m not with a disability - my hip joint just kind of feels like I’ve pinched a nerve/knee aches sometimes), forgoing even drinking from the water bottle I bring because I don’t even feel as if I have time for that … and my work is still poor? But also oh I should take care of myself? It can’t be both. It’s not possible.

Not to mention how pleasant (sarcasm) customers are. But that’s to be expected so.

I’m sorry this is a whole lot of whining I’m just sick of it, really. I don’t need to be lathered in praise from my managers, but I’d like some form of appreciation … some acknowledgement. And also to get a new, more enjoyable job.

[ABC01]

Hi Guest,

By law you are entitled to and should take these breaks, whether you have too much work or not. That isn't your problem. The workload isn't your issue,but the managers and their managers. Or else it will lead to loss in job satisfaction or a risk of developing health issues that can lead to a burnout.

You are doing the best that you can. If they need to hire Superheros to get all the work done, then they need to do that and good luck finding them, because they don't exist. If you have to work overtime, then they need to pay you for it. And if they don't like it, tough. This pattern should show them that they need to hire extra staff to get the job, that they want done. That isn't your fault or your responsibility.

Take your breaks, eat your food and definitely drink water. If your hip/knee does turn into a more problematic issue, your management aren't going to care about that. If you have to stop working because you physically can't anymore, they also aren't going to care about that either. You have a signed contract of employment. I know it sounds negative, but don't go above what your job states. You won't be praised for it and recognized either. It is the harsh reality. And if you keep doing it, they will expect you to keep doing it. And for free too. And that isn't fair for you.

Please keep looking for your next job that you feel fits you better. You obviously care about your job and that would make you a great candidate for any employer. Don't worry about venting, we all have had a job like this. And if it gets it off your chest and you feel lighter for it. Good on you.

ABC01

[therising]

The warmest of welcomes to you 🙂

Often it's the employee who suffers through cost cutting measures. While the owners are more than happy with such measures, as these measures can help ensure a profit, the employee/s can suffer in a whole number of ways. They can suffer through added stress/not enough time, suffer through a sense of dissatisfaction (not being able to do a thorough job to their liking), suffer through a sense of anger or injustice, suffer from a lack of breaks and the list goes on. If breaks are partly about giving our nervous system a break from stress, our nervous system can suffer. When our nervous system takes a battering, it can start to scream at us through the side effects or symptoms of too much stress. In this case 'I'm sick of this job' becomes 'I'm sick because of this job'. Throw a 'because' in there and our lack of wellness can begin to make more sense. Btw, completely understandable when it comes to why you don't want to take breaks under current conditions. If the break you take is going to lead to more stress (a further lack of time in competing tasks), this can just add to everything.

With cutting an employee's time in doing a thorough job, it's management who should be facing the consequences. If the store now appears the way it does, this is due to the choice of management. They chose to give you less time to do a thorough job. It can't hurt for management to see what less time for their employees looks like. Take your breaks and let them see the consequences of their choices. Sounds like they may need a bit of a wake up call. Senior management (those responsible for such decisions) tend to blame employees for a lack of productivity or a lack of meeting standards, as they sit back in offices while having no clue when it comes to what their decisions look like and feel like. Hmmm🤔. As my daughter mentions 'Google reviews (from customers) can sometimes reflect management's decisions/choices/changes. This is no reflection on the staff'.

I admire anyone who works with the public, I really do. As a 54yo gal, I haven't worked with the public since I was 20. I found it to be too enraging, too anxiety inducing and even depressing at times. It was not good for my mental health. While there are plenty of great customers out there and some that are even good for a laugh, there are definitely some self entitled ones who feel entitled to treat people any way they'd like. Way too triggering for my liking. I ended up moving into the disability and aged care sectors for a while, amongst other industries. Wondering whether you like the retail industry but not the job your in or you'd like to move into a completely different industry.