What's Going on with Everyone's Lives

[Dukect45]

Well its been a long while since I posted here but I bring good news I'm close to having a New job so wish me luck

[Madner Kami]

Well its been a long while since I posted here but I bring good news I'm close to having a New job so wish me luck

Good luck, mate. May your route lead you, where you'd like to be

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Well its been a long while since I posted here but I bring good news I'm close to having a New job so wish me luck

edit: good luck!

[Madner Kami]

Well its been a long while since I posted here but I bring good news I'm close to having a New job so wish me luck

edit: good luck!

I prefered your unedited reply. Made you look more like the MAGA-guy you seem to mutate into recently.

[ProfessorDetective]

Work is being an obstacle.

Long/short: I'm closing dishwasher/stocker/janitor for the Panera in town.

My hours are being cut back (from six a shift to five/four, depending on the day. $12/hour, four shifts a week. Oh, and they often insist on me taking my unpaid thirty minute breaks AND try to push me out the door a full half-hour early). So my pay and time to complete my work is decreasing.

The morning shift is ALSO being cut back, so the dining room/back-of-house is going essentially unmanned for two-to-three hours before I come in, meaning I have to run major amounts of catch up at the start of every shift. So my workload is increasing.

And NOW the manager for most of my shifts is beginning to micromanage me. Thinks soaking ALL of the dishes for long periods and running each rack through the machine before setting up another one will make the process "faster". So, my workflow is being (purposefully?) bottlenecked.

Oh, and when I brought all of this up, he all but told me to deal with it. Profit margins are just too thin. Regional won't give us the man hours. Looked at me like I was complaining that I had to actually WORK for my wages. "Doesn't matter if it's one dish or a hundred..."

Then he had the gall to tell me to be more positive, I was bringing down everyone's mood. Everyone else is seeing my situation and is SYMPATHIZING with me, while lamenting their OWN lost hours and gained work. It ain't ME killing the vibes.

And the GM, who actually DOES listen to me, is barely around, anymore.

Nearly six years of loyal, consistent, service, for THIS. Willing and able to work and they practically won't LET me. Squeezed for every drop, hamstrung at every turn. The ship feels like it's taking on water.

My savings are dwindling, my expenses are rising, my stress is bubbling up. So, I am putting in applications.

I wonder how long they'll last without me covering their backsides?

[Madner Kami]

I wonder how long they'll last without me covering their backsides?

Longer than you'd expect, but not as long as they would like to. Thing is, you're replaceable and even if you're not: It's not on you to save the company single-handedly. You ain't being paid for that. You get paid to wash dishes/stock up/janitorize. If you wanted to save the company, you should get into management. And yes, I know where you are, because I am precisely where you are, too. I see things going wrong, I try to fix them the best I can, while trying to handle 5 different tasks (two of which not being part of your job-contract) with just enough time to maybe finish 2 of them, if nothing goes wrong. The error we're both making is: This is not on us. This is not our fault. And, most importantly, the company doesn't deserve us trying to break physics and ruining our bodies and mind in the process. We. Ain't. Getting. Paid. For. That. You work to support your lifestyle monetarilly and that's it.
Ideally you'll want to work in some field where you can throw yourself at the work and still have fun while giving 150% every day. But until you get there: Don't throw yourself at someone who pays you 50% to do 200% and then chews you out for breaking down after not having enough food and sleep for months. If more people (and I am not excluding myself here) would act accordingly, this wouldn't be as much of a widespread problem as it is, because companies like that would not find any workers that gave a damn about keeping their job for longer than a month and consequentially vanish from the market, leaving behind a void that could be filled with a better employer.

Until then, just keep in mind: You're selling your time, they are buying your time. You are not selling your soul and if they are shit when it comes to time-management, it's solely their fault.

[ProfessorDetective]

I wonder how long they'll last without me covering their backsides?

Longer than you'd expect, but not as long as they would like to. Thing is, you're replaceable and even if you're not: It's not on you to save the company single-handedly. You ain't being paid for that. You get paid to wash dishes/stock up/janitorize. If you wanted to save the company, you should get into management. And yes, I know where you are, because I am precisely where you are, too. I see things going wrong, I try to fix them the best I can, while trying to handle 5 different tasks (two of which not being part of your job-contract) with just enough time to maybe finish 2 of them, if nothing goes wrong. The error we're both making is: This is not on us. This is not our fault. And, most importantly, the company doesn't deserve us trying to break physics and ruining our bodies and mind in the process. We. Ain't. Getting. Paid. For. That. You work to support your lifestyle monetarilly and that's it.

You'd be surprised on that replaceability. They've been trying to get folks to properly cover the morning shift for YEARS, but mostly find good-for-nothings who do just enough to look busy, until I come in and start pointing out the holes in their work. They then get fed-up or burned-out. The catch-up issues has been LONG-term ones, but I've managed... until they started giving me less time to work and them less time to even make a token effort...

Like, I got something resembling respect from management. "He's always on-time, always on-task, always willing to get it done RIGHT." They'd sing my praises, fight for some kind of raises, and genuinely listen to my complaints. But they're mostly gone now. Regional is exerting more control and the new guy is in lockstep with them.

Ideally you'll want to work in some field where you can throw yourself at the work and still have fun while giving 150% every day. But until you get there: Don't throw yourself at someone who pays you 50% to do 200% and then chews you out for breaking down after not having enough food and sleep for months. If more people (and I am not excluding myself here) would act accordingly, this wouldn't be as much of a widespread problem as it is, because companies like that would not find any workers that gave a damn about keeping their job for longer than a month and consequentially vanish from the market, leaving behind a void that could be filled with a better employer.

Yeah, I'd love to be able to just tunnel vision into ONE task for the whole shift, preferably with a video essay/audio drama in my ear.

Either stay at the sink, working through the pile, or patrolling the dining room, topping everything up and wiping everything down.

But they were NEVER willing to split the position into two, even before the buyout and this recent bout of crunch.

I've got an app pending for the Food City and one for the Cinemark Multiplex. Loading up shelves? Sweeping up popcorn? I think those would fit me better, if the pay is decent and the hours are consistent.

Until then, just keep in mind: You're selling your time, they are buying your time. You are not selling your soul and if they are shit when it comes to time-management, it's solely their fault.

Quite right. Thanks.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

That's rough, buddy. I imagine things at Panera are getting worse because of the private equity firm. They always do. I hope you can find a better position and land on your feet.

[ProfessorDetective]

That's rough, buddy. I imagine things at Panera are getting worse because of the private equity firm. They always do. I hope you can find a better position and land on your feet.

Wait, HAVE we been private equity'd? I've had my suspicions, but haven't dug into it, yet.

Oh... Oh, no...

https://www.thenation.com/article/econo ... apitalism/

I REALLY need to bail, soon.

[Madner Kami]

I REALLY need to bail, soon.

Yeah, quite right. Private equity, the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. I wonder if this will ever even once be the moment where a company improves, rather than being violently milked for the last penny until it and their employees are strangled to death.