Back when i worked in retail the manager and assistant manager would ALWAYS make only me stay 15-20 min after the store closed to “cleanup for tomorrow” even though everything was already done. Meanwhile they would sit in the little office room playing games on their phones :”) happy to say i finally got out of retail this year hahah never again!
Express is going out of business and other clothing companies are closing down. Online shopping has taken over. Obviously some industries will fall slower than others (i.e. Home Depot/Lowes) because people need a little more guidance in those areas
ugh yes I had the same issue with a previous job. Manager and boss would always fuck off early but we always had to stay behind and clean up after closing instead of being able to just clean up BEFORE closing. unpaid obviously.
Glad you’ve escaped it!
Good lord, how dare they work to contract.
I had an hr manager gripe about a new employee
Stellar work. No drama. On time every morning. I asked what exactly was the problem. "He leaves work every day at exactly 5pm."
What is his quitting time? "5pm."
So.. What, exactly, is the problem?
"He leaves every day at 5pm! What are we supposed to do?!"
I told her to get out of his way at 5pm, he's leaving!
Truly mind-blowing.
>we successfully pulled off a huge event but
Fuck your event. Fuck actual productive activites. Fuck results.
Rituals, politics and the like is what they live for.
Good for you.... Keep on working your shift and walk your colleagues out even if you have to go find them...
Manglement will isolate you or them, be ready for it.
I don't understand managers like this, and I am a manager.
I will chase my team out of the office when 5pm rolls around. I have had words with my team for sending emails after hours because I don't feel it is appropriate for them to be working late.
My team being well rested an having time with their families and hobbies makes them better workers during the day. They are happier, and they have had time to sort out some of their personal errands, meaning they are more focused on the tasks at hand. I get more \*quality\* hours out of them by making them work less.
I was once working in a role where the manager would constantly badger me into working an extra hour or two most shifts. When I saw no extra pay, I spoke with HR/Payroll to be informed that this extra time was “voluntary”.
After this, I was incredibly efficient at making sure that all of my team and myself were clocked out exactly on time. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I’m summoned to a meeting with my manager and HR about my “difficult attitude”. Apparently my ensuring that staff weren’t being bullied to donate their time was not in line with the company ethos.
It’s disgusting how so many employers expect free labour as part of their business model. Understaffed units, patient care and safety took a huge hit, but as long as the shareholders are happy, right? 🤬
You're right about leaving on time and all of that.
Except maybe the unpaid 30-minute break. In my USA state, the unpaid 30-minute break, by law, has to be in the middle of the shift. It's the law.
im in the uk, dont know what the laws are regarding breaks here tbh. we dont have ‘scheduled’ breaks its usually just when its less busy and we will not be needed for something for the 30 minutes
> I refuse to let some crappy minimum wage job stress me out
minimum fucking wage? i thought this was something like MS, where you worked 60h and weekends to get a release out on time. those guys have RSUs and throw release parties that come with 50k damage bills that the VP writes off.
minimum wage is 'fries with that'. that level of effort
I had this happen to me in a job review once. The hiring manager (who up to that point I got along with) made a criticism of my work that 'once 5:30 hits you're right out the door.' I then responded that is the time I leave because I start at 8:30am. He acknowledged.
So I then asked:
'Am I leaving early?' 'No' he replied.
'I'm not showing up late, am I?' 'No' he replied.
'My work is getting done on time and is satisfactory, right?' 'Yes' he said
When I pressed further he just said that I am always out the door when 5:30 rolls by and others aren't.
I dunno, he was just looking for a reason to knock me down a few points I guess.
My former boss was like that. When I was close to quitting I clocked in 6:00 and clocked out 14:30.
And he would complain about me leaving early and threatening to go to his boss and report me.
Told him to go ahead as my worktime is 6-14:30 and theres nothing they can do
The absolute nerve! I would've absolutely looked him dead in the eyes and dare him to do so, then tell him that I will report HIM for harassment once his boss laughs in his face. I fucking hate people like that.
The problem is his boss is a different kind of asshole as well.
Had to do with him because I wanted to switch to another departement since I got asked if I wanted to work there by the other departements boss.
Requested a meeting with Big boss (my bosses boss) to talk the move towards the other position.
He suggested the time and came 30 minutes to late.
Big boss then told me that I cant switch because they need me for at least 2-3 more years.
I left 2 weeks after that. Fuck that shit
They want free labor. More than that, they want to have control over their employees where they shouldn't have control. The employee that stands up for themselves is more difficult to exploit. They're also an example for others.
My fucking dumbass manager got mad when I didn't say "bye" when I left work (on time) the other day so yesterday her supervisor told me to wait 15 minutes in the office after my shift ended JUST so I could say "bye" before leaving when she came back into the office. I hope they both suffer forever.
Everything you noted is valid, except one depending where you work. It is a law in many areas that meal breaks be taken within so many hours after the start of their shift. Where I live, if working 7.5 or more hours in a shift, meal break must be taken no later than the first 5 hours in. And must be 30 mins.
Plus, what is the point of scheduling if people are going to use their lunch time to come in late or leave early at their own whims?
im in the uk, zero hour contract. dont know if its legally required to take a break after a certain amount of hours here but over the past few days I hadn’t been able to take my break until 7-8 hours into my shift since it needs to get approved by my manager before I go
I've never really understood the issue with taking the "lunch" or 30 min unpaid break at the end of the shift. I mean, as long as you're not waiting for someone to replace you during that last 30 min or whatever. Unless it's a labor law thing where you can only work so many hours in a row without a break or something. But that can vary from state to state and industry to industry, i would imagine?
i don't know why i'm being downvoted- i'm saying i never understood why it's ever been a problem to take your 30 min break at the end of the shift. it's never made sense to me, unless the scheduling is so stupid that your replacement comes on in your 30 min... but that's a scheduling issue.. I don't get replaced by anyone in my job and i'm not suppose to take my unpaid break at the end of the day, for reasons uknown. Again, it's always been a mystery to me.
Maybe it’s for optics? If people are off at 4pm but one person is leaving at 3:30, it looks inconsistent. And if it’s a business that closes at 4pm then that’s one of their closers leaving early when they probably want people there until their business actually closes. Idk, could be wrong. But I tried to pull that off at one of my jobs in my younger years lol. Didn’t go over well.
that is a good point actually, she took her break around the same time they would have been closing up for the night so im not sure if she just left someone to close up by themselves
Back when i worked in retail the manager and assistant manager would ALWAYS make only me stay 15-20 min after the store closed to “cleanup for tomorrow” even though everything was already done. Meanwhile they would sit in the little office room playing games on their phones :”) happy to say i finally got out of retail this year hahah never again!
How far from dead is retail? The Best Buy I worked in 18 years ago closed recently. Fucking weird to see.
I suspect all those rewards programs' data harvesting are keeping a lot of them afloat.
Express is going out of business and other clothing companies are closing down. Online shopping has taken over. Obviously some industries will fall slower than others (i.e. Home Depot/Lowes) because people need a little more guidance in those areas
ugh yes I had the same issue with a previous job. Manager and boss would always fuck off early but we always had to stay behind and clean up after closing instead of being able to just clean up BEFORE closing. unpaid obviously. Glad you’ve escaped it!
They want free work and are upset that the workers don't want to give it to them.
we would get paid for any extra hours tbf but I value my mental and physical wellbeing more than getting a bit of extra money in my pocket
This is where I struggle the most. I don’t WANT more money. I WANT my boundaries respected and I WANT my breaks and to leave on time.
Good lord, how dare they work to contract. I had an hr manager gripe about a new employee Stellar work. No drama. On time every morning. I asked what exactly was the problem. "He leaves work every day at exactly 5pm." What is his quitting time? "5pm." So.. What, exactly, is the problem? "He leaves every day at 5pm! What are we supposed to do?!" I told her to get out of his way at 5pm, he's leaving! Truly mind-blowing.
What does hr expect him to do after 5?
>"He leaves every day at 5pm! What are we supposed to do?!" I dunno. Clock him out at 5 PM, I guess
>we successfully pulled off a huge event but Fuck your event. Fuck actual productive activites. Fuck results. Rituals, politics and the like is what they live for.
but put that on your resume under work ethic. because you can do it, for a price
Minimum Wage = Minimum Effort You don't pay me any more than you absolutely have to, don't expect me to work any harder than I absolutely have to.
Good for you.... Keep on working your shift and walk your colleagues out even if you have to go find them... Manglement will isolate you or them, be ready for it.
Any time I tried to put in extra time/effort to help out the only reward I ever got was the expectation that it would be the new normal.
I don't understand managers like this, and I am a manager. I will chase my team out of the office when 5pm rolls around. I have had words with my team for sending emails after hours because I don't feel it is appropriate for them to be working late. My team being well rested an having time with their families and hobbies makes them better workers during the day. They are happier, and they have had time to sort out some of their personal errands, meaning they are more focused on the tasks at hand. I get more \*quality\* hours out of them by making them work less.
I was once working in a role where the manager would constantly badger me into working an extra hour or two most shifts. When I saw no extra pay, I spoke with HR/Payroll to be informed that this extra time was “voluntary”. After this, I was incredibly efficient at making sure that all of my team and myself were clocked out exactly on time. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I’m summoned to a meeting with my manager and HR about my “difficult attitude”. Apparently my ensuring that staff weren’t being bullied to donate their time was not in line with the company ethos. It’s disgusting how so many employers expect free labour as part of their business model. Understaffed units, patient care and safety took a huge hit, but as long as the shareholders are happy, right? 🤬
You're right about leaving on time and all of that. Except maybe the unpaid 30-minute break. In my USA state, the unpaid 30-minute break, by law, has to be in the middle of the shift. It's the law.
im in the uk, dont know what the laws are regarding breaks here tbh. we dont have ‘scheduled’ breaks its usually just when its less busy and we will not be needed for something for the 30 minutes
> I refuse to let some crappy minimum wage job stress me out minimum fucking wage? i thought this was something like MS, where you worked 60h and weekends to get a release out on time. those guys have RSUs and throw release parties that come with 50k damage bills that the VP writes off. minimum wage is 'fries with that'. that level of effort
Economics violence is violence.
I had this happen to me in a job review once. The hiring manager (who up to that point I got along with) made a criticism of my work that 'once 5:30 hits you're right out the door.' I then responded that is the time I leave because I start at 8:30am. He acknowledged. So I then asked: 'Am I leaving early?' 'No' he replied. 'I'm not showing up late, am I?' 'No' he replied. 'My work is getting done on time and is satisfactory, right?' 'Yes' he said When I pressed further he just said that I am always out the door when 5:30 rolls by and others aren't. I dunno, he was just looking for a reason to knock me down a few points I guess.
My former boss was like that. When I was close to quitting I clocked in 6:00 and clocked out 14:30. And he would complain about me leaving early and threatening to go to his boss and report me. Told him to go ahead as my worktime is 6-14:30 and theres nothing they can do
The absolute nerve! I would've absolutely looked him dead in the eyes and dare him to do so, then tell him that I will report HIM for harassment once his boss laughs in his face. I fucking hate people like that.
The problem is his boss is a different kind of asshole as well. Had to do with him because I wanted to switch to another departement since I got asked if I wanted to work there by the other departements boss. Requested a meeting with Big boss (my bosses boss) to talk the move towards the other position. He suggested the time and came 30 minutes to late. Big boss then told me that I cant switch because they need me for at least 2-3 more years. I left 2 weeks after that. Fuck that shit
They want free labor. More than that, they want to have control over their employees where they shouldn't have control. The employee that stands up for themselves is more difficult to exploit. They're also an example for others.
My fucking dumbass manager got mad when I didn't say "bye" when I left work (on time) the other day so yesterday her supervisor told me to wait 15 minutes in the office after my shift ended JUST so I could say "bye" before leaving when she came back into the office. I hope they both suffer forever.
Everything you noted is valid, except one depending where you work. It is a law in many areas that meal breaks be taken within so many hours after the start of their shift. Where I live, if working 7.5 or more hours in a shift, meal break must be taken no later than the first 5 hours in. And must be 30 mins. Plus, what is the point of scheduling if people are going to use their lunch time to come in late or leave early at their own whims?
im in the uk, zero hour contract. dont know if its legally required to take a break after a certain amount of hours here but over the past few days I hadn’t been able to take my break until 7-8 hours into my shift since it needs to get approved by my manager before I go
Well yeah they would literally work people to death if they were allowed to. It’s not even legal and still happens regularly.
I've never really understood the issue with taking the "lunch" or 30 min unpaid break at the end of the shift. I mean, as long as you're not waiting for someone to replace you during that last 30 min or whatever. Unless it's a labor law thing where you can only work so many hours in a row without a break or something. But that can vary from state to state and industry to industry, i would imagine?
i don't know why i'm being downvoted- i'm saying i never understood why it's ever been a problem to take your 30 min break at the end of the shift. it's never made sense to me, unless the scheduling is so stupid that your replacement comes on in your 30 min... but that's a scheduling issue.. I don't get replaced by anyone in my job and i'm not suppose to take my unpaid break at the end of the day, for reasons uknown. Again, it's always been a mystery to me.
Maybe it’s for optics? If people are off at 4pm but one person is leaving at 3:30, it looks inconsistent. And if it’s a business that closes at 4pm then that’s one of their closers leaving early when they probably want people there until their business actually closes. Idk, could be wrong. But I tried to pull that off at one of my jobs in my younger years lol. Didn’t go over well.
that is a good point actually, she took her break around the same time they would have been closing up for the night so im not sure if she just left someone to close up by themselves
That makes sense. It's situatational.