Context: high cost of living state. I make barely over minimum wage. I felt so embarrassed sitting there being told to budget better, start an emergency fund etc. Why would they even do this?! No raise given and the company/people know I make nothing It was humiliating How could anyone think that was ok? Or is it just me?
Month: July 2023
Is this rate fair?
So, I have this client who works for a huge American bank. I am supposed to “assist” him for a couple of hours at 10$/hour. He is a contract employee. The tech stack is Java, Scala, Parquet, Hadoop, scd TPYE 1 ,Python etc. Required knowledge is Intermediate level but the dude needs answers right away, there's no I will get back to you type stuff. Is this rate right? I checked and I see it is about 25$ for such jobs, but there is no definite way to ascertain this. What do you guys say?
Rude and Aggressive co-worker
I work in a restaurant and one co-worker in particular is known to harass and be aggressive to many of my other co-worker's yet my GM or DM refuse to do anything in regards to his behaviour, he's an older gentleman probably about 70 and he doesn't do his job in the slightest, if he does have to do his job it's not without plenty of insults to everyone. He has gotten physical with my friend by throwing dishes at him because there was a bit of cheese on the cheese pan despite him wanting to be on dishes, he will leave his station to come harass me and say I'm not doing my job right but gets aggressive when I say “no manager is saying I'm doing my job incorrectly.” While we're trying to close he will sit in the lobby saying he wants to go home and doesn't…
Like if you think I'm gonna bust my ass harder than necessary when you pay like shit, you're a fucking moron. Any boss who thinks this is an asshole and is only looking out for their well-being, not yours. Not to Mention it's literally proven those who make more money have more motivation to work harder. That's why I don't blame any people in fast food or retail for being “slackers”. Because they don't make enough money to deal with Karens and/or asshole teenagers all day with unfit bosses on top of all that who work them to the bone. Fuck that.
We are all Small Business Owners
I've begun treating and thinking of myself as a small business, and the mindset has offered me a bit of clarity and empowerment. Let me explain. American culture has conflated the value a person offers a job and the value a job offers a person. The expectation seems now that people need to be grateful for the opportunity of a paycheck, instead of a company being grateful for employees producing profits. Each and every one of us is a business, and the product we sell is our labor. We sell our labor, and companies buy that labor, and convert it into profit. Don't trick yourself into diminishing the value of your product and don't sell it for cheap. That's simply bad business sense.
I’m literally going to starve
When I was 15, my older sister told me the restaurant she served didn’t have a dishwasher that day. I was under the legal 16 yr-old state minimum to work, but agreed with the manager to be paid cash for the shift. After the shift, the manager asked if I wanted to start working 4 days a week (I turned 16 the next week) and I accepted. When she was explaining I would have to cover my own shift if unable to work, I asked if I could tell her right then that I wanted every weekend off to go deer hunting 6 months in the future in November. She said that was not an issue since I was telling her 6 months out (and I was using it as leverage because they needed a dishwasher ASAP). Fast forward about 4 months and I transitioned from dishwashing to cooking and…
Many of us in society are not fulfilled with what we do. Whether we make $15/hr or $1M a year. We can still be miserable. IF you were making enough money/living a good life on paper but incredibly unhappy, would you leave it all behind? Assuming you didn’t have a family or something in particular that was keeping you. With wages and cost of living here in the US, where’s the balance? A 4-day work week would be a good start. Is it more of an American problem? Ones working to pay for a loved ones Medical bill or get out of College debt? I met people in Latin America traveling(from Europe mostly) able to take such time off from their company. 1-year sabbatical for some in Germany? Say what? Is it all worth it to you for 2-weeks vacation? In the words of Peter Gibbons from ‘Office Space’ https://youtu.be/_jexWBP5Jt4
I am an ex-teacher. Losing my teaching job was traumatic, but years later I can say I'm thankful to be out. The amount of collective gaslighting in the education system is staggering, and it's mutated the culture into one of thankless self crucifixion. Each time I read one of these posts, it makes me regret not saying more of what I needed to say when I was still teaching, but even more grateful I've transitioned to a career where I am not only more valued for giving a fuck, my give-a-fuck makes me indespensable. So if you have crippling anxiety, put my ass on the phone with them. Who gives a fuck if it's unprofessional–you're quitting. Gatsby's got some issues he needs to work out. This rant is brought to you by unresolved trauma. Please downvote this or I'll be embarrassed.
Demoted from salary after illness
Work for small business. I work IT and CNC programming. Been salaried for 5 years, when I began to have health issues. I was hospitalized, asleep for days at a time recovering with fever and vomiting. This whole time I’ve never had any benefits. No PTO, no Sick Days, no 401k, no insurance, nothing. I worked an average of 58hrs a week for 3.5 years (paid for 40) and the moment I miss a few weeks (scattered) due to illness, it then becomes unfair and I was demoted to hourly but nothing changed about my duties. Loyalty didn’t matter, work ethic didn’t matter, tenure didn’t matter. Yet the owners relative misses all the time for non illness to run people around and go to doctors visits and ball games and still salary and without the history of putting in the time. Fuck your employers. Do what’s best for you. They…