I saw a post yesterday that inspired me to make this post.
I'll be 30 this August, and I've been working in Warehouse for 10ish years. I recently got hired at this small place 3 weeks ago. Today I had to call in sick. I know this doesn't look good, but I've been in and out of the bathroom every 10 minutes. I texted my boss that wouldn't be in, his response was “Ouch! Only 3 weeks in the job. Hope you'll be back Monday” From here on instead of names, I'll be referring to my boss as “Boss” since that's how I address him at work.
This man is the worst person I have ever worked for and I don't know what to do. I need this job, since I've been job hopping for the last 2 years and I need something stable for insurance and a steady paycheck. I've been working somewhere new for a month then I leave for something better.
Now to the meat of this post. Since my interview there were red flags. “We are like a family here” “We work 10 hours” (Posting said 8 hours and SOME Overtime) “Me and (Team Lead's name) Are actually good friends, we've worked together for 20 years. We hang out on the weekends” As he was telling me what he expected of me, he was talking shit about his current employees. “So-and-so is a good guy but he's a baby” or “So-and-so is great but he's not committed to the company” “Keep your distance from them, they'll try to rope you into their bullshit” He goes on to tell me how he doesn't trust employees, hiding behind racking and product to spy on us, timing employees if they use the bathroom. Has his own PERSONAL RING CAMERAS throughout the warehouse! Not paid for by the company, or in use by the company, but literally his own person surveillance system. There are 4 employees, not including himself, the team lead, and a driver who is rarely there. The place isn't that big at all.
My 3rd day, my trainer was talking about walking out and quitting on the spot. He warned me not to accept help from the Boss with personal matters. The story is my trainer got his car towed and Boss gave him the money to get it out of the lot (Around $200), then proceeded to hound him to pay him back immediately. Once lunch was over and my trainer did not come back, I was dragged into the conference room by Boss and the Lead and basically interrogated if I knew anything about my trainer leaving. Of course I played dumb and said I had no idea. The Team Lead then tells me to always give a notice if I'm thinking of leaving because Boss has connections and will basically drag my name through the mud. Boss confirmed this my nodding silently.
Boss sometime treats us to lunch. One Friday he took us to a local restaurant. I was told to stay clocked in, and we took the company van. The van only has 2 seats and they are both in the front. The rest of us had to sit in the back of a white van with nothing in it besides a dirty carpet. No seats, no seat belts, just us on the floor. While on our way to lunch Boss, makes a “joke” “I hope I don't get pulled over with Mexicans in the back” (Like Boss, I'm white, my other co-workers and Lead are of Mexican decent). Once there Boss makes damn sure we know he pays for it out of his own pocket. From what I gather he's very wealthy, and likes to remind everyone about it which is why I brought up my trainer and his car. At the restaurant, Boss was asking everyone at the table if we heard anything about my trainer who quit. Of course nobody said anything. He bought some pull tabs and pointed me out to everyone because I hardly said a word that whole time since I was uncomfortable. When lunch was over a co-worker took a little more time getting into the van, another co-worker said to Boss “Don't leave him behind because he's Mexican”….His reply, “Don't worry I won't. I would if he was black” I was really taken aback by that one.
Now we have safety issues. I'm OSHA 30 certified and the amount of violations in that warehouse will make anyone dizzy. We work mainly on cherry pickers. Machines were a person dives around on a platform and the platform lifts up with the operator on it. For reference look up “Crown SP Stockpicker” Nobody wears any safety equipment. Boss does not enforce this, in fact he encourages it. Safety equipment takes too long to put on and takes up production time. It also limits mobility so he won't say anything if we operate heavy machinery without safety measures. But he did scold me for driver my picker more than 6″ off the ground because it went against OSHA….Makes sense. We have pallets blocking fire exists, unsecured pallets/product on the top shelf with out any plastic on it. No machine inspection sheets, a fire exit sign without a face on it, its just wires. It doesn't even work. No storm shelter, no fire escape plan, pallets stacked too high and at a risk of falling, product stacked too high as well, and instead of the standard harness that we're supposed to use for our machines, its the safety belt. Which I'm not even sure is legal anymore. I would report this place in a heartbeat if I wasn't afraid of him knowing it was me reporting it. I know he legally can't do anything, but I have no doubt he'll make some bullshit up to get me fired anyway, Like insubordination, or I'm not good enough at the job. So he had to replace me for production sake.
Now we finally get to today's problem. Yesterday I was not feeling well, and I wasn't working as well as I could have been. I told my Team Lead that I wasn't well and he told me a story of him getting into a motorcycle accident going 40-50 MPH and came into work the next day. Reading between the lines he's telling me to suck it up and stop being a bitch. My co-workers remark how I wasn't looking well and warned me about going home early or calling in sick. Saying I'll have to hear the story of how Boss came home from the hospital, and went to work the next day with a catheter still in, and he'll call me a pussy on top of it all. Their words not mine. After the response I got this morning about me calling in sick, I'm about ready to pull the trigger on reporting the company to OSHA, and reporting my boss to HR, but I'm scared that this will all backfire and I'll end up getting fired or maybe even sued because of how much power and influence my boss has.
I know this post is a mess, I'm not very good at putting my thoughts and feelings into words. I really need to get this out there. Job hopping for the past 2 year I've probably worked at 8-10 different companies, all of them were terrible in their own way. Pay being too low, bad benefits, or no work/life balance, or too far from home. I'm reluctant to leave my current job because I'm close to actually getting very good health insurance, the pay is alright doable, and even though the days can be long, I still have a decent amount of time to be at home and take care of me. Plus with my wife taking a big pay cut to start a new career she actually likes, the overtime is so helpful. Even though I recognize this place is terrible for my mental health, and I have anxiety dare thinking about quitting or even calling in.
Again, sorry for the post being messy and my rambling. Everything is quotes is mostly accurate, it is not word for word on what people said, but it is the closest I can recall.