I worked at a local Wendy's when I was 16 years old, logging in 20+ hours per week during school and 38 hours per week in the summer, earning $5.70/hour. We had a great store manager that was fair and helpful, but was soon promoted to district manager and left our store. Our new store manager was a red flag from the moment he arrived. Began by eliminating the employee free lunch meal, changing it to 50% off a meal on your shift. A month or two later the discount was dropped to 20%, and then eventually the discount was completely removed. The guy was a total nightmare, but I was 16 and eager to be the “yes man” go getter who can prove his work ethic and be rewarded in kind.
One day the manager approaches me towards them end of my shift and asked if I'd be interested in taking on additional responsibilities this weekend. He wanted me to come in on my day off, which was a Sunday in this instance, to power wash the entire parking lot and sidewalks throughout the property. He sells me on it saying this, “you'll make an extra 4 hours of pay this week, prove to me that you can be depended upon when the going gets tough, and I'll even buy you lunch as an added thanks”. I knew that I wasn't going to make much money out of the day, with my hourly rate at $5.70 I would only earn $22.80 for four hours of hard, dirty power washing work in the summer heat. I wanted to impress, so I agreed to the job, worked hard all Sunday to pick up every last stain and stuck piece of gum throughout the lot. I enjoyed my lunch after the work was complete, and went home feeling tired but proud that I was able to rise up and show management that I'm a dependable employee who can be trusted to go the extra mile.
I go back into work the following Tuesday, and my assistant manager is waiting to speak with me. She goes on to explain how Wendy's corporate approved the new managers request for a $1,200 power washing budget for our store, and we were approved. Instead of using the budgeted money to hire a professional power washing company, the manager decided to convince one of our staff members to do the work at their hourly rate, and keep the difference for himself as an “efficiency bonus”. My manager earned $1,177 that Sunday, sitting on his ass for four hours while I busted my tail in the sun and heat for $22.80.
This is why Quiet Quitting is an essential skill for any low wage worker. Management will take advantage of you at every opportunity, and they do so because they are financially motivated. The less they can pay you, the more they get to keep for themselves. I performed 100% of the work that day, and my manager kept 98.1% of the compensation. People will treat you exactly how you ALLOW them to treat you. Demand more, I wish I had all those years ago.