something that always gets me about capitalist bureaucracy is the absolutely unnecessary rules it creates that add no value or benefit and literally only make workers’ jobs worse
for example, at my last job i was a host at a restaurant, and during the summer, the hosts were forced to stand outside in 90 degree heat and in direct sunlight for 6+ hour shifts. there was a lobby in the restaurant where the host stand was set up for the rest of the year (and people never had any problem finding it!) but during the summer, my manager decided it would be “more professional” for us to be sweaty and sunburnt outdoors.
additionally, there was a big umbrella for the host stand to provide a circle of shade, but we weren’t allowed to open it without a manager’s permission, and on several occasions they refused our requests because “it wasn’t time yet” (the correct time was completely arbitrary) despite the fact that we were literally squinting at customers and couldn’t see the ipads to write down reservations our job
the thing that really sealed the deal for me though was the day that they called me in on my day off to host because someone called out. I said sure and came in, hustled to seat people all morning, and by 1 pm the restaurant and our whole street were completely empty — literally not a non staff person in sight. after standing there on the concrete for an hour (I wasnt allowed to leave the host stand to do something else in case someone showed up) I got a stool to sit on, which was normal when we were taking names. Again, NO CUSTOMERS IN SIGHT. Two minutes pass, and my manager comes out and tells me I can’t be sitting down — because our GM says its “unprofessional.” NO IT ISNT, AND THERE IS LITERALLY NO ONE TO SEE ME. She takes the stool away. For reference, I have scoliosis, so my back and feet are killing me, and I’m on the verge of tears. I am furious. I tell her this is fucking absurd, and I want to speak to the GM. This shitty ass man finally comes out and I demand to know why I can’t sit down when there’s not even a single person to see me. He tries to weasel his way out of it and say that he just gets mad when he sees a bunch of “lazy hosts sitting around and talking” in the afternoon and it makes him feel “icky.” Forget the fact that it’s just me, who came in to do THEM a favor, and busted my ass all morning. He and the manager who took my stool (35M and 50ishF respectively) continue to gaslight me about wanting to sit down, sincerely acting like its a weird crime to need to sit and not a basic human action?
Anyway that miserable fucking experience was the beginning of the end for me. I absolutely hated the whole place after that. Now I’m long gone and so much happier for it. Fuck that awful place and the terrible robitic assholes they have for managers. Fuck management period.
The biggest gag of all was that the place did the most to promote an image of being super liberal and progressive, all while treating their workers like total shit. If only their customers knew 🤡