Author: Olivia

Just got off the phone with my manager for my yearly merit raise. 2.75%. Lots of talk about how it’s standard and “even we as managers didn’t get that much”. When I asked about cost of living adjustments and inflation, she was like “well I don’t know, we’ve never done that before, we’ll have to see what the new AVP says.” I don’t mind my job, but the reality is I don’t work for shits and giggles. And working an entire year during a pandemic and exceeding all goals and projections and I get a $1 an hour raise? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, it’s just, I’m so angry with this fucking system.

I recently quit my job managing several groups homes for adults with disabilities due to the fact that my company did not support my health and wellness. While working there as a manager for 14 months I contracted Covid 4 times from the residents and other staff. I had to work sick with Covid, caring for other people sick with Covid, four times, as the staff fell ill one by one. When I had to take two sick days bc of the Covid symptoms and to see a doctor, I had to use my own PTO and pay all of my own healthcare expenses for seeing a doctor and still have unpaid bills now affecting my credit. One of the staff died. Two residents died. The company did not acknowledge this or even ask how we were doing afterwards. After contracting Omicron in September and getting sick ON THE JOB…

So I reported in sick yesterday evening, apparently they didn’t get the message until this morning cause of team leaders using different phones (not my problem). Now my boss have been calling me 4 times throughout the day, I’m not answering cause I’ve been resting and I feel like she can send me a text and stop calling me when I’m home sick. They know I have fever and coughing.. I just think it’s really disrespectful to call me several times throughout the day when I’m really sick and expecting me to answer. Am I wrong for not picking up? It’s my first fucking day at home..

I mean… I told them my ovarian cyst is acting up. But I’m really just depressed and sad. I wanted to be an artist. Not this. I hate my life.

I live in a MAJOR city, one that is only getting more and more expensive every damn week. I worked as a professional Chef in this city for 15 years with fantastic experience and great references. I just got a call for a potential position and this is what they offered me. Them: “So the pay range is based on experience so we can offer you 14.50.” Me: “so then where does the pay range start?” Them: “$14/hr.” Me: “So you're calling me because you liked my resume but you are only offering me an extra $.50 based on my 15 years high level experience?” Them: “Well I took a pay cut to work here and I'll be honest, it was worth it. We're like a small family here and it's a great place to catch your breath and enjoy your job.” Red flag. Red flag. Red flag. ……they went…

Pre-Covid, Amazon banned the keeping of a cell phone on your person and lockers were utilized, but for the pandemic workers are allowed to have their devices for Covid-related emergencies. At the end of 2021 Amazon came under heavy scrutiny due to the well-established belief, on the side of regular, entry-level workers, that workers' best chance at personal safety ultimately lies in their own hands and in access to critical information originating outside of the warehouse, specifically after the tragic Edwardsville, Illinois warehouse collapse. Now that the media/news has moved on from covering Amazon's phone ban, the company is once again rolling back a policy which essentially demands that if someone shoots up the warehouse (it's happened before) we, as living, breathing human beings, do not fundamentally deserve the chance for sharing last words to our loved ones or calling emergency services for help. If a tornado or winter storm…

Employers paying above-average wages will happily advertise that fact. So if pay isn't prominently advertised, assume it is at or below the bottom of the range for that job. There might be other reasons you want to apply to a job, but if pay is your main concern, don't waste your time inquiring/responding to job ads that don't advertise the pay. Education benefits, PTO, bonuses, weasel words like “competitive wages”… This is literally the hiring people saying “how can we get people to invest time/energy into applying before we tell them the pay sucks”?