Long time lurker on this sub.. on my phone so excuse formatting.
I work for a soap company that has branches all over the world – I am currently working in one in a country that I am still learning the language for, so it’s hard to fight my own corner. I work part time and the idea was I would take language lessons in my spare time – working 24 hours a week in a small town, where I can walk (40mins) to work, I must have lots of free time, right? wrong.
i got my shifts for a whole month via the app they use, took screenshots of all of them to send my partner so we could plan fun things on my time off. In that month not one of my shifts have remained the same. My manager will change my shift whenever she feels like it, change it again if she wants to and NEVER notifies me.
For example yesterday I was meant to work 2.30pm, but I happened to check it late the night before and she had changed me to open at 9am. Nobody had told me. The app doesn’t give notifications. I entertained just going in at 2.30pm and leaving the shop closed but I would probably be blamed so I didn’t.
When I saw her I mentioned that I had seen the change very late and what did she do? F*cking PRAISED ME for finally “learning” that I need to just check the app constantly. I tried to explain that I would prefer to just have my shifts not change and she said, what difference does it make, I’m already working that day but sometimes (every time!) she needs to change it. I explained I have a life outside of work and changing my shift five hours in one direction or the other makes a big change. She asked if I had bought tickets for something and I said no and she seemed satisfied the conversation was over. Kind of like how a dirtbag dude will follow a woman down a street even if she’s not interested but if she says she has a boyfriend he will leave her alone.
It has happened almost every day – I’ll make plans to meet friends then discover I am working that night instead of that day. The only time they ever warned me was when they changed my day off and I refused to change it.
I can’t quit, it seems this changing of shifts is going to keep happening. The main issue is none of my coworkers have any kind of social lives so for them it’s not a problem. I’m a pretty active person – in a week I might go to the cinema, I have a book club and a writing group, Im trying to attend language lessons, I also have a partner I like to do fun stuff with. None of them do any of that.
Oh and the wage? Minimum wage. or as I like to call it “we would pay you less if we could”