For some clarity: I'm actively job hunting, graduating college in December (online, part-time but almost done), and legitimately can't afford to quit (yet). Just need to scream a bit and maybe get some tips on “how to keep your sanity” until I can gtfo. Bear with me this might be long and ramble but that's kinda what this subreddit is for right. Anyway:
I work for a certain company, known for its union-busting that's been going on since late 2020 I believe. And one of our ex-CEOs (paraphrasingly) said, “Look I'm a billionaire, but I was poor once too!”
My location unionized in May 2022. I instigated the effort and given how understaffed we were already, especially for my role as a supervisor, my manager couldn't (and still can't) afford to fire me. So I didn't have a ton of worry in starting the movement up. The support with my coworkers and our customers has been great. Engagement really kicked up, especially with the new onboards who kinda tuned in right away to what was going on and they wanted to get involved. I don't say that to brag, it's just what it is. He's that shorthanded. But to reference my title, how do y'all with shit bosses cope when you can't leave just yet? My store manager:
– Biggest hypocrite anyone has ever met, seriously. He'll bitch at us for “not following X Y Z” standard (which we do, but we have our shortcuts that still yield the desired outcome), and then proceed to do the same exact things we're doing and it's suddenly okay because he's doing it.
– He has a multitude of narcissistic traits, always playing victim or deflecting the blame away for shit he did himself. He's so focused on his own life that he gives fuck all about the rest of us. In fact, recently, I overheard one of our temp supervisors, an ASM, telling him how she “can't plan her life 3 weeks in advance” in regard to the schedule. Which of course, understandable, nobody can, shit always happens. He answers, “Well the way I see it if you don't have kids then that doesn't really matter”.
One of our workers has 3 kids, actually. Another has 2. One of us is working two full-time jobs. Some are full-time college students who have to physically be at campus. Some of us are battling severe mental health, one of us currently on indefinite leave while she gets treatment out of state. Another is helping to support his family of 11 while still in high school. Mind you, we almost never see our manager with his kids. That, and he never really leaves the store even when his scheduled time is up. So not sure what kids you care about my guy because it sure isn't your own. Him and his wife are notorious for not getting along and he's told us this on more than one occasion (overshares, so much). Doesn't surprise me on one hand, but your failing marriage is not our problem dude. I feel bad for him as a human, but as a manager, get your shit together.
– He also flagrantly berates, bullies and talks shit about everyone behind their backs. If caught, he'll claim he was “joking” or “didn't mean it like that”, but continues to do so regardless. We've all gotten on his case at least once for saying some shit that wasn't called for, especially with new employees who are just starting training.
– We had a significant flood incident in our store over the summer, urinal busted, it was a mess. He didn't make any sort of announcement about the store having to be closed for cleanup, made one of our temp supervisors drive 30 minutes out when he lives up the street. He could've easily shown up. We overheard later he had been with his family at the kids' grandparents' house, so we knew he was in town and just chose not to bother. He also tried to blame me for how bad it got because I “didn't act fast enough” when I was, by 5 witness accounts, on that shit immediately. I called facilities, closed every water valve I could see in the back trying to stop the flow, cleaning up with mops and rags, letting customers know we unfortunately had to emergency close due to a plumbing issue, the whole nine yards of what I was trained to do. And for this man to dare act like I behaved incompetently, and then have the nerve to ask me and my coworkers to “stay and work as normal” like we weren't almost ankle deep in toilet water, beyond infuriating. The fire department came out to start cleanup after a customer called, and one told us that he would “throw away those shoes” if he were in our position.
This is only some of what I've dealt with in the 4.5 years I've been working here. And by default, I am not at all a hot-headed or angry person, I am near constantly conscientious and aware of how my demeanor is due to trauma and I never want to spread a negative vibe to those around me. It's not fair to myself, and it's not fair to others. So I work hard to keep those emotions in check and let them out via healthier ways: I journal often, write/research for a book I'm working on, kill a bunch of shit in Skyrim, build some old houses in Minecraft to trigger creative vibes instead, etc. But some days it is so hard not to allow the constant frustration of feeling trapped and angry at the person I'm working under for everything he's done, and anything new my coworkers share with me almost every day I come in now. It's nonstop, but I'm trying to keep it together. I'd love to hear about some of y'all's experiences and how you keep your shit together (or don't, I love chaos too!).
Thanks for reading all this if you did. Capitalism is shit. Working to live is shit. But at least we're in it together here.