So I (21F), used to work at a local farm during the summer of the pandemic a few years ago, and boy did it show me what horrific management looks like.
Brief background: I had been taking a hefty summer course (physiology is a beast) to make my fall/winter semester light. I was doing my 2 years undergrad, shooting for a pharmacy program, so I needed to do decently well.
However, school is expensive, so a part time job seemed to be warranted, since I only needed half the day or half the week to get my schoolwork in. Hiring in my area was “year-round, 3 years of retail experience” workers, so I figured I could work for our family friend, Eric.
Turns out Eric is a micromanaging, slave driving nightmare. I figured if I wanted to complain to the world about this minimum wage slavery, this sub was the place.
Here's my compiled list of grievances against Eric:
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Cancels your shift the morning of/10-30 minutes before
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Purposely “misremembers” your schedule so that you're working more (schedule was never written down, just agreed on verbally and he'd always change my half days to full days)
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Didn't pay us for a stat holiday properly
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Decided that he would “pass down his wisdom through life lessons” while working in the field with us, usually something about trying to persevere like a weed growing in the ground…?
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Slightly to very misogynistic
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Implied that my brother wasn't doing enough about his outdoor allergies despite him using antihistamines, nasal rinses and natural anti-inflammatories. Then suggested trying to eat dandelions like he does.
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Would purposely mow down an entire field of weeds beside where we were working
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Made us work through a lightning storm in a field
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Wouldn't let us have an umbrella to work under, in +30C weather (hot for us when we're used to -20C for half the year) because he “didn't want to start something new” (the other workers brought one)
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Gave half days to his son's friends to play golf, but wouldn't give me half days to study, instead told me to study at 5am then come to work at 8am
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Paid his worker of 20 years, minimum wage (she's a single mom)
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Told her how to parent and that her kid not waking up was just a lousy excuse for being late, and that her 4 year old kid only needed 8 hours of sleep, 10-12hrs is a ridiculous amount. He would keep her late, once again forcing the kid to go to bed late – the cycle continued all summer
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Wouldn't take “my mom needs the car” as an excuse for me to not take more shifts, BUT would allow for Jamie to show up late everyday since her dad drives her and he never wakes up on time (her dad is also friends with Eric)
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Told me I didn't give him enough notice about our vacation, despite Jamie giving him equal notice for taking same week off for a 2nd job and said nothing to her
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Texted (begged) my friend to work a weekend during the school year THROUGH a coworker while he was in Vancouver
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Berated a fellow student for failing his nursing classes, calling it his fault, when his parents were working 16h days, and he thus became (the step in parent) babysitter of his 7 and 8yo siblings WHILE also working 20h a week
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Repeatedly turned down my suggestion to hire a friend to take over some of my hours whenever I couldn't work the hours he wanted me to
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Took off with the work truck while we were in the field, with all of our personal items in it, driving so fast he left at least one of our bags in the middle of the field
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Micromanaging us to death – the veggie bins were on the wrong side of our body, I wasn't standing straight enough while sorting beans, we weren't packing fast enough, we didn't take our break on time, I didn't grab a big enough bunch of carrots at a time, the peas were too wrinkly, the cucumbers were too small
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Always bragging about how hard he works, even though I know he takes the entire winter off (6 months where I live) and takes a hour long nap routinely at 1pm during the day
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Told me I couldn't listen to music/podcasts on my phone because “it's not fair to the other workers”(they listen to podcasts too, but “can't have their phones out” when I asked him why it wasn't fair – he drove off very fast mumbling after that) but THEN suddenly doesn't mind me listening to something when it's a Christian podcast?
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Telling me to walk out to the field (while the rest of them took the truck), but not run there (I play soccer, I like running sometimes, got the adrenaline going)
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Inviting himself and the whole team to a birthday lunch for his son's friend… when birthday guy didn't invite us and wasn't really friends with any of us (I respectfully declined)
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[Claiming the random veggies and a thanksgiving/Christmas dinner is definitely holiday bonus
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Our 30min break started the moment we drive off the field and wanted us back in at the field by the end of break, regardless of travel time and unloading the trucks
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The only good part? We had self reported time sheets so we could write in whatever hours we had worked and they would pay us for it
The only reason I didn't quit was because my parents felt bad he didn't have any workers. And presumably to retain their friendship with him. I think almost everyone I've listed here has either quit or will quit soon. Good riddance to that place.