Hello all, I’m a 22m working at a fast-casual Resturant. I started as an associate and quickly moved my way into management. I enjoyed the adrenaline of crazy shifts, learning new things, and earning better pay in general. The issue is, as 50 hour weeks went by, I become more tired, irritable, less motivated, and overall in low spirits. Not to mention I attend college full time and have a bout a year left to go. So I stepped down as a supervisor and now work 40 hours.
The reasons I hate this job are the following:
1) being a supervisor/manager means picking up the slack from everybody else (example: managers will often let 3 associates go home and keep a supervisor because they’re good enough to do the work. This causes us to become overworked and understaffed. )
2) little room for creative thought (rigid structure, micromanagement)
3) it’s a stressful environment to be in for what we get paid. I actually enjoy a bit of stress at my job as long as it feels productive and if it’s meaningful. My current positions calls for unecessary stress for what I already believe is a job that is not meaningful.
4) Constantly sweating. As a manger you actually waive your right for breaks. As a supervisor, breaks are required but it’s often at inconsistent times and means the shift will go to shit for the next half-hour.
5) work-life balance goes out the window. A usually 5-day schedule for me looks like this:
Wednesday: 2-Close
Thursday: 9-7pm
Friday: 5-3pm
Saturday: 9-7pm
Sunday: 5-3pm
It’s very erratic and often means my sleep schedule is compromised.
Now here’s the thing, the higher ups keep telling me to be patient because at the end (once I graduate), there’s potential for a general manager position but I am genuinely not interested. So Im in this weird spot where I have about a year left before I graduate but I don’t know whether to suck it up for another year or quit and get paid the same for something less stressful. I’ve asked for a raise to alleviate some stress, but I’m told to be patient and because I’m in college I’m not ready for the pay.
I don’t think I can last another year at this place without absolutely going brain dead, but I want to hear some advice from other people who have been in my position!