I am a 19F student currently working/ interning at a fast fashion company. I have been working there since July. Through my 300+ hours, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience and time at this company. It allowed me to gain a new perspective on the importance of fashion engineers in this world, as the responsibility of specific things, such as construction, to the planet depends on the engineer.
I first started there as a regular employee but later asked if I could put it towards a school internship credit in order for me to graduate this fall.
Although I have enjoyed my time there, it's becoming more of a burden in my own life. Throughout these weeks, I have noticed that I needed to be adequately trained to meet my supervisor's expectations. I am trying my best to meet these expectations by working overtime, skipping school, and sacrificing my mental health to meet these standards. It has yet to go well.
Because of the specific market we're in, it is highly demanding. I am a tech apparel assistant. At first, the company owner told me that my task would be organization, but as I continue, I am being presented with more and more tasks. It is to the point where my supervisor entirely depends on me to send large tech packs overseas to companies with little to no mistakes while managing over 80 different Excel spreadsheets. Due to this high demand, keeping up with school activities and personal life is complicated. It has gotten to the point where I can no longer join clubs and actively participate in the school, as I am trying to dedicate my time and efforts to satisfying the company fully. In my personal life, it is affecting me as I feel guilt and personal shame for not being able to meet these expectations. I feel like I am jeopardizing my supervisor's career by being at a beginner's level, making me feel like a burden in my role as her assistant. At work, I countlessly cry from these issues I feel I have been contributing to. When I go home, I am so burned out that I can not maintain personal hygiene and cook meals for myself.
My plan as of right now is to tell my supervisor and HR they should find someone highly qualified with experience. I believe someone who is not in school and can dedicate more time to this position would be ideal. I would like them to remove my pay once they find someone higher qualified. When this person is hired, I will go out of my way to fully train them to the best of my abilities because I understand that training someone is difficult in this company. I would not like to consciously know that someone may be going through the same frustration and fear as I do. The only thing is I have to complete my 12-week deadline to graduate school. I have only six weeks left to complete the credited weeks for the course, as the period began Aug 28. I know I could possibly push through these six weeks. But I feel they may still expect me to continue.
I have attempted to go to HR. However, it has spewed more Drama than good. I am hesitant to go again. I have also talked with my supervisor, asking if we could go at a slower rate, but sometimes, she forgets I'm tackling school as demands get heavier and heavier. I believe an alternative would be to ask for fewer hours as I am working 34 hours or more a week, but because the job is always in high demand, I could not fully play out my position, which would cause even more issues. Before talking to them, Do you guys have any advice you can give to me?
p.s I am paid Hourly; everyone else in my company is getting paid a salary (meaning on some weekends, I am literally working for free to keep up with work). The boss is very strict about not paying me overtime.