Hi, I am writing to you from Italy. 🇮🇹
For this reason I will try not to get too lost in the bureaucratic jargon that led to the aforementioned situation.
It all started in August 2021, when I applied for the position of a security guard at this private security agency in my hometown. It was not the job I had intended to do, but alas, the employment situation in my country hasn't been the most rosy for about… 15 years? (fellow italians, you surely know what I'm talking about…).
So I adapted accordingly, aware of the fact that at 25y/o I could no longer weigh on my parents economically and it was time to do my part for the important expenses for what concerns our domestic life. Anyway, the job itself was pretty basic, for a security guard at least; since my city is predominantly a very important logistic outlet for all of northern Italy, I was almost always on duty at the logistic plants in the area (IKEA, Amazon, DHL, UPS, you name it). Within them the tasks were mainly: patrol inside the warehouses, control of accesses and exits of the employees/workers, checking of the temperature and of the Green Pass of the aforementioned workers.
Like I said, nothing too big.
The first problem was, of course, the salary. Far too low for the mandatory forty hours a week of service.
Then the shifts… My god, those damned shifts…
They were either 10 or 12 hour shifts, even though in the employment contract they were specified as a maximum of 8 hours. And worst of all, most of the time they weren't even consistent throughout the week! Here's an example:
Monday: 04:00 a.m. – 03:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 06:00 a.m. – 06:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 04:00 a.m. – 03:00 p.m.
Thursday: 09:00 p.m. – 09:00 a.m.
Friday: 04:00 a.m. – 03:00 p.m.
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 03:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Atrocious.
Add an environment and work personnel that were anything but cordial or friendly, who rather than teach you how to do your job would much rather let you do it blindly and then chew you out for messing up, and well… you get the idea.
The last infamous straw was when around February 2022 I fell ill. It was still Covid period so you can well understand I was quite worried. Luckily I tested negative for the swab, but I was still feeling awful with a fever of 39°C (102.2°F). I went to my GP and requested a week off sick leave, and I called my boss right away to let jim know.
And HOOOH BOI, now the fun begins…
The man began ranting at me on the phone saying that I shouldn't have gone to the doctor to apply for sick leave, but that I should have asked him for permission first. To which I asked him dumbfounded if he really expected me to go to work with a high fever that was barely keeping me on my feet. In response, sounding even more indignant, he threatens to sue me for damages as stated in the contract in case he does not find someone to replace me. With an apathetic and placid “do as you like” I put down the call. A couple of hours later I quit through the agency's web portal.
I spent the next eight months looking left and right for a good job, and I landed one in November as a logistic employee. It's a bit far from home (30ish minute long drive) but it's infinitely better than the last one. The salary is somewhat good, I got the weekends off, and my colleagues are all awesome people. Overall, I couldn't be happier about my work situation right now.
So yeah, instead of throwing yourselves blindly into the first job (knowing that it won't be a good one and that it will likely give you plenty of headaches) out of desperation, I can only suggest to try enduring a little bit more so you can find what you're looking for. Or at least a job that won't make you keel over and feel like dying every time you wake up in the morning.
Ciao.