Background: I started a new retail job in June. It is basically a much smaller version of Walmart. Completely different company, but has groceries and general goods. It doesn't pay a lot, but more than most of the companies in this rural area. I just stock shelves. Also on mobile so sorry for formatting.
I was on my break and alone in the break room. My boss saw me and told me to wait there. She came back with a form to fill out. To her credit she asked me to fill it out after my break, so it was on company time. It was asking us to donate to their charity. It benefits local organizations. The boys and girl's club, local baketball team, and a couple other things for kids to have a decent childhood. All good causes in my eyes, so I was going to give $20. The first thing it asks is to check a box if you want to donate 5% or 10% of your paycheck to this. Absolutely not. I cannot afford that. So I checked the 0% box and wrote $0 on that line. The next line lets you write in a flat donation. That is when our bookkeeper happened to come in and looked at my paper. In a really condescending tone she asked if I wasn't going to donate anything. Looking back, I realize I didn't owe any explanation. I was so taken aback by this woman in her late 60's/early 70's who should know better than to ask that. We had a back and forth where I just kind of stuttered out that I'm saving to move out of my parent's house, and that I donate to a local charity that saves cats. Which I do. Not 5% of my paycheck, but I figure $10/month still helps. Then she tried to convince me to write in that charity and still do the percentage. So I read that part of the form carefully. Because of bank fees, you can only write in charities of the donation is over $100. I tell her that. I also informed her that I cannot afford over $100. Then I said I'm donating the $20 and that I was working on setting up a display and would like to get back to it. I still donate the $20, but the whole interaction was just so unprofessional. She retires in a couple of months so I'm not going to bother mentioning the incident since it won't go anywhere. But the fact they make you fill out a form was already unsettling. Then a few days later, I learned the store manager usually does 1 on 1 interviews to “fill out the form together.” She was just too understaffed this year and was busy. Is it just me or is this entirely unprofessional and uncomfortable?