Can you guess the company from the following story? It was on Forbes 2022″ Best Companies to Work For” List.
I worked in Physical Labor, and part of policy was something called Mandatory Over Time (we called it Mando).
That is when the supervisor approaches an employee, and tells them they have to stay an extra 1.5/2/4 hours. They would also come to you on your Friday, and mando you 8-12 hours on your first day off a week. And although mando is double pay, it would all get taxed out. I've been on the clock for 96 hours before, and still have to show up PROMPTLY four hours later when that (what we called a Call of Duty shift) ended.
In addition:
No breaks longer than 15
Extreme dress code
Only 1 extra day off a month (So that plus one day off a week is 5 days of being away from hell)
Damn near impossible to trade/give away shifts
Paperwork that had to be done on the side, NOT in company time
Would sometimes mando you without telling you (You'd literally clock out and then had to clock back in cause your name was on the schedule for an extra 4 hours)
I gave that job my everything, I was simultaneously the hardest working new hire AND overqualified personality hire. And the second someone who didn't like me told everyone I was “the office slut”, management had nothing to say about it and watched me get verbally and physically harassed.
I had to quit for my mental health, no matter how rewarding the work was.