I have worked in the same company since I was 15. I went to college, I graduated, and now I’m in management in that company.
It’s been 18 years.
What I like about the job is that I’m always moving. I can take the abuse from customers and some of upper management just because I enjoy the workflow and the camaraderie with my coworkers. I’m a lonely guy, and I feel like I have friends at work. A social life.
More than that I generally enjoy getting praise in the job that I’m doing. I had a distant father who could be an SOB and it’s one of the few things he would praise me about. I’m a workhorse.
Since COVID began that atmosphere has shifted. My company was posting record profits. Every underperforming store was now over performing. A high tide raises all ships right?
We were fairly short staffed. Every one person was doing the job of six. Coworkers would go in and out on leave. Sometimes we would have entire departments with no staff. Coupled with an increasingly abusive customer, the job didn’t get easier.
The company took that money and reinvested in processes. I feel like they saw the writing on the wall. There would be fewer workers to collar do the job going forward.
They bought us radios, iPads, rolled out ordering systems, gave us self checkouts and then slashed our labor dollars, saying we didn’t need the money because xyz.
Like many here, I am exhausted. I’m abused and overworked. I find that I talk to myself now. I can’t sleep. My marriage is falling apart. When I’m home I spend time on my work email, or apps looking at performance metrics. This will be the second year I have to work during my wedding anniversary. I find little joy in the hobbies I still keep current in. I regularly miss family milestones/celebrations.
I feel trapped because the wage I make gives me a salary to survive, and any lateral job movement to a different company will result in the same work-life-balance issues.
This sucks.