If I’m being melodramatic with all this, please let me know.
So, a few years ago, I was working for a mom and pop small business type that was convenient for me in terms of commute and the pay wasn’t GREAT but they gave me my first job in my chosen career field. “WE’RE A FAMILY!” types.
Also, this place is an office and I feel as if that will help set the tone.
I started working there with my sister who had a job that was similar to mine and she was the one who really got me hired on (they liked her and her friend was a big boss there too; I’m not going to lie, nepotism has typically been how I’ve gotten hired lol) so I figured it was gonna be a great place.
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. The HR lady was an absolute ego tripping maniac who loved to come up with BS policies then enforce them on us. For the two years I was there, she made it to where we couldn’t even bring our phones into the building and if they saw it out, they would take it away (I had one kid at the time and I needed that phone on me in case of emergency) like we were in high school or some shit. Once, my sister had hers taken away and she had to get it back from HR at the end of the day, along with a nice scolding from Susan or whatever the fuck her name was. Probably Karen, honestly.
Once, when my sister requested PTO for her WEDDING, they wrote her up because she was one hour short. ONE HOUR. She had already been employed there for three years.
They kept it very cold in that office so you always had to wear a jacket. Then they said you couldn’t wear jackets anymore. So I got a blanket and wore it over the top of my head because I was so cold all the time and if I didn’t keep my head warm, I would literally get sick. When confronted by my boss about it, I asked what the hell she wanted me to do and she responded with “Wear thicker shirts.” Wtf does that even mean?? You outlawed jackets here, Kimberleigh or whatever the fuck her name was.
They would hunt you down in the restroom if they thought you were taking too long.
HR liked to brag about how they never had to pay unemployment because they would fight it tooth and nail. Just so you know, that place was a revolving door. What a cool thing to brag about, right?
The owner was a die hard Trumper even though he started outsourcing and eventually completely sent all the jobs to South America where the labor is, you guessed it, cheaper. All the while continuing his ad campaign through Christmas with, “Jesus is the reason for the Season!” And the President of the company told everyone that absolutely no one was going to be losing their jobs, especially to outsourcing.
Also, the owner had a side hustle of big game trophy hunting in various parts of the US and Canada (actually, I think our business was more of his side hustle) and one of the managers was a total asskisser and became one of his buddies, one of his go-to guys. That manager would make his team stand up from their desks when the owner would walk into their office when he did his daily rounds “out of respect” for a guy who didn’t even care to learn their fucking names.
But for me, the final straw was when they TOOK OUR TRASHCANS AWAY. They had this guy on the payroll who was this glorified janitor that they paid six figures (newsflash: he wasn’t really the janitor as the real janitor was lucky to pay rent and get his truck to even start everyday) and they just kept him around for God knows what reason. Anyway, he complained about having to empty the trashcans and they were full (he emptied them once per week and he made SIX FIGURES). When he complained, they took them away. So, that day, I drew up a resignation letter and put in my two weeks. They tried to convince me to stay and not turn this into a big issue but you took away my trash can… how fucking petty can you be? What is next for you to take??
The next day HR decided they would walk me out (and they didn’t even do that, they made my manger do it) and I didn’t have the car that day and I wasn’t allowed to wait for my bf to pick me up and they wouldn’t let me wait anywhere on the property for him lol so I had to walk to a business down the block. I’m sure that’s normal not being allowed to wait on the premises so having to wait down the road wasn’t hat big of a deal to me but still.
Anyway, once I left, I learned a lot of other people decided to leave and start a walkout, mostly because they knew they were going to eventually lose their jobs to outsourcing anyway.
They treated us all like shit and severely underpaid us while doing so.
Last I heard, Bethany the HR lady had a literal stroke at work.
Or whatever her fucking name was.