I’ve worked in restaurants since I was 15, full time since I was 17. I’ve always been told that I need to “pay dues” before being able to essentially be treated like a human being. I’ve worked 60-80 hour weeks, dealt with extreme sexual harassment including stalking/assault, developed health conditions due to being overworked, spent countless unpaid hours learning about wine/food/beer/liquor, lost jobs, friendships, money as a result of my profession..
After 10 years I have nothing to show for it. I lost my home and fairly high level industry professional jobs because of COVID. I moved across the country to open a restaurant for a friend who ended up firing me in exchange for a older male manager. I now work for a team of managers with half of my experience and I’m still completely expendable. I’m just really tired and sick of wasting my time on an industry that could give two fucks about me. I did what I was told I needed to do in order to be successful and I now make less than 18 year olds with no experience at my job. I’m just really fucking tired. I don’t want to work anymore. I’m disabled and I don’t have any marketable skills outside of restaurants but I’m just tired of fighting to be treated liked a human being.
I lost it the other night and told my manager to get her shit together and show some respect for her staff after she came in at close to get food and drinks when all my shit was done & the kitchen was ready to close. I had worked eleven hours straight covering for sick coworkers (I’ve been sick for two weeks dealing with norovirus and a sinus infection) and was told it was my fault for “picking up the shifts” (open to close) when one of my coworkers literally was about to start puking and couldn’t see straight due to a migraine.
I could always look for a new job, but the owner of this restaurant is one of the best ones I’ve worked for. It’s just frustrating as shit working for a manager who is unqualified, unknowledgeable, and disrespectful towards staff. She’s even come in high enough to be non-functional when training new staff yet has literally told me that it’s her job to snitch out staff to the owner for minor issues.
I guess I’m mostly upset that I’ve wasted so much time. I don’t know how to find a job in a non-exploitative industry or even have an idea of what that industry would be. I miss my pre-COVID jobs working with industry experts and even almost three years after losing that work still feel sad that I lost my career path. I’m just bummed.