My daughter(17) recently started a job at her favorite thrift store. It's a big chain and this post isn't really about them so I'll just leave it at that.
She's still in high school and told them when she interviewed that she only wanted to work 16 hours a week to start. Well, it's been a couple weeks now and they're starting to schedule her for more and more hours, also changing her schedule almost daily, requiring her to constantly be checking the website to make sure she's not scheduled. One day last weekend she thought she was off, woke up at 10:30 and checked her schedule to find out she had half an hour to be at work.
In the interview they told her they weren't understaffed so her schedule would be hers to pick, but she's since learned that was a lie. They're understaffed and constantly using that as their reason why she needs to work more hours.
So she's mad about their bullshit already and asking me how to handle it. I told her she needs to remind them that when she was hired, she said she could work 16 hours a week to start. A few other things I told her:
1) If you give your employer an inch, they will take your arm, stick to your guns, and always be prepared to walk the fuck out.
2) You don't ask them if you can change your hours, you tell them what hours/days you can work
3) If they ever want an explanation why you cannot work certain hours/days, remember you owe them absolutely nothing, but if they insist, and they will, always have some bullshit canned response(like schoolwork or family engagements), which brings me to my next one:
4) Don't volunteer information Don't tell your boss/coworkers/anyone anything that they don't absolutely need to know. Don't tell them shit, because:
5) These people are not your friend, no matter how friendly they act. These people want to extract as much labor from you for as little cost to them as possible, always remember that.
She's scheduled to work tonight so we spent some time going over what she should say. She's ok working up to 18 hours a week, but they scheduled her for 24 this week, 15 of it this weekend, not acceptable.
I spent too many years(decades) busting my ass, trading my time, my life, my energy, my fucks, all the godamn spoons, to make money for other people while I barely survived, not a fucking chance in hell I'll let my next generation be as compliant.