heads up, this is a super long post.
everything was going to absolute shit at work. i work(ed) at a discount store, the type where everyone goes “ohhh damn, you work THERE?? yikes” lmao
terrible pay (man i wish i could've got in with aldi), but since my apprenticeship hours got reduced (to 30hrs a week, couldn't cover bills), i figured EFF IT, ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN £4.81/HOUR, I'LL WORK A SECOND JOB PART TIME FOR A WHILE
god no. no amount of money would make me go back to the shop after today
my shift was 6.30am – 10.30am, just until christmas, with the hope that i'd get my contract extended after christmas since my apprenticeship ended up being cancelled (small business + cost of living crisis, both owners on benefits/not taking wages, still couldn't afford me, etc)
anyway i turned up on monday, start moving boxes and getting stock out, etc. gets to 10.30am and i say i'm gonna clock out, but alas! didn't i see? my schedule for this week has been changed and i'm working until noon.
tf it has, i thought, but i kept working until 12, whatever, i could do with the extra money. 12 rolls around and i'm starving, i ate a small breakfast since i figured be having an early lunch.
welp, no, wrong again. there's sooo much work to do, i need to stay until 3 so once again, i become a doormat bc yknow, i get paid for it, whatever. i got a 20 minute break and ate 2 free mince pies that were in the staff room, then went back to work. got home at 4, shattered, and just chilled out.
tuesday (yesterday) the same thing happened, except i only had one mince pie for lunch bc there was only one left lmao. man i was hungry. also i checked online and my schedule had been updated at TWO THIRTY IN THE MORNING ON THE DAY MY SHIFT WAS LMAO
thankfully i had the younger and more chilled out manager, and he gave me a half hour break which ended up being 45 minutes cuz everyone started gossiping about how much we hate the store owner let's call the store owner alex.
setting the scene:
this morning it was -4C, i ate a HUGE breakfast at 6am to prepare myself since i figured i wasn't leaving until after 12. i'm shattered, but after today i had 3 days at my much more relaxed apprenticeship, then i had one more week and it's christmas: both my contracts would end and i can go chill out and pray i get an interview while living off the small fortune i saved up over the past month (thank god i was a month ahead on my bills lol)
anyway yeah i got to work, sam's immediately starting the day with a pep talk about how we're the worst employees they've ever had and we need to work harder because their manager is gonna look round the store today. already i can tell everyone's annoyed by this. i s2g i've been there less than a month and every pep talk from her has been “yall suck at your job, work harder”
they fully called their manager a c*nt in front of us all, i was low-key shocked.
anyway we go work, i'm stressed as hell, one manager comes up and checks in on me, they were doing the rounds on the team.
i need the toilet, go there, start fully sobbing my eyes out but get interrupted because we're having a meeting?? it's like 12pm at this point and my stomach is GROWLING
welp, it was the store owner. having a go at us all for being too slow. this is where it gets interesting
the oldest employee there, who i think has been with the company for like ??? over a decade?? breaks into tears and says she's quitting. fully leaves the rooms. then another employee, who had been super cool and nice to me the whole time, goes on a massive rant about how every other store/factory pays their workers a good £5 extra an hour compared to us, how we're never appreciated, we're all treated like shit, management is awful, and management is bitchy. then she told the store owner to go do her job and check on the older employee then she said she's also quitting, she'll hand in her notice tomorrow
i nearly pooped my pants tbh, the sheer power in her voice was enough to inspire anyone lol.
anyway, that all goes down, we're told to get back to work. now at this point i remember “shit, wait, i can't stay any longer, i have that phone call with a therapist about work related anxiety”, so i tell one of the managers. he tells me to wait for the owner. store owner demands in a very accusatory tone that i provide proof. i go outside, load my email, come back, show her proof. obvs don't mention what the therapy appointment is for lol.
she told me i can go take the call in the car park, and that i can go wear a hi-vis vest to stay warm like no it was literally -2C at this point and i'm not gonna have a CBT session about how stressed work is making me iN THE CARPARK OUTSIDE OF WORK >:(
anyway, literally no one else is getting a break, despite the fact that it was officially 6 hours since we'd started work (20 min break after 6 hours work, it's our legal right). i only got one cuz i had an appointment.
so i clocked out for my break a bit early, stood in the car park, called my mom and dad and just bitched for a solid 10 minutes. then i stood there for a second and fully went “fuck it”
and i just walked off. like. my shift had officially finished. they can't MAKE me stay at that point.
and yeah. i'm not going back for my final 3 shifts next week. fuck it. i'm a christmas temp, ive got a really good reference from my apprenticeship (they feel bad for not being able to see me through to the end), and frankly, less than £9/hour is not worth it. like nah mate, go fuck yourself.
also i blocked the store's phone, cannot deal with the idea of my manager/the store owner calling me up
ANYWAY
i just applied for a really solid and interesting apprenticeship that pays more than £4.81/hour tonight, level 3 qualification, AND i met the desired candidate description. literally my dream apprenticeship, i'm annoyed it wasnt being advertised like. 8 months ago when i started the one that flopped lol. fingers crossed i hear back from them cuz my God, today was enough to confirm to me that i never want to work retail again