My boss tried to guilt-trip me into coming into work early coz he fell ill.. for some context, I'm 2nd in charge so the responsibility rest on my shoulders when he's not there.
Anyway, this dude has to re-learn boundaries and has a knack of sending msgs while I'm still off the clock. Partly my fault, as I've encouraged this kind of behaviour coz I'm unfortunately a people-pleaser and I'm trying to rehabilitate from this toxic mindset. Lol.
Anyway, he often sends cryptic 1 or 3-word msgs to test if ppl will actually respond to him, instead of being direct and upfront about shit coz I fear it's his constant need for validation as he's clearly not getting it from his own home? Poor thing.
He sent me a msg about 4 and a half hours before my scheduled shift, saying “I'm sick OMGG” like a 12-yr old starved for attention thinking he can get some sympathy from me.
Now, old me would've been like “oh no, so sorry, I'll be at work soon blah blah blah” but the last few weeks I've had a major epiphany. No more working for free. No more of this bullshit. I'm on salary and in hospitality, so I do 5 hrs of “reasonable overtime” every goddamn week for the last 5 yrs and it's only now I'm waking up from being brainwashed into thinking this is normal.
I only responded with “what do you want me to do” and he replied with nothing and actually offered a solution by (surprise, surprise) putting another employee to cover the shift. Like it wasn't the reasonable thing to do in the first place? Who would've thought?? 🤔 But I left the msg unread as far as he's concerned coz I'm vindictive like that. DONT BOTHER ME WHILE I'M STILL NOT AT WORK.
Now there are 4 grown ass men at work right now that are more than capable of doing their jobs and doesn't need me to babysit them (I'm the only female, not that it matters) but I feel like I get treated like the work matriarch and it's toxic AF.
Also, he has a habit of hovering like a helicopter EVEN WHEN I'M ALREADY ON SHIFT, making everyone feel tense and on edge coz he's secretly timing everyone on their tasks (I'm guilty of the same behaviour but see I'm trying to get myself rehabilitated so I'm working hard on this)
I actually feel sorry for him coz from what I've gathered, he's a top-notch bootlicker and HELL PROUD of it, so much so that he literally yells it for everyone to hear. Also he's the type to live at work coz he poorly manages his time and lingers around so he can have an excuse to be out of the house and not argue with the wife.. and be somewhere where he's in charge and people will “respect” him just coz of the fact.
I literally cringe when I hear him brag about how many hrs he's done and that he “hasn't had a day off” since such and such”. Like NO ONE GIVES AF DUDE, NO ONE ASKED YOU TO BE EXPLOITED, SO DONT THROW IT ON YOUR STAFFS' FACES.
I'm so fuckin over everything and every week there's a new saga that needs overthinking or losing sleep about, like the guys literally lives AND breathes work. Also, mildly shaming his wife for not having a job when they had an argument (as he feels the urge to share his life even tho I didn't ask him) is definitely a red flag as why would you shame your partner to anyone just so you can feel as if you're the big boy? (In my opinion at least)
I'm only soldiering on as I'm waiting for my papers to get sorted out and then I can say goodbye to him and that god-awful place.
Now I gotta start work in under 3 hrs, working a 4 hr shift but only getting paid for 2, coz after yesterday I already clocked in 40 hrs (I'm on salary for 38 hrs but rostered on for and average of 43/week). Ah yes, the joys of working hospitality!
So whilst I'm making the owner heaps off money coz I will do a busy dinner service, I will basically work for free.
And now I just realised it all these years, it's like the blinders are off or I just woke up from a long coma, it's FUCKED UP. TOTALLY FUCKED UP. I'm looking to leave hospitality soon as it's one of the most toxic work environments out there.
If you got this far, thanks for reading. END RANT