i dont know what to do... (work)
about 2 weeks ago i had this big fight with my bakery manager mary because she told me i could work in the morning and leave in the afternoon with my boyfriend so we could have a weekend at his cabin. it ended up leading to a meeting with my manager and our 2 bosses, rick and colleen and everything... by the time i got out of the meeting, everything was still in the air about when i was going to work on that day. the next day another manager (also namd rick) told me it was fine for me to work in the morning as i had been promised to begin with
ever since then, this week and next week.. my weekly hours have been going down. i was doing a steady 32-36 hours per week. this week i was only scheduled 26 and i just found out tonight that next week im only scheduled 19. i asked the manager on duty, sandy, about it and she checked and ended up calling colleen who only said "she has to talk to mary"
when they laid me off 2 years ago (because of the post-holiday slump in like february), they did the same thing... decreasing my hours week after week until finally i was down to 8 hours.
all week (having not known any of this) i've been getting panic attacks out of nowhere, like terrors where i feel like i'm going to lose my job... and i had another one today when i showed up and one of the produce girls was back there working with my coworker.. when i could've used those hours this week...
i dont know what to do, i'm crying so bad and all i've ever done is wanted the best for that bakery. i work hard and don't take breaks to get my work done. all i know is that every time mary argues with me she says that i "talk too much" whatever that means... i mean, i know i talk to a lot of managers about how poorly mary treats me, but it seems like the only people who believe me are the people who can't do anything about it...
i have nowhere to go if i get fired... right now i just feel like if i get fired, ill never get out of bed again, i just want to stop eating but all i've done since i got home is binge, ...and i just got a new car, how will i be able to pay for it. last time i got laid off it took over 3 months to find another job and it was even worse than the one i got fired from....
i just feel completely helpless... and hopeless...
I'm so sorry your dealing with those crappy people at your job. What they are doing to you is completely unprofessional and immature. If you are being singled out and treated unfairly, there is always someone higher to go to to voice you complaints. There are harassment and discrimination laws and regulations in place to protect workers. I've had to go higher and higher up the chain at my job too, to get treated fairly. Please don't let them get away with treating you this badly. Someone there might be cutting your hours so low that you will quit which means they wouldn't be responsible for unemployment for you. I know things look bleak, but along with trying to get a straight answer as to what exactly is going on, I would be submitting applications to every other bakery in your area. I'm sure you have a lot more to offer and that someone would be thrilled to add you to their team!! Keep your head up Sariea and try some deep breathing. ;)
that is terrible and totally unjust sariea. i remember you posting about this issue a little while ago and saying that your boss has less expirience than you. how many employees work there? are you the most experienced? it sounds like if she were planning on firing you it would be because she holds a personal grudge. it seems like your boss that is also her boss (that said you could work at the time you wanted) likes you. you should talk to him about it. it really sounds like you are in totally unfair circumstances. i really hope that either your direct boss goes or YOU go. you deserve such a better job than that! there is no reason for anyone to treat you so terribly. i would definitely be submitting applications and/or trying to get your immediate boss fired if possible!
Sariea, what size town do you live in? Do you know anything about the job market? If you have worked at the same bakery for six years, then you are another bakery's dream employee. If there are other bakeries in the area, you should just get up and go apply. Cutting your hours without discussing anything with you and is unjust. You do NOT deserve to be treated that way. I know that you have worked at that bakery for six years and are attached, but you can get another job. Who knows.........It just could be the BEST thing that has ever happened to you! Change can be a good thing, even though it seems hard or undesirable at the moment. If you need more hours to survive, then you may have to weigh your options and do what is best for YOU. You may find another job in a great bakery and your new boss may be a kind person who treats you with respect, compassion, and humanity. You could even keep your job until you find a new one. You could use those cut hours to job hunt. Whatever you decide.........be strong and take care of yourself.
Sariea, it sounds to me like you are a wonderful employee...you deserve much, much better. I so agree with what others wrote about taking a look around your town/area for other opportunities...quite possibly there is a much better job out there for you, with people who are much kinder, more fair, and more appreciative of you than your current employers.
Whatever the case, treat yourself kindly. Take care of yourself. You're worth it!
its a small bakery--inside a wholesale club. there's only 4 employees, including me and mary. i dont know if i'm the most experienced. i'm more experienced than mary but susan came from another club and has done every kind of job, but only had about 2-3 months bakery experience. so i dont know... i would say yes... but the produce girl (i should say woman) that was back there yesterday when i went in used to be in the bakery for i think more than 7 or 8 years.
im so nervous. i keep having panic attacks about going in today and finding out whats going on. i didnt sleep at all last night
i've been agoraphobic for over 15 years and i'm comfortable at my job. i dont want to lose it
it just.. blows my mind that there are so many people in that place that know how poorly mary treats me but it doesnt mean a damn thing. i never understood why she dislikes me so much. i never did anything to her.
but it really ticks me off that after all of this, if i do get fired, that they're letting mary have the satisfaction of doing it.
I think you should
1.find a new job
2. quit before they have a chance to fire you
(in this order!)
Even if #1 isn't all that great, it would be something to provide some $ while you find something better. It might take a while, but it sounds like you are unhappy doing what you are doing anyway.
I was in a similar situation last year (my passive aggressive manager couldn't stand me and was nice to everyone else) and I did exactly #1 and #2 and it was such a relief!!!
but it sounds like you are unhappy doing what you are doing anyway.
actually, i love my job. i love the work and the satisfaction from helping people, and the exercise i also get doing it.
its just my manager thats making me miserable
Start logging things - date, time, location, who was involved, who in general was around, etc.). Log the meeting, know where your paychecks are. It's not the after-holidays slump, so they can't use that as an excuse. If your hours are low again next week, talk with the store manager and human resources. You asked for time off, it was approved, then it wasn't approved and you had a meeting, then Mary exacted retribution on you by cutting your hours. The store is exposing themselves to liability. Log the talk with the manager and human resources, log the retribution Mary will have in store for you when she finds out. Do you get all of your breaks? If not, log that. You want to create a record, because the way it's going it does sound like Mary may manipulate things to get you fired. I worked at a retail store and a girl was fired for not wearing her namebadge (1/2 of the employees didn't have their namebadge on).
During all of this, look for another job. Don't sell yourself short. You do have experience. Even if you haven't worked in all areas of the bakery, you're familiar with the processes, AND you've held a job for eight years. I really think the two biggest things for an employer are that an employee shows up to work on time and won't quit in two months. You're gold. Remember that.
actually, i love my job. i love the work and the satisfaction from helping people, and the exercise i also get doing it.
its just my manager thats making me miserable
Oh, Sariea, I have been there. It's so frustrating when your should be able to like you job, but can't because someone is making life miserable for you. I tried to change my manager, but soon realized people can only change when they themselves decide to do so. So I did the next best thing and quit. Was I nervous? absolutely, Scared? heck yeah! But I quickly found a new job, one I liked so much better. It was easy for me to get really down about my job not working out. I thought it was somehow my fault. But it wasn't, my only fault was not seeing sooner that a change of environment (and a new manager) was what I should have sought out long ago.
If you've been working there for years, other bakeries will be fighting over you. People always want to hire someone with experience. Is Craigslist.org popular in New York? It's the best place I've found for jobs and well just about everything. And remember you don't have to quit your position before you find a new one, as I did.
well.. what i was told today was that payroll is way over and every department is getting cut (even tho i was the only one with cut hours in the bakery.. but then again, i'm the only part timer... even though iv'e told them REPEATEDLY i want to be full time)
so i asked mary "so.. i should be around 20 hours a week now?" and she goes "yeah. or less". i just can't do that. i have BILLS to pay and 2 doctors i see every week.
im trying to find out about going back to school... i've wnated to do that for a while, its only a matter of being able to take the exact course i want to take. but since i want to take an online thing, it would be nice to still be able to work...
my boyfriend Dean was sweet enough to come over this morning to see if i was okay, since i called him crying last night.
i'm still really nervous and dont know what to do about all this... i really dont want to quit.. but i need more hours..
How about looking for a second part-time job? How amenable would your non-Mary managers be to your amending your schedule to allow you to have a second job?
I worked retail in college and they would cut our hour but not let us change our schedules to anything other than full availability. But - if they're better than where I worked and if it's possible, look for a second job. Ideally, look at bakeries. If there are no jobs posted, call the local bakeries and talk to the managers. If they say there are no jobs, ask them if they expect any jobs to open up in the near future and let them know about your 8 years of experience.
If the management won't let you change your schedule, and if you really need the money, ask them if you can fill in hours in another department.
What I would do Sariea is bite on the bullet, continue to work at your current job but when you have free time, see if you can find other employment that can either supplement or replace it. I know you've been there several years and enjoy the work so it would be very upsetting to go somewhere else but sometimes you just have to do what's best for you based on your budget. Part-time jobs are often easier to find and maybe you could structure it around your bakery hours. Then, when the business picks up again and you can get back or increase your work load, you can just drop the other job. That said, it doesn't sound like you have a very good relationship with that one manager and if she dislikes for whatever reason, it's doubtful her attitude's going to change any. I know it's unfair but I've seen it time and time again over the years. People like that can make your life a living hell because they have the power to do so. So, when you research your area for other jobs, don't sell yourself short if you find one that's offering more money and 40 hours a week. Your intelligent and obviously have a good work ethic and there's tons of places looking for those kind of employees. Good luck, try not to worry too much and you'll be in my thoughts.
sareia, i think you should punch mary in the face, and break her nose while you're at it, so she has to stay in the hospital forever and they promote you to her position.
ok JUST KIDDING,
but maybe you could ask for transfer to another department? it sounds like you really enjoy the bakery but one of your main problems, it seems, is that your job experience is so limited. maybe ask one of the higher up managers if you can try working for someone else. ( i am assuming that mary is just the bakery manager). make it clear to your bosses that you have a personal problem with mary, but not in a bratty way. just explain to them that she is impossible to work for...
i asked one of the higher up managers a while ago about hours in another department, but nothing ever really came of it. and i've been telling them for months how mary treats me but... like i've said, the only people who recognize the abuse and understand how mary treats me are the people who can't do anything about it
okay the first time i talked to rick (store manager), i told him how i don't go on breaks, and that i feel left out in the bakery because im the only non-smoker (this was before susan came). and rick LITERALLY NO KIDDING said "you could go out with them when they go on breaks.. there's always an upwind around here. just stand upwind if you dont want to breathe in the smoke". i sat there kind of like "am i HERE right now??? did i seriously just hear him say that??"
when we had that meeting a few weeks ago, i brought up how i still felt like iw as treated unfairly and told rick about how kim doesn't finish her work because she "doesnt feel like it", which she has said those exact words, and that i was tired of doing my work AND her work. and that if i didn't finish my work, i'd get in trouble, but kim doesnt. all he said was "how do u know she doesn't? are u around? how would u know?" and i couldnt think of an answer at the time but as soon as i left the meeting i thought "because she'd finish her work.... if she knew she was gonna get in trouble, she wouldnt take 8 smoke breaks a day.. she'd work through it to get her stuff done"
*sigh* im too tired
well, you could try just not finishing other people's work for them. i mean, maybe you would get blamed, but if it takes unfinished stuff to make them realize how much you do around there, then they will eventually have to wise up. and sometimes it's ok to have an attitude, next time kim says she doesn't feel like finishing her work just say "well i'm not going to it for you, you should probably just get over yourself and bake those damn muffins" (or whatever it is she is supposed to be doing).
honestly, sometimes you just have to move on. you can move to california and we will start a vegan catering company and you can make big beautiful wedding cakes, and go to pastry school in france.