Bad Day at Work

[Found Goat]

One of my first jobs I had out of high school was as a stock clerk for a walk-in retailer.

Luckily for me, it was not my job to clean the fitting rooms. That privilege was reserved for the part-time lackeys. As they often informed me, many a time they were summoned to one of the customer change rooms, where waiting for them inside to be disposed of would be a freshly deposited turd of human origin (no pets were permitted inside the store); undoubtedly, excrement left behind by either a prankster into potty humor or a disgruntled patron who preferred the illiterate approach to writing management a letter.

The joys of the steward's duties also extended to the actual customers' washrooms and not to just the makeshift ones located in the fashion department.

Once, one lucky fellow spent almost an hour with a mop and a bucket and sponge in the womens' room, where the unladylike mess made it onto the stall door and walls.

Now here's another experience, in Lynn's post, involving a person working in retail and cleaning up poo.

What's with this line of work that makes people want to soil their pants?

Management, of course, refused to have anything to do with the filthy left-behinds, assigning the chore of sanitizing the affected areas to those who thought they were being treated like fecal matter and who also felt they were much deserving of a raise.

Most companies hire a janitorial service and don't expect of their underpaid and overtasked employees to go above and beyond the call of duty.

As for workplace environments in general, rare are those whose employees are treated fairly and perceived as human beings. Talk of team spirit aside, grown-ups often behave just as difficult and puerile as the kids they send off to school. Job insecurity and company politics are an expected component of the workforce, as is watercooler scuttlebutt and managerial ingratitude towards an efficient and productive staff. It explains why I've witnessed a number of men and women opt out of the stress and negative atmosphere of a job site for self-employment, which, granted, has its own set of pressures, but ones that aren't draining on the human spirit, and don't leave an intuitive or sensitive with an icky energetic residue that sometimes lingers for hours after a day at the office has ended.

The theme of this thread brought two books to mind that perfectly capture the essence of what is being discussed here as far as employee relations are concerned: The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams and Hello Laziness by Corinne Maier. They're both good for a laugh if nothing else.

[linen53]

Been there done that on the many jobs I've had in the past. Sometimes it's just a honing of sharp edges we acquire. But it seems sometimes there is intentional picking on when we know good and well we are one of the best employees and they are not. To the point they go to the manager and complain about you whereas you have kept your mouth shut to their stunts. Grrr.

I call it the hen house when we get to the gossip phase. Just like hen chickens. They see a wound and begin picking at it until they kill the wounded bird.

Hang in there, retirement is bliss.

Sounds like they are lucky to have you, Lynn.

Jl

[~Lioness~]

Originally Posted by ocean breeze

I feel life has a way of showing what is deep down inside of us. The things that are hidden inside of us that haven't been released or even noticed. If you pay close attention especially to that reflective reaction. It keeps us humble. Not much to do other than forgive yourself and feel it through.


The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) when asked about his attitude to challenges in his life: "Just bring it."

Agree completely. This is what I'm doing. Just gotta forgive all, and push and keep fighting through the pain. Flowers grow after rain.

[Found Goat]

This thread brought to mind a particular song, from the movie Office Space: "Shove This Jay-Oh-Bee" by Canibus (featuring Biz Markie). It's a little Rap ditty whose lyrics I think speak on behalf of millions.

[Lynn]

Hello

I have had almost a week off now, no calls to come in. I can "feel" the tensions without being there. While the bit of extra money coming in helps the household its peanuts on what life actually costs. How anyone lives on it is beyond me. Too I get that adding to the stress and that "Hen House" atmosphere as there is someone that will always want or need more hours that will stab at the weaker chick in the nest to get fed first.

It's interesting to watch it all unfold. Having been at the top I know what its like to be at the bottom again. I too know that those at the very top have lost touch with what its like to be at the bottom in most cases. Yet they too can fall from a great night to be back at the bottom. Something that I think everyone should remember.

The baby birds in the nest, those that are weak in nature will either have it in them to fight and live and grow, or move on to the next life and hope for better things to come.

Those that are under the manager that have gotten that "God Complex" do not see they are puppets on a string. They hold not in them that place to rise to the top ranks. That is a skill I feel you are born with.

I do feel that the best of managers are born to be a leader, born with both that skill set to run people under them, but too they hold with them that place of staying human. Sadly too many are "EGO" driven to rise that ladder and forget they are human.

Lynn

[7luminaries]

Lynn so sorry for your troubles & glad you've got a bit of a break.
Just wanted to say...there is an awful lot of recent venting rage and hostility coming at many of us from perhaps surprising sources & angles.

At first I wondered what is going on in the universe??? In several cases there were many witnesses and we have all just been dumbstruck. Others suggested that it was the past week or two in particular and when I reflected, I realised all the explosive, random, irrational rage vented at me had likewise occurred within that time frame.

I had some further conversation on these events with others and we noticed a common theme:

1)...uncontrollable outbursts by others (strangers) -- whether in an office or service setting as you note or just out in a public space -- looking to land on someone. For myself, what I was rather shocked to notice was how it was all women (and dare I say it...all other white women of varying ages...) who were acting out with uncontrollable rage. I really feel that if I had been the type to respond in kind (I am not), they would likely have laid hands on me -- and none of them were my match in height and strength...they were just out of their minds to begin with.

2) When we respond to their rage calmly and give them a space and an opportunity to get it together, to engage with courtesy and civility, they typically repeated fail to do so. Typically, they're looking to provoke you or whomever...they're looking for a fight. So, in nearly all cases, they continue to rage till they spend themselves & then leave in a dramatic huff (LOL...). In maybe 1 or 2 cases out of several, they will de-escalate themselves and pull it together, but that's not something to be counted upon

So...what you're encountering and what I and many are encountering recently is a thing. But what's underneath it?

Ultimately, this raging and blaming ("blame-ragers" hahaha) has at its core a lack of ownership and a desire to exert control through hostility, intimidation, and anger, both. The ironic thing is that one is pretty much guaranteed to ultimately fail to exert control of one's self if he or she cannot take ownership for their behaviour and keep it together.

Even deeper than this...what I see is that folks' decisions in support of the status quo & how they are living their lives...and/or the way society is currently ordered...are all being called into question and the response of many is uncontrollable rage. Rather than reflecting that perhaps they themselves may feel their prior decisions were a mistake, given what they know now. This not something you or I or anyone can "fix" or make right for them...and that is another part of this problem.

It's becoming ever more apparent that all have to live with the daily fallout of these festering ragemongers amongst us, those who cannot simply reflect and admit they may need to make some changes in their lives. Or that they may have made some wrong choices in their decisions, perspectives, or mindsets -- or that they are human like the rest of us. And that emotional maturity, taking ownership, and having consideration for others is a b#tch but that ultimately there's nothing for it

Peace & blessings
7L

[Ciona]

Hello Lynn

I would second what 7L is saying. As I mentioned to Kaere recently, I expect 2020 to be a year of reckoning or at least a year of push/shove & change, for many people. What we have is a very large group of people who simply haven't been willing to face the issues at hand and within themselves, and my understanding is that this time Source energy is coming for them directly. They are out of time.

There are too many distractions, too many different ways to ignore ourselves, too many places to escape to, in the age we are in.

The explosions around me also started at the turn of the year. As 7L describes, no amount of reasoning, and no amount of allowing space, was sufficient to produce any rationality whatsoever. I had to take a good hard look at my own inner child in the mirror of the quantum field, to see just how I had contributed to manifesting the situation around me that I had. Like you, I also left and have been on a break.

Deep breaths, and I wish us all serenity and peace <3

[linen53]

I've worked at many different places, in different jobs doing different things from office manager to janitor to mucking out stalls to restaurant work. Here is what I learned.

Stress starts at the top. The management. If the management is generous and giving those under their supervision are more relaxed and happy. They preform better, they do extra things without being asked. And their work space is neater (believe it or not).

If it's a management that is suspicious and demanding then those under their supervision are insecure and grappling for their identity. They feel threatened. Which kicks in their survival mode. This tremor of attitude flows through the whole body of employees. It's every one for themselves. Chaos.

In my latter employment years I downscaled my responsibilities and became a janitor for 7 years.

I've cleaned places of employment that were neat and clean where the employees felt respected and appreciated.

And I've cleaned in places of employment where everything was in disarray, chaos and I had extra work to do because they felt it was beneath them to do such a task.

It's hard to find those pleasant places to work. But they are out there. I'd brush up on my resume and start looking.

[ocean breeze]

Originally Posted by linen53

I've worked at many different places, in different jobs doing different things from office manager to janitor to mucking out stalls to restaurant work. Here is what I learned.

Stress starts at the top. The management. If the management is generous and giving those under their supervision are more relaxed and happy. They preform better, they do extra things without being asked. And their work space is neater (believe it or not).

If it's a management that is suspicious and demanding then those under their supervision are insecure and grappling for their identity. They feel threatened. Which kicks in their survival mode. This tremor of attitude flows through the whole body of employees. It's every one for themselves. Chaos.

I find this to be very much true. I've worked at places where the employees were comfortable and more chill at their work environment. Then everything changed when there was more pressure on management. And the rest of my co-workers suddenly became more stressed out and unhappy at their work environment. Taking it out on each other. I'm happy i never changed. They wanted me to work more hours and both times in my life i refused. My passions come before my job. I work to live not live to work. I use my job but i refuse to be used by my job. Now currently i'm unemployed. Oh well.