I lasted almost 8 months. I cried on the drive almost every day. The only thing that kept me going was the paycheck. Then when I said I quit, the CEO said “No,” and tried to work out a deal with me as if any deal would get me to stay. The number on that paycheck now looks so tiny.
I worked briefly on a factory assembly line when I was a teenager, back when minimum wage was $1.25/hour but assembly line work paid $2.50/hour. I was almost the only person there who didn’t speak Spanish, and almost none of my co-workers spoke English — not that it mattered, because the noise levels in the factory were so high that you couldn’t carry on a conversation anyway. The work was mind-numbingly, soul-destroyingly monotonous. I lasted for three days.
Yes.
It was not always the work, more the spirit of people I was working with. I liked working in finance but the competitive, poisonous, dishonest atmosphere was unhealthy – I was so glad to escape!
I loved caring for terminally ill patients – but one location was hard because of the staff – hard to explain how bad the atmosphere was, how many were cutting corners with safety….I had to get out of there before I lost my marbled.
I also worked or a guy for a short time who when I think back….was out of order on so many levels – inappropriate touching, personal comments about my appearance, sexually orientated, him exposing himself….it was grim.
Then there was the job where I had a contract for 20 hours a week and I ended up doing 60 hours week in week out. I was exhausted.
Oh and there was another temporary job in finance I had where I worked in an office with three women who gossiped, swore like troopers, and enjoyed shouting at suppliers on the phone and then laughing about it. I used to dread having to sit in an office with them while the air turned blue.
I don’t mind the kind of work I do, but if an atmosphere is yuck, I usually start applying for other jobs and then suddenly drop the bombshell at the last minute “I am outta here!”
But I have been fortunate. I always knew I could easily pick up self-employed cleaning jobs if I had to leave an employment because it was so unhealthy. Usually I go when I have another job offer. It has always worked out for me. But in times of economic crisis, I may try to endure an unhealthy atmosphere for longer.
I was an exotic dancer for about a year. My choice of jobs at the time was retail work at 40 hrs a week for about 97.00 take home per week, or dancing in a bikini (or less) for 250.00 per night. I had kids to feed.
I did cold calling for double glazing window company. I lasted about 6 weeks, in that time my grandfather died 3 times (he had been dead for a good 20 years by this point, medical miracle)
The one thing I did do, was go through the listing and took off all my family off the list. Then never went back, any other job has been a breeze, mainly because they don’t insist that old people have money under their mattress and they are just being mean when they say no. They really want double glazing.
One summer I worked at a dog biscuit factor picking out the broken biscuits from the conveyor belt. I was going into my final year at university and although I had a scholarship it didn’t pay for clothing or pizza nights out etc. 😄
I lasted almost 8 months. I cried on the drive almost every day. The only thing that kept me going was the paycheck. Then when I said I quit, the CEO said “No,” and tried to work out a deal with me as if any deal would get me to stay. The number on that paycheck now looks so tiny.
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More times than I can count. It depended on how much I hated the job and how much money I needed at the time.
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Started out as a fun one and lasted three months after finding out the boss was a “piece of work”.
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I worked briefly on a factory assembly line when I was a teenager, back when minimum wage was $1.25/hour but assembly line work paid $2.50/hour. I was almost the only person there who didn’t speak Spanish, and almost none of my co-workers spoke English — not that it mattered, because the noise levels in the factory were so high that you couldn’t carry on a conversation anyway. The work was mind-numbingly, soul-destroyingly monotonous. I lasted for three days.
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I worked as a laborer on a high-rise concrete construction site. I hated it. That job lasted about a week.
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Yes.
It was not always the work, more the spirit of people I was working with. I liked working in finance but the competitive, poisonous, dishonest atmosphere was unhealthy – I was so glad to escape!
I loved caring for terminally ill patients – but one location was hard because of the staff – hard to explain how bad the atmosphere was, how many were cutting corners with safety….I had to get out of there before I lost my marbled.
I also worked or a guy for a short time who when I think back….was out of order on so many levels – inappropriate touching, personal comments about my appearance, sexually orientated, him exposing himself….it was grim.
Then there was the job where I had a contract for 20 hours a week and I ended up doing 60 hours week in week out. I was exhausted.
Oh and there was another temporary job in finance I had where I worked in an office with three women who gossiped, swore like troopers, and enjoyed shouting at suppliers on the phone and then laughing about it. I used to dread having to sit in an office with them while the air turned blue.
I don’t mind the kind of work I do, but if an atmosphere is yuck, I usually start applying for other jobs and then suddenly drop the bombshell at the last minute “I am outta here!”
But I have been fortunate. I always knew I could easily pick up self-employed cleaning jobs if I had to leave an employment because it was so unhealthy. Usually I go when I have another job offer. It has always worked out for me. But in times of economic crisis, I may try to endure an unhealthy atmosphere for longer.
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I was an exotic dancer for about a year. My choice of jobs at the time was retail work at 40 hrs a week for about 97.00 take home per week, or dancing in a bikini (or less) for 250.00 per night. I had kids to feed.
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I did cold calling for double glazing window company. I lasted about 6 weeks, in that time my grandfather died 3 times (he had been dead for a good 20 years by this point, medical miracle)
The one thing I did do, was go through the listing and took off all my family off the list. Then never went back, any other job has been a breeze, mainly because they don’t insist that old people have money under their mattress and they are just being mean when they say no. They really want double glazing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
One summer I worked at a dog biscuit factor picking out the broken biscuits from the conveyor belt. I was going into my final year at university and although I had a scholarship it didn’t pay for clothing or pizza nights out etc. 😄
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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