utopian Posted June 11, 2015 Posted June 11, 2015 So I work at a restaurant where everyone pretty much does all the jobs, there is no "just waiter" or anything. Most of the people that work here are younger people getting minimum wage. They always have to assign extra labor hours cause people mess around a lot and dont work when they could be working. Case in point; last night they called me in to work at 8 PM to help with the dishes. I get there to see a mountain of dishes, and everyone is "happy" to see me. Not cause they like me, cause they know the dishes are gonna get done. We typically don't have managers on duty, just shift leads. So while I clock in and do dishes, one of the shift leads is encouraging another shift lead to shotgun a beer. The second shift lead stabs a beer with a knife and shotguns it. Admittedly, this is somewhat more rambunctious than the typical things that happen at work, but you can imagine how it is here after something like this. I know its not some grand job, but I am proud of the work I do, and I always do work hard, so I get right to work. I know I will probably be there till 2 in the morning cleaning dishes on what was supposed to be my day off. But how should I feel about this, when it should be obvious to anyone that the work is not getting done because people are messing around? That I would not need to be doing dishes on my day off if the shift leads and everyone else would just stop messing around? I never bring it up so obviously. What I do do is make fun of people's lack of work ethic any time they bother me. Even the shift leads. We were up till 1 in the morning finishing dishes and one of the shift leads finally says "ok lets finish up" and I say "hahahaha. Shotgun a beer! ok lets finish up." Things like that. It doesnt get me popularity points, but I have a hard time caring when I shouldnt even be working. But that's the thing; I am always having to be the ahole that does the work. I am fine with things being this way. I have always been the unpopular guy who does everything better than everyone. And when someone is giving me attitude, I always have leverage with management to send anyone home cause they are messing around while I am working. I always get the last word, or the last revenge. But this dynamic gets into more than just my work. I dont care much about making friends at work, and I don't care much about making friends outside work. I am not so good at general socializing. I know I should work on it more, but no matter what I do, people just cant help but disgust and offend me. There is certainly a large deficiency in the social aspect of my life, and I recognize that I should be a lot more sociable, but I just never find myself able to like people enough to stand being around them.
shirgall Posted June 11, 2015 Posted June 11, 2015 Management notices the people that get things done. That being said, management of minimum wage workers does not closely approximate the ideal, so it doesn't hurt to communicate without complaining, and offer solutions whenever pointing out problems. Unpopularity of good workers diminishes as one rises in the workforce, as the others' jealousy and fear diminishes. There's always politics. You always have to work with people. However, you probably have a jump start on empathy and cooperation on most people just by thinking it through and posting your story. In the long run, don't be fine with things being that way. Insist on something good from yourself and the people you interact with, including jobs and coworkers.
NumberSix Posted June 12, 2015 Posted June 12, 2015 You wash dishes for a living; an attitude that you’re better than others is in no way justified. Also, you need to decide what is more important to you, being condescending and feeling superior, or being successful and accomplishing something with your life. 2
William Wyatt Posted June 12, 2015 Posted June 12, 2015 I'm not sure there is a win/win situation in this circumstance. Which is why I always suggest that everyone gain entrepreneurial skills and become a contract and subcontract worker as opposed to having a 'secure' job. If you don't care much about what others think, because they are dull and inhibited by their repressed trauma. Why not just be a clown? go out onto the street and be silly and entertaining for money? grow your own food? Making money is truly easy when you give up on trying to be secure or conform to the social standards of the bland. Security often leads to comfort, and comfort leads to a consumerist mentality that leads people to blow most of their income.... If you are studying and working towards becoming an entrepreneur than is great So if you want to stay in this job the best thing to do appeal to the other workers sense of pathos. "cmon guys, please help me out". Instead of venting your frustration through cranky statements, express it through a sense of empathetic need. The more needy you become, the less they will rely on you as the cranky guy who will do all the work. People are more sympathetic to those with a victim mentality. I'm not sure you should have a victim mentality, but in this situation, you are the victim. Vulnerability will help you, they will no longer see you as a robot and instead see you as a human being who can't cope with being exploited... If you keep being cold and grumpy, they will just see you as a robot and continue to exploit your ability to get things done. You are in the productive right, but in the emotional wrong, expressing your suffering truthfully and appealing to their sense of empathy will help you to gain their respect.
shirgall Posted June 12, 2015 Posted June 12, 2015 You wash dishes for a living; an attitude that you’re better than others is in no way justified. Also, you need to decide what is more important to you, being condescending and feeling superior, or being successful and accomplishing something with your life. My first job, other than contract programming, was as a dishwasher in a sit down restaurant. You can learn something in such a job... especially in spotting people that will do the job for 2 weeks and move on and the people that will do it for a few months and be ready for something bigger. I don't think being snarky at the people that are clearly wasting time and money is such a bad thing. You can be both snarky and successful sometimes.
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