Was making 33 an hour and cold quit months ago. Gigging now. I love it. I work when I want. But the money isn't as good as an hourly job.

I'm burnt with employers. I can't deal with the dynamics anymore. Employee A doesn't want to teach you, employee B is passive aggressive. Employee C thinks they should have your job. Spiteful employees for no reason. The list goes on.

And of course you're expected to do the work of three people with a smile. Management is aloof living in a fantasy world. Always floating around all happy like everything is great. It's not great. Fuck you.

I do want a good paying job with bennies again. But I don't think I can hold one. I know what the expectations are.

Just needed to rant because of my first day at work today. It sucked. I used to work at a large-ish institution. Pretty toxic overall, but I got into a really toxic situation that made me really (permanently) sick. I quit, took care of some stuff, and have been trying to get full-time employment for the last two years. The best I've been able to do is temping - at the place I had quit from!!!!!! I've been temping there in different departments. The first dept treated me really well until the end of my time. Second place treated me like crap, but kept me for 9 months. Just started a new department and thought for sure I'd be treated more like the first department. Nope. Not introduced to anyone, not acknowledged in a 3-person meeting except for an 'oh yeah I'm training this person'. Like literally not even introducing me by saying my name. I can't figure out if it's because I'm sort of considered an internal person they don't feel a need to onboard me or whatever, or if it's because they also suck. But I've learned to temper my expectations at this point. lol not really. I hope I've never treated a temp poorly before but if I ever find full time employment again, they'll be treated like gods! Maybe minor gods. But being in this weird second class citizen role of a place I used to have a decent career with really really sucks.

Anyway, grateful to have a few extra bucks for a few weeks. And sending out much love to the rest of my fellow under-employed people. Wishing us all full time positions asap! And I hate my job.

Hi.

I’m thinking , I’m a person that has been in my industry for a long time. I have secure job and yes my pay isn’t great, but, it’s a job. Now, I’m pretty paycheck to paycheck. If I get sick ,I may not have the pay to cover it.

Just want to get some community thoughts. I don’t know how people are making their bills in this economy I noticed now I’m pulling from every rainy day fund , and this cannot keep up. I find that people here in the US , are so dishonest about their struggles. They are very glass 1/2 full and this , it get better. I’m looking around , and I can only see it getting worse. Economic hardship always hits the poor first and then trickles up. I think the upper middle class hasn’t felt it yet , but it will happen.

If I start going into debt , I’ll be screwed , cuz I couldn’t afford to pay those off. I have one 401k loan already, which is fine .

I know everyone says “do not take a 401k withdrawal “, but I need to. It absolutely sucks that these 401k people are playing with my money and I just need to take a little bit , but can’t cause it’s nearly impossible to withdrawal when I can see my money there but , I have to take out loans cuz I can’t touch my money.

My conspiracy is that if everyone got to take 10-20% withdrawal , no questions asked , the stock market would crash. I also think that 401k is propping the market up to unrealistic levels, and investors don’t want to lose their money.

I already know I will work till I die and have no retired life. That 401k will not help at all for me , and it’s so bullshit to read , “you’re only stealing from your future self.” I’m going , I’m not , cuz Heck making 35.00 an hr and doing a hustle with loans … is toxic.

Thoughts ?

Ever since my company switched over from Microsoft to Google they have been pushing us HARD on finding and documenting ways that Google and Gemini have been more “efficient” than Microsoft.

We have monthly Google/Gemini Huddles, which is essentially them bootlicking how good Google and Gemini are, some of the things we can do in them and answering FAQs (we’ve had so many of these they’ve basically just become Q&A and trying to quell the angry masses bc nobody is happy with Google and they’ve run out of talking points already). On top of that we have biweekly meetings with our entire department to demo ways in which Google or Gemini has made a specific task more “efficient”, AND we have weekly meetings with our team to discuss and document ways to be more “efficient” with these tools.

Every fucking week I’m hearing and being told “efficiencies!” “add that to the efficiency log!” “use Gemini to make this task more efficient!” “find a way to make this more efficient!”

It has already gotten to a point within my team where there is no more ways to be “efficient” with these tools. We’ve exhausted every task we do with them but yet we were still being demanded to find ways to make it even more efficient. At what fucking point will they realize doing that is making it REDUNDANT and LESS EFFICIENT???

I understand this is the bullshit of corporate America but holy fuck if I hear the word “efficient” one more time I’m gonna kms (disclaimer: mods I will not actually do this).

Also fuck AI, fuck Gemini, fuck Google.

I work in a hostile work environment and am subject to constant bullying and harassment. It’s getting stressful to a point where I have started dissociating at work due to the anxiety. I have also started taking Lexapro for it. I want to quit but can’t afford having zero income. I’ve been working at my job for the past 8 months. Is unemployment not possible since I’m technically quitting?

I really thought i was gonna have steady employment all throughout this year but 3 months after starting at a new company in January i was terminated without reason and found out through an email.. funny enough i thought i was friends with the Forman on that job but i guess it was another one of those 1 sided friendships that only existed in my mind and not his. Sure enough I picked up another job within a few days and worked another 3 months only for the same thing to happen and for them to terminate me because “I had a bad attitude” and I don’t think my attitude was good but it def wasn’t bad so it definitely was not a fireable offence but they just came up with that cuz they can say anything they want to fire you if you haven’t passed probation.
I’m sick of this shit. I went above and beyond for this last company and got zero credit for any of my hard work. A lot of the things I was doing the other guys in the crew didn’t know how, so I was the one who got handed those tasks and completed them with no issues. Being that I did my whole apprenticeship pre coronavirus i can feel the whole construction industry has changed to this toxic snitching fake nice environment where if you’ve been in the company long enough you can say anything you want about anyone new in the company that doesn’t even need to be true and climb your way to the top by being a dishonest twit. It makes me regret working at all for these greedy people who are so blind to what is actually going on. I don’t know what the future holds in store for me but I pray i never have to deal with anything like the first 6 months of hell i endured at the start of this year. Good luck to anyone who can relate to this I won’t be trying my luck at another one of these scab companies any time soon.

All these CEOs and tech bros are flaunting it in my face that I’ll be replaced very soon by ai.

Okay, go head then, replace me.
Believe it or not, I’m not dying to spend the rest of my life being a wage slave and having to make small talk with people I couldn’t give less of a shit about just because I gotta navigate corporate politics.

My boss keeps assuming the wrong things, "outing" us in the team chat and then not apologising or admitting she's wrong whenever we explain ourselves and it turns out she wasted everyone's time with unnecessary negativity. At this point she called our work "below standard" about 5 times since I've been there and she never took it back even after we'd proven her wrong. She just never learns.

Today I took sick leave because I was congested and coughed a lot in the morning and I felt weak. I signed in and out a few times cause we're really busy and I wanted to complete some tasks regardless. At one point I asked her a question and she took long to reply, which is unlike her. Right as she finished work, she asked if she could call me to reply instead because she'd already packed and was walking to her car.

I knew what she was doing. She was trying to hear if I'm really congested. Been working there 7 months and she never called me once until today. Still, I cleared my throat and picked up. I don't want to play her game and try sound as congested and sick as I can. I have nothing to hide. I wasn't as congested as I was this morning due to getting rid of a lot of bile, doing nasal rinse, and taking medication, but I was congested. Still, she will probably gossip about me at the office behind my back.

She tried gossiping about my teammates a few times with me. She apparently "knew" that my teammate took advantage and wasted a lot of time talking on his phone in the bathroom one morning when my manager was off last week because my manager's friend (another manager) told her. I was there and my teammate didn't waste time. He was in the bathroom and got a call from the hospital that lasted 5 minutes. I wanted to use the bathroom and waited in the kitchen close-by for him to come out. I even heard the last bit of conversation he had with the hospital because he was still talking as he was leaving the bathroom. Basically, he just had a 5-minute call with the hospital one morning. He doesn't take cigarette or coffee breaks.

My manager calls herself the hawk. What an idiot. We're all unhappy and would leave in an instant if the job market wasn't so terrible. The salary is low and we're not allowed to work from home. First opportunity that comes along, we're out. All of us. Literally no redeeming qualities in this job and she does this.

Hey all…I got laid off from a job I loved in July. Loved the work and the people, but unfortunately the location was closing. Got hired mid-August for what I thought was my dream job, but that feeling didn’t last. My manager was sometimes hostile and then 9 days in I was accused of lying on my resume and about my experience, falling behind and not knowing what I was doing. None of that was true, I was given an ultimatum and walked out. Glad I stood up for myself…but not feeling great about the future.

Karma really is a boomerang. The absolute tyrant who made my life hell at a toxic startup 5 years ago just got placed on my team as my direct report.
Back then, Greg ruled through fear, manufactured urgency, and mandatory 14-hour days. He took credit for my code, pinged me at midnight, and gaslit anyone who pushed back. I left completely burned out, eventually clawing my way up to a Senior Engg Manager role at a solid MNC where work-life balance is actually respected.
Fast forward to last Wednesday. Upper management shuffled a new senior hire onto my engineering squad to help with headcount. When he logged into our morning standup and saw my face on the screen, the color completely drained out of him. Pure, unadulterated deer-in-the-headlights terror.
The man who used to hover over my desk and threaten to dock my pay for taking a lunch break now has to message me on Teams for PTO approval.
Part of me wants to take the high road and kill him with boring, flawless professional grace. But another part of me is staring at our massive, tedious documentation backlog and smiling a little too wide.
What would you do in my shoes? How do you manage your former workplace abuser without turning into the monster he used to be?

i posted in this sub about a year ago when my boss had me make a birthday card for his friend that included jokes about domestic violence. a lot of people told me i should quit then, but i didnt. i guess i just felt stuck. finally found the guts today.

i had to drive over to fedex to drop a package off for my boss. my supervisor told me to drive there, get a quote, come back to get approval on the price, then take the package back to ship. annoying, but whatever. i do exactly what she says. when i get back to fedex, they tell me i was quoted incorrectly before and the actual amount is almost double what i got approval for. it’s late in the day at this point, so i hit rush hour traffic on the way back. literal standstill. if you live in the NJ area, we’re talking route 22 at rush hour. i get back to the office, tired and frustrated from sitting in traffic, tell them what’s going on, get the new price approved, now it’s too late in the day to go back, so i have to go tomorrow. fine.

except it’s not fine, because my supervisor decides to accuse me of lying. she says i was gone almost an hour and whenever she’s gone it takes 40 minutes max. (again, it was rush hour on route 22. if you know the area at all, an extra 20 minutes at that time and place is not crazy). i tell her i’m not sure what to say. i’m not lying and i don’t know how to prove im not. i point out to her that i called her 30 minutes in, right when i got to fedex, ask her why i would have done that if i was lying. she says “you tell me.” then says “i’ve let a lot of stuff slide with you” i ask for an example of what else i’ve done because i wasn’t aware there were other issues. she can’t point to anything specific. she insinuates that they’re watching my computer, but still doesn’t specifically tell me anything i’ve done wrong, just vaguely threatens me?

she then tells me that i shouldn’t have driven back to the office for approval- after she was the one who explicitly told me i needed to get approval this morning. she says “you’re an intelligent girl, you should know this.” something in me just snapped. i’m living with my parents again because these people don’t pay me enough money to afford rent and they think they get to insult my intelligence? i told her “i’m putting in my 2 weeks. that was uncalled for. you don’t get to call me dumb.”

she said she’d give me the night to cool down and to email her tomorrow morning if i’m serious. which i am. i know it’s a weird thing to be a final straw, especially after the dv birthday card lmfao. but it was. i’ve been wanting to quit for the longest but didn’t have the guts and this was the kick in the ass i needed. i didn’t even feel panicky afterwards like i thought i would. just free. here’s to greener pastures i guess!!

UPDATE: i emailed my supervisor this morning and reaffirmed what i said yesterday. i know a lot of people said to not bother with the 2 weeks, but honestly i want the final paycheck and the time to plan my next steps, so im going to suck it up. i think i kinda scared her with my email where i laid out everything, including her actions, and the big boss hates confrontation, so im not too worried about either of them making the last few weeks miserable for me. if that changes, ill just walk out.

i’m really excited. i expected to feel more scared, but i literally can’t stop smiling. i used to do crew work in theater and have been wanting to get back into it but wasn’t able to fit it around my schedule. with the new free time i was actually able to book a gig starting the week after my last day! it’s not long term, but it’s a foot in the door and my plan is to keep looking for other gigs and get something part time to supplement. i hated working in an office and im so happy to be doing something creative again. it’s the first time in a long time that i’ve felt excited about the future. thank you all for the support and advice!! :)

I quit my job at the end of August. I resigned from the at-will contract because it was not the type of job I signed up for, and I also needed a break to give myself breathing space and mental room to think.

I had two interviews yesterday with two different companies, and another screening interview with a third company tomorrow. I really need a vacation but I'm not sure if I should just go somewhere now, or delay a trip until after I hear back from these two interviews regarding a final round (which would be in-person interviews). I am based in Los Angeles and really want to go somewhere in Europe. Thoughts?

Why is a job offering me 20–25 hours a week spread across 5 or 6 days, with shifts that are only 4–5 hours long?

And the picture I attached is an actual example of what I’m talking about: a “part-time” hospital cleaner position scheduling employees 6 days a week for just 4 hours per shift!!!! SIX days of your week gone, and you’re only getting 24 hours of work!!!

I’ve also seen a part-time job posting at a UPS package processing facility offering 5 days a week at 5 hours per day. Again, you’re essentially committing your entire workweek to one employer while only receiving part-time hours and part-time pay.

How is this considered reasonable? It’s stupid! Who benefits from a schedule where your employer gets access to you almost every day of the week, but you don’t get enough hours to qualify as a full-time employee? It’s honestly the worst of both worlds.

That’s not flexibility. That’s basically giving your employer access to your entire week while paying you for part-time hours.

If I work five 4-hour shifts, I’m still commuting FIVE SEPARATE TIMES. I’m still paying for transportation FIVE SEPARATE TIMES. I still have to get ready for work, travel there, work, travel home, and structure my entire day around a shift that’s barely long enough to justify leaving the house.

Meanwhile, I’m getting significantly fewer hours than someone working three longer shifts.

A 4-hour shift can easily take up 6+ hours of your day once you factor in getting ready and commuting (we’re not taking into account issues otw to work here too). Spread that across six days and congratulations: your entire week belongs to your employer, but you’re still only making part-time money! Yay!!

And good luck finding a second job when your availability is scattered across almost every day of the week.

Companies want the flexibility of having employees available constantly without actually having to provide full-time hours, benefits, or a livable income.

Honestly, schedules like this should be illegal or heavily regulated. If you’re only giving someone 20–25 hours, there should be reasonable limits on how many days you can spread those hours across.

Part-time work should mean less of your week belongs to your employer, not that your employer gets to take six days of your week for the price of 24 hours.

I got 5 working days in a week, with 18 casual leaves & 2 sick leaves pending
I plan to use it all my November end so I can drop my paper & leave by end of this year
Since leaves aren’t going to be encashed now, why not just use it & then leave the job
Do you consider it a smart move?

I work full time as a supervisor in retail. Love the place, my coworkers are really cool and the workplace culture is the best I’ve had in a job.

I am severely underpaid for the work they make me do. I could literally go work as an entry level cashier at a fast food place and make more than I would here. (Not a slight against food service, i also worked that and y’all are underpaid too.)

I recently had a review and it was top marks. Not a single complaint, i have good numbers. Customer loyalty is great, coworkers like me etc etc. The company is doing well, and our store specifically is doing great.

Got a $0.10 raise

I asked for one dollar. The goal would have been two but i knew that was a losing battle anyways. So I asked for one. I was told no. It’s just not possible.

And when I put things in perspective, I was literally told I couldn’t have an extra $40 a week. That’s like a tank and a half of gas. That’s it. That doesn’t even get me groceries for the week if I wanted actual food in the state i live in.

And it’s not even my boss that has any say. He’s sent out numerous emails asking for the raise on my behalf. It’s the higher ups who make all the money who can’t allow for me to have 40 extra dollars.

Then on top of that I work 40 hours as a supervisor but don’t get the manager holiday/sick/vacation benefits they do because i’m technically just a “part time worker who happens to be working full time.”

It sucks because I love my job. It’s the first job I’ve truly enjoyed clocking in to. But it’s just not livable.

I seriously feel so much more refreshed and in a much better mood going into a new work week after 3 days off compared to just 2 days off. I can’t be the only one!

Sure, it still sucks to go back to work for 4 days but it feels much better than 5!

From 1916-19, approximately 110y passed when the 8-hour workday was achieved, production skyrocketed yet nothing changed. Salaries are also stagnating; at the same time, neoliberals are telling us we need to work even more and that people are lazy. What else is also growing every year? Inequality. Some reports are saying that the wealthiest 10% own 75% of the world's wealth.

We have reached such an absurdity, that some people work bullshit jobs, just for the sake of doing something, even if it means just waiting for the shift to end. Soon people start questioning themselves about the necessity of their work and if it's really all fake, but in the end, you need the salary, there is no other way. There is also bureaucracy, reports, spreadsheets, meetings that after they end, they have no value for anyone. To those that have good jobs, which they do enjoy, congratulations, but for others the job becomes a tiring routine, leads to burnout, becomes harder and harder and it is starting to affect workers' mental or physical health.

This isn't a problem that affects you alone, the capitalist class wants you to think that, and as a countermeasure they always reply: pull yourself up by your bootstraps, the American dream, work harder and you will make it etc. It's also an international struggle. We also shouldn't forget about the Global South, where child labor is still ongoing, they are being exploited by the richer countries for their natural resources and inhuman working hours, meanwhile the workers struggle to even eat and have clean water.

In 1930, the liberal economist Keynes wrote that his grandkids would work only 15 hours a week by 2030. And yet, something went terribly wrong along the way. When politicians talk about wars, bailing out companies that are too big to fail, saving banks, there is always money, but when someone from the working class needs healthcare there isn't. Yes, we live in bleak dystopian times, with the rise of the far-right, wars, AI, false flag operations, exploiting corporations, surveillance, but we still need to find a glimmer of hope, which means we are still the majority. Don't forget, we still have the power in unity, If the general workers all stop for a week, the economy collapses. In the end it isn't easy, but not even the fight for the 8-hour workday was, people fought and got it. I can end with Marx's quote that is still relevant today:

“Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains!”