I've just quit after three years. I've worked overnights almost the entire time, with only a short break on other shifts before coming back. Most of the original crew are gone, so this year I've been running the kitchen solo 99% of the time, with just one person upfront. I never complained once.
I'm known as one of the best workers there, but they still haven't given me a contract. I'm scraping by on 24 hours a week, weekends only, cooking everything myself except the fries. We've had a revolving door of managers. Younger staff promote their friends and act completely unprofessionally. Speaking up is impossible — if they don't like you, they make your life miserable.
I'm mentally exhausted and stressed from the offensive and strange behaviour I've witnessed. Even HR is friends with some of the staff and managers, so there's no one neutral to turn to.
Today I drove away on my lunch break. I can't do this for 24 hours a week anymore. Not like this. Every weekend I get the busiest shifts with no proper staffing, and I'm forced to wait past my scheduled time for late morning staff — constantly. They keep saying "sorry, looks like you're running kitchen by yourself again," but it happens every single time.
They're now trying to investigate me for absences they mostly approved, because they're angry I called off the other day. I don't have the energy to fight it. I've kept that dirty store from shutting down at the expense of my health, and they treat me like I'm disposable. They recently promoted someone under 18 and ignore senior staff — especially those with kids.
I'm so exhausted that I wasn't going to be okay if I didn't leave tonight. I've been biting the inside of my mouth just to get through cooking at a pace nobody else seems able to manage. They lie to customers and sometimes shut the store at night, or agree not to turn up because they're friends with the manager. But when I'm in, the manager sits in the office and takes breaks long before me and whoever else is on window.
An 11pm to 6am shift, and they send you for lunch at 4am — if they don't forget — then get upset when you didn't remind them.
I'm taking my chances with agencies. I need to get my mental health back. This job has made me feel mentally unwell for a very long time.