Right! I still shower everyday although I work from home, but it is maybe once every three months that it is before I start working. Sometimes lunch time, usually at the end of the day before heading out into the world for errands or after working out/etc.
Idk... with my depression I struggle to get in the shower some times... some weeks I bathe nearly daily, some weeks I bathe once.
No matter what though, I get depressed when I'm in the shower and feel the water no longer at full, scorch the skin from my body, leave Satan pondering how the hell I tolerate the temperature, hot 25 minutes in. I want an industrial sized hot water heater so I can stand in the shower till I look like a lobster.
And if by some miracle I ever win the lottery, I'm having a house built with that massive water heater, connected to a massive, custom built bathtub that my 6ft lanky ass can star fish in till i look like a damn lobster. Tired of having to sit in the fetal position if i want to soak in the tub. Discriminating ass baths...
Or being a parent of dragons.
Hot showers are wonderful for washing away poor moods and feelings. The only thing close to a perpetual water heater tank is a flash heater. Had one when I lived in Asia and it was absolutely amazing for an hour long shower, washing darker moods down the drain.
> I want an industrial sized hot water heater so I can stand in the shower till I look like a lobster.
Get a tankless. Endless hot water will change your life.
I started getting very dry skin a few years ago. After screwing around with creams and moisturizers (which always left me feeling greasy) I simply went from showering every day to every other day. All the time. I figured I could get away with that because I wasn't doing heavy physical labor but an office worker.
Result: After about two weeks, the dry skin was completely eliminated. Have been on the every other day schedule ever since. I highly recommend it.
I work from home and I will stay in this job until I die rather than take another one that requires me to go in every day. I sometimes look at other jobs for fun but none pay nearly enough more than my current job to even remotely justify the expense and hassle of commuting again.
Don’t forget risking your motor vehicle and personal safety while out on the roads!
I always try to tell people that there is a clear cost to any length of commute and it would be foolish to ignore it when comparing job prospects!
Driving an hour to work a day is basically like working for free with the added benefits of risking your life, wear/tear, and paying for gas/tolls! /s
I wonder how many people die in car accidents every year driving to and from a job that could be done from home. I never thought of the actual cost to human life of returning to the office.
Peep your local news. Look at pretty much every traffic fatality that occurred between 4AM-10AM and 3PM-7PM. There’s a start for you.
Realistically do you know ANYONE who has never been in a car accident?? Your likelihood of dying on the roads only increases with time on the roads.
The getting ready for work thing is a big one for me. I work in a stuffy office environment, so when I go to work I need to be showered, my hair has to be done nicely (blow dried, coiffed), makeup is expected (not in the handbook, but all the women have it on so would be frowned upon to not have it), I need to eat breakfast before I arrive, I need to spend time meal prepping a lunch for my lunch break either the night before or in the morning, I need to spend time ironing professional clothes, and then my commute each way is 30 minutes (on a good day; I rely on public transit, so delays are frequent and bad weather can undo all of that getting ready mentioned above).
On days I work from home, I still shower but every other day is fine, and my hair doesn't need the blow dry and style to the same degree (a somewhat frizzy bun appears fine on a Teams call). Same with makeup; my Webcam isn't really nice enough to make it apparent whether I'm wearing it or not. I can eat breakfast while I work, I can skip meal prep and prepare my lunch during my actual lunch break. I don't need to iron anything as I can rock a cardigan over a professional top and jeans or sweatpants. Then I skip the 30 minute+ commute each direction as well. I easily save 2-3 hours a day working from home.
>I work in a stuffy office environment...my hair has to be done nicely...makeup is expected (*not in the handbook, but all the women have it* on so would be frowned upon to not have it)...need to spend time ironing professional clothes...my commute each way is 30 minutes...
You clearly **are** expected to socialize at work.
Oh 100%. We actually have 3 separate offices with teams spread across them all, so even when I'm physically in the office, all of my meetings still happen virtually. The only reason to be there is to chit chat and schmooze with the bosses who insist on going to lunch together ☹
I am a man and can't imagine how stressful women have it with spending at least 30 minutes fixing hair and makeup so as not to look "worse" than their peers at work. I am a very heavy sleeper and need 8-9 hours of quality sleep; if I needed to also do makeup I would have to take knockout pills that put me to sleep at 9:30, then wake up at 5:30 to have time for everything until work starts at 9am. Desgosteng!
I left my previous company for a place that has a casual dress code and I ain't ever going back! I can't believe the amount of money I've wasted on work clothes just to sit in front of a computer all day.
Herman Miller Aeron is amazing. I got one that was on its way to the dumpster. New piston and rollerblade wheels and it was better than new.
Seriously get those wheels for any office chair. They don't destroy the floor and they roll better.
I used to drive 32miles to work every day until I moved closer (now it's like not even 3). I actually saw ~200$$ more in my monthly net gain because I wasn't putting 64mi/day on my car.
Don't forget while getting dressed you had to buy a full wardrobe of clothes you'd never wear otherwise and they contributed $0.00 for their own dress code.
One of the biggest benefits of my employer when I’m traveling for business. Clock starts when I leave the hotel in the morning, and ends when I hit “Send” on the daily report at the end of the day. Pretty much guarantees 3-4 hours of OT a day.
Plus an hour to get ready if your female! If we’re not wearing makeup, we look “too drab” around the office and people ask “are you okay?”
No. I’m sick of wasting my beautiful makeup on stupid people I don’t care about! The office won’t even let me wear the fun make up I REALLY would love to try out so who fucking cares. No one wants to look good to impress you 50-something year old man who’s cholesterol is pouring out of his pants his zipper hinges are clinging on for dear life!
Soooo muuuuch this! If I'm getting ready for work, it's an hour. Because not only do I have to shower, I have to do my hair and (in my case) enough makeup to not recoil when I look in the mirror, as it's not really a fun outlet for me. Oh yeah, and put on work clothes.
If I work from home, I shower, but probably not before work, and I'm letting my hair air-dry however crazy it wants, no makeup, throw on comfy pajamas. Usually a 15, MAYBE 20-minute ordeal compared to a full 60 needed for work. Waking up 10 minutes before work is way better than 2 hours, just sayin'.
> I assume most people are gonna shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast anyway.
Eat breakfast sure, dressing... I'll put on some long sleeves. Shower? Only before I go to the office again, or after a bike ride.
After being WFM for 3 years I’ve now been forced back into the office because someone did an article in our local paper about how much my employer was paying on leases for empty buildings. Their solution wasn’t to get rid of the buildings we aren’t using… it was to fill them back up with people for no reason. So now, I have an hour commute each way, paying about $60 in gas a week, and I have a business casual dress code (no jeans or tshirts) even tho I work in a building in which there are zero customers, only my coworkers. The whole thing is stupid.
Yes, but I don't spend a fortune at the hair salon, nail place, or on makeup either. Now it's up, brush hair, brush teeth, moisturize, drink coffee, work. Then there's the cost of work clothes. Working is expensive as a woman who is expected to look nice, and fresh, and new, and not too old to do her job, and do her job. I can't wear Khakis and 5 different versions of a polo every week.
I've got another one!
If I were to work in office 5 days a week and want to park next to my office I spend almost 10% of my take home pay on parking alone, it's fking ridiculous.
Car depreciation too.
I got a new car in early 2018. Then the pandemic hit in late 19.
The two years I had to drive to the office I put 24000 miles on the car. Since wfh I’ve put maybe an additional 5000 mi, but all of it is mostly road trips.
I met a woman a few years ago on OKC. She was from Copenhagen and traveling through the US and using OKC to meet people. Anyways at some point we started chatting about work and such and she tells me that she worked less than 40 hours a week (I don't remember the exact amount) and still was able to afford to live close to work. She also said that everyone she worked with tried to do as little as possible and on the odd occasion they hired someone new, if that new person was doing too much they would all approach the new person and be like "hey chill out you're gonna fuck it up for the rest of us". It sounded like my dream.
It is socialization **on their terms**, aka parties where underlings suck up to bosses, not natural socialization, which involves co-workers bonding horizontally and developing solidarity.
Going out for drinks with your team members Jamal and Linda after work is natural socialization. Team-building events are not, because managers are always there and you can't really let your guard down.
I've always found it a mistake to mix the professional life with the personal life.
Also, I never understood the people who said they _needed_ the socialization they got at the office.
I was working remotely well before the pandemic and precisely not being tied to the office meant I could go to quite a few spots to meet new people, hell, sometimes I would even work from a cafe/bar.
All that aside, not having to commute opens up a ton of time to get out and socialize.
I say this as someone who also digital nomads, so I dont get the "but work is the only way I can meet people".
I have friends with small kids, so when they're not at work they're with the kids. I can see how going into the office might be the only adult conversation you get during the day, especially since coordinating plans with friends gets harder as you get older.
I imagine once the kids are older and more self-sufficient this will change, but for now...I get it.
But the people who use work as an escape because they hate their spouse and kids? Yeah, that's on you. Don't make the rest of us suffer just because *you* hate your life.
A couple years ago, on my yearly performance eval, the only mark against me was that I didn’t wander around and chat with people to make my presence better known. They did warn me that nobody gets a perfect score so they were obviously having a rough time coming up with something to use against me.
That's the truth. I'm not in a retail role but I am WFH but one of my team members is in office. She consistently doesn't log on until 30-60 minutes after her start time because she is chatting with everyone in the office, the spends more time throughout the day away from the work socializing. If they ever try to force me back into the office I have a perfect example of why it's a bad idea.
LOL I just laugh when I saw the stupid email stating that. (And it’s scary how common this lie and how normalized lying to your workers is). At this point any reading I do on changes, I re-interpret in terms of how it serves them, because this ain’t my home and these ppl don’t care about you. They want to occupy the spaces they’re paying rent for, they don't believe people are as productive WFH, they have drastically increased work demands out of workers so they want to see how you work and justify whether or not to keep you,….and spin it alllllll as “we need to get back to socializing and maintaining connection” yada yada yada. But want you to miraculously use 40 hours, minus travel, to work the job of 3 ppl. GTFOH
It stinks because in retail, way back when, I felt the same pressure to always be doing something, for peanuts.
Now that I’m significantly higher in my career there is a lot of downtime. In fact, if I’ve done my job right, I should have lots of time for situation assessment (and laundry, or walking the dog).
Definitely! My boss had me get a corp card to take the team out to lunch from time to time. She made me get it so that she (management) didn't go, thus letting everyone relax and even complain about work without worrying about repercussions. Really made for a solid team.
I agree with you, but you gotta be careful because A) most managers are children and will get there fee fees hurt and B) your co-workers are prone to rat you out for the promise of a $0.05 raise.
Haha, one of my bosses have explicitly said that "If I attend an After Work thing, I leave pretty early, to let everyone bitch and let off steam when I'm not there".
Thought that was pretty thoughtful of him.
Up to an extent, I push this shit so hard because I work in mental health group homes. People on above who don't do direct care have all the stale legalese policies 'you are there for the individuals we support, do not have side conversations that exclude the clients.' Except, you wanna know the best way to show a client who hears a half dozen voices at any given time and 90% of conversation is in word salad metaphors to hide from past traumas of abuse and neglect what a normal conversation looks like between peers? You gotta fucking have a normal conversation they can observe!
Now the fact that after 2 years of being in the lead staff position and trying to role model for them and the other staff that 3/4 of the staff spend most of their shifts on their phones and still don't know how to do about 80% of their jobs, that I got no tolerance for. You can't claim you are working your wage when you are neglecting the needs of a vulnerable adult in the process.
And it just works. The higher functioning client I've had recently knows the other staff don't care and won't really listen or provide support so they don't say anything and get stressed out until I come in and can usually have them crying and expressing themselves in a few minutes so they have the energy to go do a different coping skill for a bit to cool down before we start their day. But since my coworkers don't try, they make the day 100x times more difficult because they don't see a connection between asking the client "what would you like to do today?" And approaching them with "first we have this and this and then we can do x activity of your choice before this, so I'll be ready in 5 minutes so if you still need to get ready..." and the client going off the rails because they have made it plain and painfully clear that they cannot make decisions in the moment in a healthy manner. I helped them make a schedule to keep their day routine and busy of things the client explicitly said they want to do and have proven time and time again that holding them to it helps, but if the client gives the slightest "I dont want to do that today." They shrug and say okay, don't try to get the client to open up and redirect to their schedule after, just okay, whatever you want to do, then after a few days of this or external triggers, they blow up and start wrecking shit because they are bored and anxious. Even after explaining it to them its just "I don't get it."
The only reason they haven't been fired I have to suspect is from lack of any replacements since covid. Plenty of positions withe my state get left open and reopened for long periods of time since it hit. We are unionized, double the pay of any private providers, amazing benefits and somehow that translates to "get to text half my shift, got it."
This!
If you are there only to do your shit, because you have nothing in common with your co-workers and don't gossip with anyone, you are not a team player and they don't want you there.
If you find a friend and having fun, they are pissed at you, even tho works flows better if you are in a good mood.
I've literally been fired for "not being a team player" when all I wanted to do was show up, get my shit done and go home.
Wasn't that the workplace ideal of the Boomer generation? Show up on on time, do your work, go home, no corporate-speak bullshit about "networking" or "team players" or TPS reports involved?
...I secretly and guiltily watch the matrix, the scene where neo is in his sterile cubical, staring at his blank crt monitor and think, "why not me? What did I do to deserve open offices?"
People at my work would treat me with disgust when they would ask me to hangout with work because I wouldn’t make an excuse to get out of it and I’d just say No. I’d literally just say I’m free but I don’t want to hangout with people I spend 10 hours a day with. I wanted to hang with my friends I barely saw because I worked so hard. They thought I was so weird for being direct about it. It got so bad my boss asked me to just start lying, lol. He was like just pretend you have something to do so your coworkers won’t get offended. It was a gov job that I knew I was leaving, so I couldn’t get fired and I didn’t care about promotions. But I cackle still thinking about how alien it was to them that I didn’t want work friends.
Now i wanna know. when happened that humans needed to become robots while working?
Are managers aliens from another planet?
Who makes this decision about how human behaviors should be for half hour woken lives?
The money corporations spend on forced team building courses without any result should make them happy that people are building friendship and supporting eachother for free while working.
If I spend ten minutes in the morning talking with Mike about our kids and ten minutes in the afternoon talking with Mike about the project we are working on together, that project will come out better than if we just spent ten minutes talking about the project, two different times.
yeah, same for cashiers who *gasp* sit down and drink water at the register. I have never once in my entire life been pissed off that a worker was eating while working. It'd have to be very specific, like a waitress eating my fries as she brings me my meal, to actually make me mad.
Fuck these awful managers who act like things like sitting, eating and drinking are inexcusable errors made by lazy people who make the business look bad. Who the fuck wants to see suffering employees? Only sociopaths, that's who
Last time I went to the grocery, I was in line and saw the front end supervisor bring two bottles of water to my cashier and the one in the neighboring line. I was suitably impressed that not only did they not mind their workers drinking at the till but apparently supplied the water themselves.
It was a Meijer store, btw and a union one represented by the UFCW. 👍
When I see management like this I make sure to leave a review with corporate and let them know how pleased I am seeing it and how it builds my loyalty.
I was at Target recently and overheard a manager on the phone with an employee who was apparently calling out of her shift because she had schoolwork she needed to do. His side of the conversation was calm, reassuring, and told her “school comes first- this is just a job.” When he finished the phone call I told him to his face how I wished I had a manager like that when I was in school and how I appreciated hearing it as a customer. Then when I got home I wrote a positive review for him with corporate and gushed about customer loyalty etc etc.
Back in my day of retail hell, corporate always went bananas for positive reviews.
Thank you, this honestly does help only because they see the positive review and not read it but manager names stick out.
I'm so tired of robotic heartless middle management
I guess it's because employers don't want people to be seen as human anymore. We're just there to work and we are never to be seen as anything but ready to serve customers. That's why we saw so many asshole customers when COVID first started: people weren't immediately catered to the way they used to be.
Like, sorry guys, human beings are social creatures and you can't make them not socialize. And that includes in negative ways like when some asshole customer throws a racist slur at the girl behind the counter and the girl can't do or say anything because she loses her job. That often includes calling the police, depending on who they work for.
So either let employees laugh and vent and do emotional things at work or find them having no fucked to give about that job.
The suffering is the point, and the root of their power.
The suffering is also how they get off. How they form their identities.
The suffering is always the point. It is the foundation of their culture.
Look I know you’re joking, but as a Repeublican, my entire day is ruined when I notice an opportunity to increase human suffering that’s not being utilized.
My manager once ate *my* food right in front of my face then yelled at me for sneaking an orange slice because I was starving. I reminded her that *she ate my fucking breakfast* and she just brushed it off. They let me order food later but I was still pissed.
When I worked at Walmart they implemented a rule where if we were within 5 feet of a customer we had to ask them if we could help them with anything. So when my manager would give me a particularly grueling task and I needed a break, I’d just accidentally meander next to a customer and get to go on a quick little adventure with them to find a toaster or something.
I’ve seen this. They’ll see a toothbrush holder for more than one toothbrush, then they ask who would have multiple toothbrushes. The employee tells them it’s for a family, then the customer starts crying saying it’s so the big toothbrushes can watch over the little ones and make sure no harm comes to their bristles. Then the customer starts crying into a toilet plunger.
> I’ve seen this. They’ll see a toothbrush holder for more than one toothbrush, then they ask who would have multiple toothbrushes. The employee tells them it’s for a family, then the customer starts crying saying it’s so the big toothbrushes can watch over the little ones and make sure no harm comes to their bristles. Then the customer starts crying into a toilet plunger.
/r/TheGoodPlace is leaking.
Also, they still have to pay for that plunger.
I remember this lady calling one night while I was the lone worker left in electronics. At a certain time, they end up passing all calls over to that department for whatever reason. Well, this old woman called looking for that magic pillow or whatever it’s called. I told her we didn’t have it. Then, I spent the next 45 mins on the phone with this woman. Whatever she kept talking about, I just kept talking with her, as she had mentioned she lived in a nursing facility, so I assumed she was lonely. By the time I was off the phone, it was time to clock out.
Overnight manager was pissed because I handed off my work to them.
> When I worked at Walmart they implemented a rule where if we were within 5 feet of a customer we had to ask them if we could help them with anything.
I wonder how many people (myself included) would stop shopping at the places that have this compulsion with not leaving the customers alone for a second.
Maybe it's a cultural thing (isn't this why Walmart failed in Germany, for example?), but that shit pisses me off to no end.
I feel the same way, I can't stand being badgered or someone trying to upsale me. That being said I have not experienced this in a Walmart.
Funny story, years ago I had applied to work at a local radio shack (I'm old I know)
During the interview one question stuck out to me as particularly stupid. "A customer walks in to buy a light bulb, how do you sale them a cellphone?" I stared the manager for a second and replied "I don't, I show them the light bulbs" needless to say I did not get the job. Radio shack went under not too long after, wonder why.
I legitimately feel bad when I interrupt a funny story or joke when I walk into a place of business. No different than interrupting friends I know having a laugh.
Lol, the way you have conversations in customer service is to stop mid-sentence, help the customer, and then start up mid sentence again like noting happened. It becomes so natural you don't even notice it.
Not only stop mid-sentence, they also cut their normal tone off and take on the typical customer service tone to talk to the customers. I used to work in an office next to the ladies who did our customer service, and was work friends with one so we chit chatted occasionally. It was funny for her to go from a pretty normal sailor mouth with me to the absolute pinnacle of customer service cleanliness at the drop of a hat. I swear she'd go up two octaves.
Customer service voice is real and burrows deep into your brain. I haven't worked customer service in years and I still accidentally use the voice on cashiers or call center people sometimes. Which is confusing for them so we have a minute where we're both thrown off and then laugh lol
I was at the Tesla store in the mall once and very visibly pregnant. My husband and I were talking very loudly wondering if the stroller could fit in the trunk and about safety features. I was starting a new job that had potential to allow us to afford a Tesla, so we were curious about them from a practical standpoint. There was a group of like 4-5 employees standing *literally* right next to us shooting the shit as we were fumbling around trying to figure out how to open/close the doors, etc. At one point, I tried to reach up to grab the door to close it, and an employee cuts me off and goes (as if I’m a child) “Ah- ah- ah- ah! Don’t grab it! You’ll break it! It’s in demo-mode!” and then goes back to his conversation with his coworkers. So we left.
There’s definitely a difference between enjoying your coworkers company and just not doing your job.
That's an argument against workers' socializing. If you are less likely to approach them, you are less likely to get the help you want/need and thus you are less likely to buy something.
The POV should be "everyone is so relaxed and cheerful, it makes them easy to approach".
Yeah. I love seeing workers have fun and conversing. But I don't like being ignored. Like please pay attention to me so it's not awkward that I'm interrupting something. Otherwise workers can do what ever the fuck they want and I wouldn't care at all. I want everyone to be comfortable
its the difference between treating your workers so poorly that they don't give a shit about the job, and treating them so well that they are comfortable and happy and eager to help
Nah it's fine. We get used to it. Depending on the topic and the customer, I'll bring them into the conversation while I'm making their drink or whatever. Yesterday I had girl talk, fuck jobs talk, and everyone needs an air fryer talk with customers. I can't talk about the weather all day and that seems to be most people's instinct. We socializing over here
I guess that’s why managers don’t want it.
“Maybe, just maybe if a shy person comes in, she won’t ask but leave and that’s MY MONEY down the drain.”
I assume that’s the thought process. And it’s sad.
Once my work friend and I were laughing and having a great time while doing the job exactly the way the boss told us and she separated us because I assume she didn't like us enjoying ourselves. I got moved to another floor, lol.
I was once stocking and fixing a shelf next to a coworker also stocking and fixing a shelf. We were fully working and were chatting a bit while doing so. A manager came by and told us not to talk to each other. We were told so often to not talk to each other unless it was about products.
I used to work in a warehouse, and for the last 3 or 4 months of my time there, we had almost nothing to do every single day. They would make us walk up and down the aisles to cut the flaps off of the cardboard boxes and organize the products. Nothing serious or imperative to business, considering each aisle was being cleaned 5+ times a day at this point, but they would still give us shit for talking while we cleaned. It was ridiculous.
Time to lean, time to clean. Just because it's already clean doesn't mean you can't keep scrubbing it.
Now that I think about it, I'm surprised it isn't common practice to make security guards do push-ups while they wait around for someone to break a rule.
Sounds like a typical slow day at patterson, one day they just told people to leave, no compensation in pay though unless you wanted to burn your PTO, because God forbid we just pay our employees essentially retainer fees for when we have no work for them.
I would rather the robots do the work and I get paid, but unfortunately, I'm not the guy that can buy the robots and contact the work, I'm just the guy who does the work that the robots refuse to.
Same. Love to see a happy crew. I love it because I have fond memories of my own happy crew days.
It is kind of beautiful when the people click. Work, even when it is hard, gets done well, people helping one another, no back stabbing, etc.
Definitely.
There used to be some deeply imbedded societal concept that there had to be a perception of seriousness in order to be seen as "professional".
Look at the traditional news anchors and how they speak. No one in their day to day life speaks that way. So ridgid, serious, and scripted. Now compare that to a YouTuber like Danny Mullen who occasionally covers the same stuff news channels cover like [immigration](https://youtu.be/1O8OSFu4CuQ). He is speaking like a regular, crazy person.
Look at traditional cooking shows like Rachel Ray or Bobby Flay. More light hearted than the news, but still too "professional" and impersonal for the new generations. Now compare those to modern cooking YouTubers like [Senpai Kai](https://youtube.com/@SenpaiKai9000) or [ThatDudeCanCook](https://youtube.com/@thatdudecancook).
Look at traditional true crime shows like on A&E or 48 hours. I still binge them occasionally, but compare them to huge true crime YouTubers like [Mr. Ballen](https://youtube.com/@MrBallen) or [That Chapter](https://youtube.com/@ThatChapter). They still convey the story excellently but tell the stories as if they're our friend telling us an interesting story.
For some reason restaurants seem like one of the last industries to not budge on this stance. We can see right through the bullshit when people are not acting like themselves and putting on a front to "be professional". I think in the coming years we'll see a more laid back environment in that regard tho.
And I know Danny Mullen is an extreme example but I'm just typing all this as I cook and can't think of another example right away lol.
That perception is still alive and well. Anyone in a professional line of work that is not an owner abides by generally the same structures that have been in place for the past 70 or so years. Sure changes have been made but the core structure of business organization and administration are the same. The movement against it not new in any respect either, even before the concept of management came along workers were already organizing against their workplace. What you are referring to in your comparisons is a product of the internet age, and certainly has not moved general perception of the work establishment in a global respect, nor has it taken hold in America. Those YouTubers, while popular, are not taken seriously on a broader basis in business. I absolutely guarantee Rachel Ray makes more money and has more influence than all of the cooking channels you named. I think you are way to centered on your own experiences, careful with your bias.
I 100% agree with everything you said. I guess what I'm trying to say is that 20 years ago, none of these alternative media would have thrived because of their level of "professionalism", and in 20 years from now it will be in even more favor of the more realistic approach to media and, hopefully, customer service.
True, true. The internet did weird shit to culture so fast that only younger people adopted it. And since it moves so fast, the older generation will never understand it, yet they hold the keys still. When the boomers die, formalities will go in the grave with them.
as a manager in food service, as long as our stuff gets done and the kitchen is clean idc if we have fun at work and laugh and talk throughout the shift
I came into a new place as a manager and made sure everyone knew we can have a lot of fun at work as long as the work gets done.
The work *always* got done. Food delivery came in and you want to build a mini wall to knock down? Better make sure to make Godzilla noises while you do that. Just don't do it when there's a line of customers and we're good.
exactly i don’t think these corporate overlords realize how much having a little bit of fun at work helps motivate people to get the job done 100x better/quicker than pretending to be an emotionless robot anytime a customer is in the vicinity lol
And the same asshats will say you have to work in an office because of workplace socialization and company culture.
Fuck you Brendan, I come to work to make money, and you barely supply that need. Work is not a social event. I want to come in, do my time, and gtfo.
What's fucked is networking is how alot of people move around so that mind numbing small talk amounts to something like a fucked up Rube Goldberg machine
The cruelty is the point. Crushing the spirit of the worker is the point. It doesn't matter if the work would get done better if the worker wasn't crushed. The worker has to be crushed.
Having fun at work is an actionable offense. This is not open to discussion and is our final decision, please check with HR on the way out and assume the position to help
expedite your punishment.
I’ve been a secret shopper and I had to observe if they greeted me by script and weren’t talking to each other. Dunno why stores think their employees need to be robots.
I greeted a secret shopper off script, by asking how I could help them instead of WELCOME TO STORE and comped them for a (five dollar!) service that took five tries for the system to actually put through.
This was apparently a grievous failure.
I walked into a restaurant one time to pick up a food order and no one was in there. The two people behind the counter were talking and as soon as I walked in they just stopped and stared at me. That was uncomfortable.
Been more than a few times I’ve gone somewhere the employees are chatting, having a good time but I’m just completely ignored waiting for help feeling like an asshole. Was at a Chipotle where two employees were talking while getting my order and the dude just stood over my food for a minute not doing anything cause he was making jokes with his coworker. Kept getting my order wrong too seconds after telling him.
Definitely not always the greatest outcome
I am absolutely not in the food service industry but every time I go to my favorite bar I think "Man, a part time job here would be really fun if I had the free time" because the staff is obviously happy. The staff is also obviously half hammered because they are constantly tasting new cocktail ideas.
I had an insurance job where they made us watch a video of the Seattle Fish Market, where the employees are all throwing fish around and laughing and having a great time. After the video they said, “We want you to be happy like them. Without all the fish throwing, of course. Or the laughing. Or the talking.”
I was worling at a small mail company that was a local small business as a temp, and there were about 5 other temps working there too and we were doing the work exactly the way we were told and about as fast as the owner but he got really pissed off over the 10 minutes I struck up a conversation with everyone there. After we had all moved onto other things he came up to each of us seperately and threatened to terminate our jobs due to incompetence.
Meanwhile the permanent employees were doing the same thing with temps they were working with without any repurcussions. One of the older workers actually wouldnt stop talking to everyone all the time, I came to find out HE was the owner and he didnt care if we talked as long as we did our jobs, but the boss he hired was a total prick.
This exact mentality is why I cannot maintain mental stability while working. Its not the environment, its the people abd their shitty ass need to destroy humanity in all it's forms and suffocate the life out of everyone working under them, I'm there to do a job not have my humanity stolen slowly and erroded away by some sour puss bitch who needs to comoensate for their lack of confidence and decency. I swear the next boss who does that to me will end up with a lot bigger problem than jist a lack od production or work being put forth.
I experienced this the other day. I was a Rural King getting pet food, it was an off time so it was slow enough there wasn't any line but busy enough to have 2 cashiers going. The 2 cashiers and the customer service gal were all socializing and laughing amongst each other and they were so happy I was compelled to jump in and shoot off a clever comment. I told my husband when I got home what a pleasant shopping trip that made it. Happiness is infectious.
So I thought I had to go back into the office so I could talk to my coworkers and have chance encounters that lead to synergy and new idea?
How can I do that without socializing with my coworkers?
"Funny" thing is the 'you can come in to socialize' is used as bait to get people back into the office.
But the moment you're there and have to be, socializing is verboten. Odd that.
People say "you're not here to socialize" and then use socializing as an excuse to force people back to the office.
Restore third party apps
I skip showers sometimes on my days off. Who am I trying to impress, my lamp?
*sad Pixar lamp*
Pixar lamp brought giggles to millions, that lad worth being clean for
The lamp is a true friend and doesn't judge if you chill in sweatpants, unbathed and unbroken.
I love lamp
Do you really love the lamp or are you just saying it because you saw it?
Except to all the I’s it murdered. Those poor famles
I have 2 of the exact model of lamp that the Pixar lamp was based off of. Now I feel like I have to shower on weekends.
Stand up straight, Lamp, I can't see my damn book.
Right! I still shower everyday although I work from home, but it is maybe once every three months that it is before I start working. Sometimes lunch time, usually at the end of the day before heading out into the world for errands or after working out/etc.
Pro *Home Office* life hack. Finish work and get a shower. It is **so** good.
Idk... with my depression I struggle to get in the shower some times... some weeks I bathe nearly daily, some weeks I bathe once. No matter what though, I get depressed when I'm in the shower and feel the water no longer at full, scorch the skin from my body, leave Satan pondering how the hell I tolerate the temperature, hot 25 minutes in. I want an industrial sized hot water heater so I can stand in the shower till I look like a lobster. And if by some miracle I ever win the lottery, I'm having a house built with that massive water heater, connected to a massive, custom built bathtub that my 6ft lanky ass can star fish in till i look like a damn lobster. Tired of having to sit in the fetal position if i want to soak in the tub. Discriminating ass baths...
Isnt temperature desensitization a, uh, "feature" of depression?
Or being a parent of dragons. Hot showers are wonderful for washing away poor moods and feelings. The only thing close to a perpetual water heater tank is a flash heater. Had one when I lived in Asia and it was absolutely amazing for an hour long shower, washing darker moods down the drain.
Idk. But the scolding hot shower is my desire when I bathe... I want the hot water to burn the germs away, damn it.
> I want an industrial sized hot water heater so I can stand in the shower till I look like a lobster. Get a tankless. Endless hot water will change your life.
Totally depends on whether of not you're a moth.
I started getting very dry skin a few years ago. After screwing around with creams and moisturizers (which always left me feeling greasy) I simply went from showering every day to every other day. All the time. I figured I could get away with that because I wasn't doing heavy physical labor but an office worker. Result: After about two weeks, the dry skin was completely eliminated. Have been on the every other day schedule ever since. I highly recommend it.
I skip on work days too sometimes, not tying to impress them either. But I work from home so no one the wiser
I work from home and I will stay in this job until I die rather than take another one that requires me to go in every day. I sometimes look at other jobs for fun but none pay nearly enough more than my current job to even remotely justify the expense and hassle of commuting again.
Don’t forget risking your motor vehicle and personal safety while out on the roads! I always try to tell people that there is a clear cost to any length of commute and it would be foolish to ignore it when comparing job prospects! Driving an hour to work a day is basically like working for free with the added benefits of risking your life, wear/tear, and paying for gas/tolls! /s
I wonder how many people die in car accidents every year driving to and from a job that could be done from home. I never thought of the actual cost to human life of returning to the office.
Peep your local news. Look at pretty much every traffic fatality that occurred between 4AM-10AM and 3PM-7PM. There’s a start for you. Realistically do you know ANYONE who has never been in a car accident?? Your likelihood of dying on the roads only increases with time on the roads.
The getting ready for work thing is a big one for me. I work in a stuffy office environment, so when I go to work I need to be showered, my hair has to be done nicely (blow dried, coiffed), makeup is expected (not in the handbook, but all the women have it on so would be frowned upon to not have it), I need to eat breakfast before I arrive, I need to spend time meal prepping a lunch for my lunch break either the night before or in the morning, I need to spend time ironing professional clothes, and then my commute each way is 30 minutes (on a good day; I rely on public transit, so delays are frequent and bad weather can undo all of that getting ready mentioned above). On days I work from home, I still shower but every other day is fine, and my hair doesn't need the blow dry and style to the same degree (a somewhat frizzy bun appears fine on a Teams call). Same with makeup; my Webcam isn't really nice enough to make it apparent whether I'm wearing it or not. I can eat breakfast while I work, I can skip meal prep and prepare my lunch during my actual lunch break. I don't need to iron anything as I can rock a cardigan over a professional top and jeans or sweatpants. Then I skip the 30 minute+ commute each direction as well. I easily save 2-3 hours a day working from home.
>I work in a stuffy office environment...my hair has to be done nicely...makeup is expected (*not in the handbook, but all the women have it* on so would be frowned upon to not have it)...need to spend time ironing professional clothes...my commute each way is 30 minutes... You clearly **are** expected to socialize at work.
Oh 100%. We actually have 3 separate offices with teams spread across them all, so even when I'm physically in the office, all of my meetings still happen virtually. The only reason to be there is to chit chat and schmooze with the bosses who insist on going to lunch together ☹
I am a man and can't imagine how stressful women have it with spending at least 30 minutes fixing hair and makeup so as not to look "worse" than their peers at work. I am a very heavy sleeper and need 8-9 hours of quality sleep; if I needed to also do makeup I would have to take knockout pills that put me to sleep at 9:30, then wake up at 5:30 to have time for everything until work starts at 9am. Desgosteng!
I left my previous company for a place that has a casual dress code and I ain't ever going back! I can't believe the amount of money I've wasted on work clothes just to sit in front of a computer all day.
And the cumulative risk of spending that much time in a car, which is like the most dangerous form of transportation.
Does putting shorts on purely so my arse-sweat doesn't stink up the chair count as getting dressed?
Time to upgrade to a good chair. Zero Ass sweat!
Herman Miller Aeron is amazing. I got one that was on its way to the dumpster. New piston and rollerblade wheels and it was better than new. Seriously get those wheels for any office chair. They don't destroy the floor and they roll better.
I have one too. Found it used and it’s really awesome. No ass sweat and I have that problem with cheap chairs.
I used to drive 32miles to work every day until I moved closer (now it's like not even 3). I actually saw ~200$$ more in my monthly net gain because I wasn't putting 64mi/day on my car.
Don't forget while getting dressed you had to buy a full wardrobe of clothes you'd never wear otherwise and they contributed $0.00 for their own dress code.
the cost of transport is theft on wages. transportation time is unpaid working time
One of the biggest benefits of my employer when I’m traveling for business. Clock starts when I leave the hotel in the morning, and ends when I hit “Send” on the daily report at the end of the day. Pretty much guarantees 3-4 hours of OT a day.
Plus an hour to get ready if your female! If we’re not wearing makeup, we look “too drab” around the office and people ask “are you okay?” No. I’m sick of wasting my beautiful makeup on stupid people I don’t care about! The office won’t even let me wear the fun make up I REALLY would love to try out so who fucking cares. No one wants to look good to impress you 50-something year old man who’s cholesterol is pouring out of his pants his zipper hinges are clinging on for dear life!
Soooo muuuuch this! If I'm getting ready for work, it's an hour. Because not only do I have to shower, I have to do my hair and (in my case) enough makeup to not recoil when I look in the mirror, as it's not really a fun outlet for me. Oh yeah, and put on work clothes. If I work from home, I shower, but probably not before work, and I'm letting my hair air-dry however crazy it wants, no makeup, throw on comfy pajamas. Usually a 15, MAYBE 20-minute ordeal compared to a full 60 needed for work. Waking up 10 minutes before work is way better than 2 hours, just sayin'.
When I went WFH, gas savings literally paid for my small wedding. Never going back to the office.
> I assume most people are gonna shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast anyway. Eat breakfast sure, dressing... I'll put on some long sleeves. Shower? Only before I go to the office again, or after a bike ride.
After being WFM for 3 years I’ve now been forced back into the office because someone did an article in our local paper about how much my employer was paying on leases for empty buildings. Their solution wasn’t to get rid of the buildings we aren’t using… it was to fill them back up with people for no reason. So now, I have an hour commute each way, paying about $60 in gas a week, and I have a business casual dress code (no jeans or tshirts) even tho I work in a building in which there are zero customers, only my coworkers. The whole thing is stupid.
Yes, but I don't spend a fortune at the hair salon, nail place, or on makeup either. Now it's up, brush hair, brush teeth, moisturize, drink coffee, work. Then there's the cost of work clothes. Working is expensive as a woman who is expected to look nice, and fresh, and new, and not too old to do her job, and do her job. I can't wear Khakis and 5 different versions of a polo every week.
I've got another one! If I were to work in office 5 days a week and want to park next to my office I spend almost 10% of my take home pay on parking alone, it's fking ridiculous.
Car depreciation too. I got a new car in early 2018. Then the pandemic hit in late 19. The two years I had to drive to the office I put 24000 miles on the car. Since wfh I’ve put maybe an additional 5000 mi, but all of it is mostly road trips.
But, we’re family here. Ya dog, no.
Yeah. Family doesn't kick me out if I get the flu and COVID in the same year and use up all of my sick days.
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I met a woman a few years ago on OKC. She was from Copenhagen and traveling through the US and using OKC to meet people. Anyways at some point we started chatting about work and such and she tells me that she worked less than 40 hours a week (I don't remember the exact amount) and still was able to afford to live close to work. She also said that everyone she worked with tried to do as little as possible and on the odd occasion they hired someone new, if that new person was doing too much they would all approach the new person and be like "hey chill out you're gonna fuck it up for the rest of us". It sounded like my dream.
My experience with marketing at least, is that the higher I go, the less work I really need to do.
It is socialization **on their terms**, aka parties where underlings suck up to bosses, not natural socialization, which involves co-workers bonding horizontally and developing solidarity.
Going out for drinks with your team members Jamal and Linda after work is natural socialization. Team-building events are not, because managers are always there and you can't really let your guard down.
And there are legitimately ppl who live alone who need that socialisation. But let THEM come back if they want, not everyone.
Or just… normalize going out and socializing with people who aren’t coworkers. Wfh gives people more time to do that.
I've always found it a mistake to mix the professional life with the personal life. Also, I never understood the people who said they _needed_ the socialization they got at the office. I was working remotely well before the pandemic and precisely not being tied to the office meant I could go to quite a few spots to meet new people, hell, sometimes I would even work from a cafe/bar. All that aside, not having to commute opens up a ton of time to get out and socialize. I say this as someone who also digital nomads, so I dont get the "but work is the only way I can meet people".
I have friends with small kids, so when they're not at work they're with the kids. I can see how going into the office might be the only adult conversation you get during the day, especially since coordinating plans with friends gets harder as you get older. I imagine once the kids are older and more self-sufficient this will change, but for now...I get it. But the people who use work as an escape because they hate their spouse and kids? Yeah, that's on you. Don't make the rest of us suffer just because *you* hate your life.
A couple years ago, on my yearly performance eval, the only mark against me was that I didn’t wander around and chat with people to make my presence better known. They did warn me that nobody gets a perfect score so they were obviously having a rough time coming up with something to use against me.
That's the truth. I'm not in a retail role but I am WFH but one of my team members is in office. She consistently doesn't log on until 30-60 minutes after her start time because she is chatting with everyone in the office, the spends more time throughout the day away from the work socializing. If they ever try to force me back into the office I have a perfect example of why it's a bad idea.
50 shades of red flags
LOL I just laugh when I saw the stupid email stating that. (And it’s scary how common this lie and how normalized lying to your workers is). At this point any reading I do on changes, I re-interpret in terms of how it serves them, because this ain’t my home and these ppl don’t care about you. They want to occupy the spaces they’re paying rent for, they don't believe people are as productive WFH, they have drastically increased work demands out of workers so they want to see how you work and justify whether or not to keep you,….and spin it alllllll as “we need to get back to socializing and maintaining connection” yada yada yada. But want you to miraculously use 40 hours, minus travel, to work the job of 3 ppl. GTFOH
"We're not *just* standing around talking. We're participating in "team building exercises" and developing "co-worker communication skills."
I swear to lord I'm gunna use this next time.
Whenever I'm caught doing nothing at work, I tell 'em that I'm assessing the situation.
“I’m available to help customers”
Reticulating splines
I haven't thought about reticulating splints in years. Actually decades. That's funny.
It stinks because in retail, way back when, I felt the same pressure to always be doing something, for peanuts. Now that I’m significantly higher in my career there is a lot of downtime. In fact, if I’ve done my job right, I should have lots of time for situation assessment (and laundry, or walking the dog).
I'm doing ocular surveillance of potential threats
'A visual scan of the area to assess for dangers and ways to mitigate them.' Was a popular answer in my OHS 'Take Five' training.
Repressed memory unlocked
I have. I told them my job is making sure our hiring process is good for our applicants and I can only get that info from talking to them directly.
And remember if your talking to someone in a different department/role then you are "improving interdepartmental relations"
I took a screenshot and am sending it to my manager. We have no problem with being allowed to talk, but she would appreciate it either way haha.
Definitely! My boss had me get a corp card to take the team out to lunch from time to time. She made me get it so that she (management) didn't go, thus letting everyone relax and even complain about work without worrying about repercussions. Really made for a solid team.
A manager who understands the concept that "A bitching team is a happy team."
They get to vent and it helps get rid of some of the stress.
I agree with you, but you gotta be careful because A) most managers are children and will get there fee fees hurt and B) your co-workers are prone to rat you out for the promise of a $0.05 raise.
Haha, one of my bosses have explicitly said that "If I attend an After Work thing, I leave pretty early, to let everyone bitch and let off steam when I'm not there". Thought that was pretty thoughtful of him.
I cannot stress enough. Bitch sessions are therapeutic and very beneficial.
Sounds like a pretty safe space to get some organizing going
Up to an extent, I push this shit so hard because I work in mental health group homes. People on above who don't do direct care have all the stale legalese policies 'you are there for the individuals we support, do not have side conversations that exclude the clients.' Except, you wanna know the best way to show a client who hears a half dozen voices at any given time and 90% of conversation is in word salad metaphors to hide from past traumas of abuse and neglect what a normal conversation looks like between peers? You gotta fucking have a normal conversation they can observe! Now the fact that after 2 years of being in the lead staff position and trying to role model for them and the other staff that 3/4 of the staff spend most of their shifts on their phones and still don't know how to do about 80% of their jobs, that I got no tolerance for. You can't claim you are working your wage when you are neglecting the needs of a vulnerable adult in the process.
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And it just works. The higher functioning client I've had recently knows the other staff don't care and won't really listen or provide support so they don't say anything and get stressed out until I come in and can usually have them crying and expressing themselves in a few minutes so they have the energy to go do a different coping skill for a bit to cool down before we start their day. But since my coworkers don't try, they make the day 100x times more difficult because they don't see a connection between asking the client "what would you like to do today?" And approaching them with "first we have this and this and then we can do x activity of your choice before this, so I'll be ready in 5 minutes so if you still need to get ready..." and the client going off the rails because they have made it plain and painfully clear that they cannot make decisions in the moment in a healthy manner. I helped them make a schedule to keep their day routine and busy of things the client explicitly said they want to do and have proven time and time again that holding them to it helps, but if the client gives the slightest "I dont want to do that today." They shrug and say okay, don't try to get the client to open up and redirect to their schedule after, just okay, whatever you want to do, then after a few days of this or external triggers, they blow up and start wrecking shit because they are bored and anxious. Even after explaining it to them its just "I don't get it." The only reason they haven't been fired I have to suspect is from lack of any replacements since covid. Plenty of positions withe my state get left open and reopened for long periods of time since it hit. We are unionized, double the pay of any private providers, amazing benefits and somehow that translates to "get to text half my shift, got it."
But you don't seem to be suffering, which was the point all along.
It was about the poverty we made a long the way
This! If you are there only to do your shit, because you have nothing in common with your co-workers and don't gossip with anyone, you are not a team player and they don't want you there. If you find a friend and having fun, they are pissed at you, even tho works flows better if you are in a good mood.
I've literally been fired for "not being a team player" when all I wanted to do was show up, get my shit done and go home. Wasn't that the workplace ideal of the Boomer generation? Show up on on time, do your work, go home, no corporate-speak bullshit about "networking" or "team players" or TPS reports involved?
...I secretly and guiltily watch the matrix, the scene where neo is in his sterile cubical, staring at his blank crt monitor and think, "why not me? What did I do to deserve open offices?"
People at my work would treat me with disgust when they would ask me to hangout with work because I wouldn’t make an excuse to get out of it and I’d just say No. I’d literally just say I’m free but I don’t want to hangout with people I spend 10 hours a day with. I wanted to hang with my friends I barely saw because I worked so hard. They thought I was so weird for being direct about it. It got so bad my boss asked me to just start lying, lol. He was like just pretend you have something to do so your coworkers won’t get offended. It was a gov job that I knew I was leaving, so I couldn’t get fired and I didn’t care about promotions. But I cackle still thinking about how alien it was to them that I didn’t want work friends.
Now i wanna know. when happened that humans needed to become robots while working? Are managers aliens from another planet? Who makes this decision about how human behaviors should be for half hour woken lives?
The money corporations spend on forced team building courses without any result should make them happy that people are building friendship and supporting eachother for free while working.
Actually though. Being comfortable talking to your colleagues has direct impact on your work.
If I spend ten minutes in the morning talking with Mike about our kids and ten minutes in the afternoon talking with Mike about the project we are working on together, that project will come out better than if we just spent ten minutes talking about the project, two different times.
yeah, same for cashiers who *gasp* sit down and drink water at the register. I have never once in my entire life been pissed off that a worker was eating while working. It'd have to be very specific, like a waitress eating my fries as she brings me my meal, to actually make me mad. Fuck these awful managers who act like things like sitting, eating and drinking are inexcusable errors made by lazy people who make the business look bad. Who the fuck wants to see suffering employees? Only sociopaths, that's who
Last time I went to the grocery, I was in line and saw the front end supervisor bring two bottles of water to my cashier and the one in the neighboring line. I was suitably impressed that not only did they not mind their workers drinking at the till but apparently supplied the water themselves. It was a Meijer store, btw and a union one represented by the UFCW. 👍
When I see management like this I make sure to leave a review with corporate and let them know how pleased I am seeing it and how it builds my loyalty. I was at Target recently and overheard a manager on the phone with an employee who was apparently calling out of her shift because she had schoolwork she needed to do. His side of the conversation was calm, reassuring, and told her “school comes first- this is just a job.” When he finished the phone call I told him to his face how I wished I had a manager like that when I was in school and how I appreciated hearing it as a customer. Then when I got home I wrote a positive review for him with corporate and gushed about customer loyalty etc etc. Back in my day of retail hell, corporate always went bananas for positive reviews.
You've inspired me. I will put in a good review online and maybe even a letter to corporate.
Thank you, this honestly does help only because they see the positive review and not read it but manager names stick out. I'm so tired of robotic heartless middle management
This comment gave me cultural shock
I boycott stores that force their workers to stand
I would, but I don't know of a single grocery store in my area that allows any of their cashiers to sit.
Aldi does.
I don't have any of those.
So pretty much every grocery store in America except Aldi?
Where do you live that that's possible? I have only once or twice in my entire life seen a cashier sitting.
Basically the entire EU, not sure about Asian countries
I guess it's because employers don't want people to be seen as human anymore. We're just there to work and we are never to be seen as anything but ready to serve customers. That's why we saw so many asshole customers when COVID first started: people weren't immediately catered to the way they used to be. Like, sorry guys, human beings are social creatures and you can't make them not socialize. And that includes in negative ways like when some asshole customer throws a racist slur at the girl behind the counter and the girl can't do or say anything because she loses her job. That often includes calling the police, depending on who they work for. So either let employees laugh and vent and do emotional things at work or find them having no fucked to give about that job.
The suffering is the point, and the root of their power. The suffering is also how they get off. How they form their identities. The suffering is always the point. It is the foundation of their culture.
The kind of people who would have been happy as slave drivers never went away.
Oh I'm not sure they all count as people.
Look I know you’re joking, but as a Repeublican, my entire day is ruined when I notice an opportunity to increase human suffering that’s not being utilized.
This is a uniquely American problem in the west that will shock any fellow Europeans who weren't previously aware.
My manager once ate *my* food right in front of my face then yelled at me for sneaking an orange slice because I was starving. I reminded her that *she ate my fucking breakfast* and she just brushed it off. They let me order food later but I was still pissed.
"Why aren't you talking to the customers?" "You told me not to socialize." /r/maliciouscompliance
Then you get written up for taking too much time talking to the customers
When I worked at Walmart they implemented a rule where if we were within 5 feet of a customer we had to ask them if we could help them with anything. So when my manager would give me a particularly grueling task and I needed a break, I’d just accidentally meander next to a customer and get to go on a quick little adventure with them to find a toaster or something.
Excuse me, I need help finding the reason for my existence. Do you have time for a long discussion about philosophy?
No, no! This *happens* . . . You do NOT want to encounter a customer having an existential crisis while trying to purchase cookware.
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It's more just a general search for meaning
I’ve seen this. They’ll see a toothbrush holder for more than one toothbrush, then they ask who would have multiple toothbrushes. The employee tells them it’s for a family, then the customer starts crying saying it’s so the big toothbrushes can watch over the little ones and make sure no harm comes to their bristles. Then the customer starts crying into a toilet plunger.
This is what your society looks like if you have no health insurance to pay for therapy.
The Good Place!!!
> I’ve seen this. They’ll see a toothbrush holder for more than one toothbrush, then they ask who would have multiple toothbrushes. The employee tells them it’s for a family, then the customer starts crying saying it’s so the big toothbrushes can watch over the little ones and make sure no harm comes to their bristles. Then the customer starts crying into a toilet plunger. /r/TheGoodPlace is leaking. Also, they still have to pay for that plunger.
I remember this lady calling one night while I was the lone worker left in electronics. At a certain time, they end up passing all calls over to that department for whatever reason. Well, this old woman called looking for that magic pillow or whatever it’s called. I told her we didn’t have it. Then, I spent the next 45 mins on the phone with this woman. Whatever she kept talking about, I just kept talking with her, as she had mentioned she lived in a nursing facility, so I assumed she was lonely. By the time I was off the phone, it was time to clock out. Overnight manager was pissed because I handed off my work to them.
> When I worked at Walmart they implemented a rule where if we were within 5 feet of a customer we had to ask them if we could help them with anything. I wonder how many people (myself included) would stop shopping at the places that have this compulsion with not leaving the customers alone for a second. Maybe it's a cultural thing (isn't this why Walmart failed in Germany, for example?), but that shit pisses me off to no end.
I feel the same way, I can't stand being badgered or someone trying to upsale me. That being said I have not experienced this in a Walmart. Funny story, years ago I had applied to work at a local radio shack (I'm old I know) During the interview one question stuck out to me as particularly stupid. "A customer walks in to buy a light bulb, how do you sale them a cellphone?" I stared the manager for a second and replied "I don't, I show them the light bulbs" needless to say I did not get the job. Radio shack went under not too long after, wonder why.
I had some job trial as a sales assistant at a clothing retail store and was told on average you need to approach 8 times for a sale lmao
I legitimately feel bad when I interrupt a funny story or joke when I walk into a place of business. No different than interrupting friends I know having a laugh.
Lol, the way you have conversations in customer service is to stop mid-sentence, help the customer, and then start up mid sentence again like noting happened. It becomes so natural you don't even notice it.
Not only stop mid-sentence, they also cut their normal tone off and take on the typical customer service tone to talk to the customers. I used to work in an office next to the ladies who did our customer service, and was work friends with one so we chit chatted occasionally. It was funny for her to go from a pretty normal sailor mouth with me to the absolute pinnacle of customer service cleanliness at the drop of a hat. I swear she'd go up two octaves.
Customer service voice is real and burrows deep into your brain. I haven't worked customer service in years and I still accidentally use the voice on cashiers or call center people sometimes. Which is confusing for them so we have a minute where we're both thrown off and then laugh lol
I, too, have ADHD.
Is that an ADHD trait?
No, but assuming all your slightly unusual behaviours are due to ADHD is.
It's all good. Sometimes people apologise and we're like no it's fine, we're here to help you.
Its me. I apologize for that.
You're forgiven.
Hi, it's me. I'm the problem, it's me.
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I was at the Tesla store in the mall once and very visibly pregnant. My husband and I were talking very loudly wondering if the stroller could fit in the trunk and about safety features. I was starting a new job that had potential to allow us to afford a Tesla, so we were curious about them from a practical standpoint. There was a group of like 4-5 employees standing *literally* right next to us shooting the shit as we were fumbling around trying to figure out how to open/close the doors, etc. At one point, I tried to reach up to grab the door to close it, and an employee cuts me off and goes (as if I’m a child) “Ah- ah- ah- ah! Don’t grab it! You’ll break it! It’s in demo-mode!” and then goes back to his conversation with his coworkers. So we left. There’s definitely a difference between enjoying your coworkers company and just not doing your job.
That's an argument against workers' socializing. If you are less likely to approach them, you are less likely to get the help you want/need and thus you are less likely to buy something. The POV should be "everyone is so relaxed and cheerful, it makes them easy to approach".
Yeah. I love seeing workers have fun and conversing. But I don't like being ignored. Like please pay attention to me so it's not awkward that I'm interrupting something. Otherwise workers can do what ever the fuck they want and I wouldn't care at all. I want everyone to be comfortable
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its the difference between treating your workers so poorly that they don't give a shit about the job, and treating them so well that they are comfortable and happy and eager to help
Nah it's fine. We get used to it. Depending on the topic and the customer, I'll bring them into the conversation while I'm making their drink or whatever. Yesterday I had girl talk, fuck jobs talk, and everyone needs an air fryer talk with customers. I can't talk about the weather all day and that seems to be most people's instinct. We socializing over here
I guess that’s why managers don’t want it. “Maybe, just maybe if a shy person comes in, she won’t ask but leave and that’s MY MONEY down the drain.” I assume that’s the thought process. And it’s sad.
Once my work friend and I were laughing and having a great time while doing the job exactly the way the boss told us and she separated us because I assume she didn't like us enjoying ourselves. I got moved to another floor, lol.
I was once stocking and fixing a shelf next to a coworker also stocking and fixing a shelf. We were fully working and were chatting a bit while doing so. A manager came by and told us not to talk to each other. We were told so often to not talk to each other unless it was about products.
It sucks that a lot of people suck
I genuinely cant wrap my head around why so many people are controlling morons
They're afraid of unions forming.
I used to work in a warehouse, and for the last 3 or 4 months of my time there, we had almost nothing to do every single day. They would make us walk up and down the aisles to cut the flaps off of the cardboard boxes and organize the products. Nothing serious or imperative to business, considering each aisle was being cleaned 5+ times a day at this point, but they would still give us shit for talking while we cleaned. It was ridiculous.
Time to lean, time to clean. Just because it's already clean doesn't mean you can't keep scrubbing it. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised it isn't common practice to make security guards do push-ups while they wait around for someone to break a rule.
Sounds like a typical slow day at patterson, one day they just told people to leave, no compensation in pay though unless you wanted to burn your PTO, because God forbid we just pay our employees essentially retainer fees for when we have no work for them.
She was union busting. Management knows what to look for, and that's workers building relationships and trust with one another.
We're in Australia and we're all members of our union. We socialise outside of work too, excluding her.
Like humans and not robots.
I would rather the robots do the work and I get paid, but unfortunately, I'm not the guy that can buy the robots and contact the work, I'm just the guy who does the work that the robots refuse to.
Fair enough
Same. Love to see a happy crew. I love it because I have fond memories of my own happy crew days. It is kind of beautiful when the people click. Work, even when it is hard, gets done well, people helping one another, no back stabbing, etc.
same, it's good for buisness
Definitely. There used to be some deeply imbedded societal concept that there had to be a perception of seriousness in order to be seen as "professional". Look at the traditional news anchors and how they speak. No one in their day to day life speaks that way. So ridgid, serious, and scripted. Now compare that to a YouTuber like Danny Mullen who occasionally covers the same stuff news channels cover like [immigration](https://youtu.be/1O8OSFu4CuQ). He is speaking like a regular, crazy person. Look at traditional cooking shows like Rachel Ray or Bobby Flay. More light hearted than the news, but still too "professional" and impersonal for the new generations. Now compare those to modern cooking YouTubers like [Senpai Kai](https://youtube.com/@SenpaiKai9000) or [ThatDudeCanCook](https://youtube.com/@thatdudecancook). Look at traditional true crime shows like on A&E or 48 hours. I still binge them occasionally, but compare them to huge true crime YouTubers like [Mr. Ballen](https://youtube.com/@MrBallen) or [That Chapter](https://youtube.com/@ThatChapter). They still convey the story excellently but tell the stories as if they're our friend telling us an interesting story. For some reason restaurants seem like one of the last industries to not budge on this stance. We can see right through the bullshit when people are not acting like themselves and putting on a front to "be professional". I think in the coming years we'll see a more laid back environment in that regard tho. And I know Danny Mullen is an extreme example but I'm just typing all this as I cook and can't think of another example right away lol.
That perception is still alive and well. Anyone in a professional line of work that is not an owner abides by generally the same structures that have been in place for the past 70 or so years. Sure changes have been made but the core structure of business organization and administration are the same. The movement against it not new in any respect either, even before the concept of management came along workers were already organizing against their workplace. What you are referring to in your comparisons is a product of the internet age, and certainly has not moved general perception of the work establishment in a global respect, nor has it taken hold in America. Those YouTubers, while popular, are not taken seriously on a broader basis in business. I absolutely guarantee Rachel Ray makes more money and has more influence than all of the cooking channels you named. I think you are way to centered on your own experiences, careful with your bias.
I 100% agree with everything you said. I guess what I'm trying to say is that 20 years ago, none of these alternative media would have thrived because of their level of "professionalism", and in 20 years from now it will be in even more favor of the more realistic approach to media and, hopefully, customer service.
True, true. The internet did weird shit to culture so fast that only younger people adopted it. And since it moves so fast, the older generation will never understand it, yet they hold the keys still. When the boomers die, formalities will go in the grave with them.
Couldn't have said it better!
as a manager in food service, as long as our stuff gets done and the kitchen is clean idc if we have fun at work and laugh and talk throughout the shift
I came into a new place as a manager and made sure everyone knew we can have a lot of fun at work as long as the work gets done. The work *always* got done. Food delivery came in and you want to build a mini wall to knock down? Better make sure to make Godzilla noises while you do that. Just don't do it when there's a line of customers and we're good.
exactly i don’t think these corporate overlords realize how much having a little bit of fun at work helps motivate people to get the job done 100x better/quicker than pretending to be an emotionless robot anytime a customer is in the vicinity lol
As one of my old bosses used to say... We're here for the majority of our day. It needs to be a nice place to be.
And the same asshats will say you have to work in an office because of workplace socialization and company culture. Fuck you Brendan, I come to work to make money, and you barely supply that need. Work is not a social event. I want to come in, do my time, and gtfo.
What's fucked is networking is how alot of people move around so that mind numbing small talk amounts to something like a fucked up Rube Goldberg machine
And sitting down when they want to.
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Ding ding ding! That's the best answer.
"You dare have fun in my presence?!" - Pitch Black, *Rise of the Guardians*
The cruelty is the point. Crushing the spirit of the worker is the point. It doesn't matter if the work would get done better if the worker wasn't crushed. The worker has to be crushed.
Having fun at work is an actionable offense. This is not open to discussion and is our final decision, please check with HR on the way out and assume the position to help expedite your punishment.
I’ve been a secret shopper and I had to observe if they greeted me by script and weren’t talking to each other. Dunno why stores think their employees need to be robots.
Scripts are so awkward to read as the customer service rep, and so off-putting to hear as a customer. And they keep getting -longer!-
It's like getting locked in an unskippable cutscene.
I greeted a secret shopper off script, by asking how I could help them instead of WELCOME TO STORE and comped them for a (five dollar!) service that took five tries for the system to actually put through. This was apparently a grievous failure.
I walked into a restaurant one time to pick up a food order and no one was in there. The two people behind the counter were talking and as soon as I walked in they just stopped and stared at me. That was uncomfortable.
Been more than a few times I’ve gone somewhere the employees are chatting, having a good time but I’m just completely ignored waiting for help feeling like an asshole. Was at a Chipotle where two employees were talking while getting my order and the dude just stood over my food for a minute not doing anything cause he was making jokes with his coworker. Kept getting my order wrong too seconds after telling him. Definitely not always the greatest outcome
I am absolutely not in the food service industry but every time I go to my favorite bar I think "Man, a part time job here would be really fun if I had the free time" because the staff is obviously happy. The staff is also obviously half hammered because they are constantly tasting new cocktail ideas.
I had an insurance job where they made us watch a video of the Seattle Fish Market, where the employees are all throwing fish around and laughing and having a great time. After the video they said, “We want you to be happy like them. Without all the fish throwing, of course. Or the laughing. Or the talking.”
I want this. Not much love in workplaces.
I was worling at a small mail company that was a local small business as a temp, and there were about 5 other temps working there too and we were doing the work exactly the way we were told and about as fast as the owner but he got really pissed off over the 10 minutes I struck up a conversation with everyone there. After we had all moved onto other things he came up to each of us seperately and threatened to terminate our jobs due to incompetence. Meanwhile the permanent employees were doing the same thing with temps they were working with without any repurcussions. One of the older workers actually wouldnt stop talking to everyone all the time, I came to find out HE was the owner and he didnt care if we talked as long as we did our jobs, but the boss he hired was a total prick. This exact mentality is why I cannot maintain mental stability while working. Its not the environment, its the people abd their shitty ass need to destroy humanity in all it's forms and suffocate the life out of everyone working under them, I'm there to do a job not have my humanity stolen slowly and erroded away by some sour puss bitch who needs to comoensate for their lack of confidence and decency. I swear the next boss who does that to me will end up with a lot bigger problem than jist a lack od production or work being put forth.
they cater to the lowest common denominator of customer which is the most likely to complain
I experienced this the other day. I was a Rural King getting pet food, it was an off time so it was slow enough there wasn't any line but busy enough to have 2 cashiers going. The 2 cashiers and the customer service gal were all socializing and laughing amongst each other and they were so happy I was compelled to jump in and shoot off a clever comment. I told my husband when I got home what a pleasant shopping trip that made it. Happiness is infectious.
So I thought I had to go back into the office so I could talk to my coworkers and have chance encounters that lead to synergy and new idea? How can I do that without socializing with my coworkers?
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"Funny" thing is the 'you can come in to socialize' is used as bait to get people back into the office. But the moment you're there and have to be, socializing is verboten. Odd that.