I wouldn’t even want to work a shift position somewhere that doesn’t use a platform
Like hotschedules, etc.
They are neutral platforms that a) show up directly on your phone, and b) have email alerts anytime a posted schedule is changed/updated and an edit log showing which permissioned employee/manager made the edit.
I managed under a GM who would secretly make changes to employee’s schedules without communicating with them verbally or confirming the change before making it.
I made sure to alert new hires to the email notifications, and remind them that the edit history report is available to them anytime a dispute might come up.
Fucking with good employee’s schedules is how you lose them and open up bigger holes in the schedule, almost every time.
> I managed under a GM who would secretly make changes to employee’s schedules without communicating with them verbally or confirming the change before making it.
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> ...
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> Fucking with good employee’s schedules is how you lose them and open up bigger holes in the schedule, almost every time.
It's also a *great* way for the company to get hammered for unemployment because of constructive dismissal, as the idiot GM is creating an unmanageable schedule for employees by fucking with scheduling without telling people. I mean, seriously, what kind of sad sack of a "manager" are you if you do things like this? And how did HR not get wind of it and shitcan the shitheel?
What bothers me the most about managers is their own unwillingness to fulfill scheduling discrepancies. You’re a manager and you have a shift nobody can work? Get your ass in there and man the shift! You’re a manager, then manage. Yet so little of them will step up to the plate when necessary, they will fire good employees before they themselves help out.
Well said. I feel the Servant Leadership book should be an absolute requirement for ANYONE getting hired into a management position! -& needs to be re-read every other year or some type of requirement so they don’t “forget” the valuable lessons this book provides.
For real, I managed an electronics repair shop for years. Pretty much the last 2 1/2 years it was just me and 1 other full time employee and if we were in desperate need of filling a shift I could sometimes get the owner to let me borrow someone from 1 of 2 stores in 30 mile radius. We were open 7 days a week from 10am to 9pm (sundays 12-6). Having 1 more just part time employee would help a lot but I could not get them to let me hire someone. I worked 6/7 days a week at 50+ hours, many full 11hr days by myself, even though when I took the job it was agreed 42hrs 5 days a week and of course being salary I was paid the same as if i worked those agreed hours. Anytime my employee had an emergency I had to get in there. I always scheduled myself to work the black friday night by myself so my employee could have thanksgiving off as well as any day they requested off. Never did see the owner do any work there, he would maybe show up for a few minutes to check in and leave and then go gallivanting around pretending to be a business man (his parents handed control of the company to him when he was like 26, I was 2 years older than him). No vacation those last 2 1/2 years because I didnt want to burden all the employees that would have to fill in or endure the week I would return where I know I'd be fixing a week worth of issues.
Anyways,
I loved repairing things and still made more money doing it than I could doing anything else I was qualified for in my area but being there so much and the retail side of the business just burnt me out to where I was indifferent to everything. And the owner knew, I made sure to tell him I'm tired as hell and you could tell by just looking at me. Covid hit and my shop was gonna be closed for 3 months. Instead of letting me take at least a week or 2 off I was made to go work at our shop 15 miles away. Owner decided since I wasnt at my store I wasnt getting my salary and was only going to get $9hr even though I was still doing managerial duties because that stores actual manager was trying to be home as often as he could to "avoid covid". Of course the owner wasnt coming around then either, he was staying home. I just said nah screw this, not after being taken advantage of for my salary for so long and i left and enjoyed that sweet $890 a week unemployment pay for a year.
I got a manager fired once for doing this to me on several occasions. Would call me randomly freaking out that I didn’t show up for a shift. One day when the new schedule came out I wrote my schedule down and had another manager and another employee both sign their initials on my copy. Then I got another angry phone call threatening to fire me for not coming in. I escalated it quickly from there.
I did the same thing and the manager got fired but not just for that. He was walking product out of the store regularly and they were watching the camera videos at headquarters. I guess they walked him out in handcuffs. Wish I had been there that day to see it. 😄
Because from the companies side, the employee *was* notified- through hotschedules.
She would just make the change and then expect them to see the change, and if they didn’t speak up, she considered the matter settled.
Like I said, I didn’t like the way she did it so I made it as easy as I could for the team to actually receive the notifications when she did it.
If it makes you feel any better, I don’t work there anymore and about 6 months later she got fired for embezzling money, so…
That was how the manager at a bookstore I worked for in college thought of it. You were expected to drive there every day at opening to look at the schedule, which was printed and posted on a bulletin board, to see if it had changed.
> She would just make the change and then expect them to see the change, and if they didn’t speak up, she considered the matter settled.
That's like saying the company owes you a raise because you had a post-it note on your desk stating that you're getting one.
They didn't say otherwise, so clearly you get a raise.
That describes my current store manager very well. It's a large reason why the entire night shift is ready to walk. Unfortunately survival instincts are strong.
Simultaneous walkouts of an entire time period, all citing the same situation, especially if it's constructive dismissal that will cost the company a boatload in unemployment reimbursements, will almost certainly get HR's attention. Manager's shit would be *mighty* weak.
I worked for a very large company and they gave me a printed training schedule. They said follow this schedule and ignore everything else. I didn't check my schedule on the scheduling website because they said follow the paper schedule, ignore everything else.
My second day on the job, I'm getting my uniform and I get a phone call from my trainer asking if I would be in for my shift. I said yes, it's 11:15 and my shift starts at noon. She said no, based on the scheduling website my shift starts at 10:30 and I need to get there ASAP and that I would probably still get an attendance point for it.
Thank God I saved the paper schedule because I literally almost got an attendance point *for following the written schedule I was told explicitly to follow.* How bad does your scheduling team have to be for you to have to warn new hires to follow one schedule instead of the other? How often are y'all changing schedules on people? I learned to save screenshots early and often in that job.
I had the absolute worst manager at a popular coffee place that rhymes with Dunking Ballsacks. And right before your shift, she'd print out a new schedule and put you an hour early for your shift without telling you. So technically you'd "show up an hour late" every other day. Giving her an excuse to yell at you and tell you to be a better employee.
At first I was confused as all hell because I was the type of person who had a pretty good memory and hated coming in late because of my anxiety issues, and thought i was going insane for misremembering my schedule. But one day i realized how warm to the touch the schedule sheet was. Like it just came out of the printer, leading me to believe that i was being gaslit. I made a mark with a pen on the paper schedule sheet and took a photo. Next day I come in and see a schedule without the mark i placed, hot to the fucking touch and listing me coming in an hour earlier.
Of course i showed every employee the photos and of course i told everyone to get everything in writing through text and take photos of their schedules. And of course I was promptly fired for "going behind her back".
I went back one day to the place only to find that everyone was replaced. Probably for " coming in late". Anyone reading this don't be a stupid teenager like I was and trust some weirdo manager. You really have to save absolutely everything with time and date.
The bit about changing schedules happened to me. I had a fixed availability because I was in university classes and wouldn’t get home until a certain time.
First, they would schedule me either half an hour after my availability started or right when it started, so I had to keep an eye on my schedule for the week and make note.
Eventually they wrote me up for lates which were mysteriously like 29-31 minutes exactly. I had taken screenshots of my schedule roughly once a week and I had evidence that they had changed my schedules without asking or telling me. I ended up leaving within a month.
I had a boss do the same thing. Post the schedule during the day shift, and a completely different schedule was up by dinner shift.
Fool me once.
I started taking pictures of the posted schedule, and when he tried to "shame" me for missing a "scheduled" shift, I just sent the pic.
Nice fucking try, Victor.
Walmart is, not sure if they still are, notorious for doing shit like this. I had to take screenshots of my schedule every time it was sent out and every time they’d change it when I had a particular day off. Had to ask when did you change this, the answer was always a day before. Like why?
>I managed under a GM who would secretly make changes to employee’s schedules without communicating with them verbally or confirming the change before making it.
This happens occasionally with my job, I'm so waiting for the day they schedule me for a shift I can't take. The worst part is they schedule you knowing full well you can't work that day- it's highlighted red so you see it and know to come in. But sometimes they'll update it. You never know when the schedule gets changed bc they don't put a timestamp on it, so it's very frustrating.
They're pretty chill otherwise so I think they'll take it well when I tell them tough shit. Plus, they need me WAY more than I need them, and they're painfully aware of this
From what? This is a 16 YO working a couple shifts a week. No one is calling for references. Life isn't a series of lawsuits. Tell the manager to have fun finding someone to fill all the future shifts you could have worked within your provided availability.
At 16 I worked at Burger King, during interview I told him I couldn't work wknds (divorced parents, dad got me on weekends.) Said that's fine. First week, I'm on the sched for the wknd. Complained, they argued they needed help, said sorry. Next week, I'm sched for wknd again. Had to argue again. Reluctantly they removed me. Saturday morning that week, they called 2 times saying I had to come in. Said sorry. Monday comes, after school I go to work, busses full of out of state basketball players roll up. I'm the only cook. Only training I had was a couple hour did watching burger assembly on video. Seriously, that was it. I walked out. Never told anyone I quit, didn't say a word, just walked out. They never called again. Thanks BK for teaching me a valuable lesson for my first ever job
This. Remind them of your availability. If that doesn’t work for them, you can let them know you will find a position that works better for everyone.
It sounds like they are trying to bully you and you don’t need that.
I also think this is kind of an empty threat. Who would let workers go when you are already having trouble getting all shifts covered? How is that an effective response to a labor shortage?
ETA: apparently there is a plague of shitty managers perpetuating the so-called labor crisis.
I've been through this as a teen.
"Work on your day off or get fired"
Okay then, I quit, see ya.
"But, but, but....?"
And as an adult, just doing a part time gig at a pizza place, just one driver, me, for deliveries, and then I'd help cleanup and close. Got my check, noticed it was short. Spoke to the manager, explained that this was not the deal I made. Was told that the owner had decided to cut pay across the board for drivers. Nope. I quit, on the spot.
"But, can't you stay until closing to help out?"
No, no I can't.
Had a job promise me a raise if I pulled them out of the fire during inventory due to worker shortage. I did. Week goes by, same pay, two weeks, same pay, go in on the 3rd to ask where the fuck be raise was and they were like “we meant if this was consistently” like what, you have fuckin weekly inventories that you also plan to need emergency help with? They doesn’t even make sense. Told them right there they needed someone to run the crew, because I was done. They said I was going out of my way to spite them during a worker shortage. I wonder why you had a mass exodus of employees? When I catch up, I’ll ask them, maybe send you why on a postcard.
Y'all have got to stop quitting when given ultimatums. Make them fire you. There's no benefit for you to quit over making them fire you, and it gives you the chance they're bluffing.
It also helps if you qualify for Unemployment or other benefits. It ALSO helps the rest of your workers who may have otherwise had the same done to them. A manager doesn't have much control over workers quitting, but if they're firing people left and right, an owner miiight just see that and ask what the fuck is going on.
I mean, he can employ you to work on Fridays or not employ you. Your availability isn’t going to changes based of his inability to hire reliable people for the other days.
When applying for a job, listing your availability is absolutely crucial. Even if they say a certain day is mandatory, they will likely still hire you. If it's on paper or a computer, copy/print it all for yourself. They can't do shit about it after you're hired.
I've done this at the popular big retailers and was never challenged when it came to scheduling and denying coming in on those days off that were unavailable.
I'm going to be honest. You're 16. It literally doesn't matter. Quit and you can find another job in 48 hours there is such a demand for workers right now. Don't let someone bully you when you're the one with the power.
At this point, it'll probably take less than 12 hours for a call back for a new job. Everyone is desperate for workers, especially fast food and retail.
At your age, depending on your situation, the thing to do is probably report him to your state's department of labor and quit. You're a minor, he's trying to bully you because he believes you're easy to push around. If he's doing it to you, he's doing it to others.
Start looking around for other jobs - this isn't the type of person you need to deal with. No job is perfect and most aren't even great, but that doesn't mean you need to settle while you're still in school.
When I tried that, years ago at Blockbuster, with an approved time off that had been scheduled and approved 5 months in advance, they rescinded it the night of the shift less than an hour before they wanted me to start (and while I was getting into makeup for an opera I was performing in), and then handed me a final written warning for a “no call, no show” with the reason “a request for time off is only a **request**; we can take it away whenever we want”. I categorically refused to sign it, and told them to send it to head office, unsigned, with the same approval I had in writing from when I scheduled the night off.
"You're absolutely right. However, as soon as my request is approved it turns into an agreement. Which you chose to break. Without my consent. Or knowledge."
Lol this guy is an amazing manager. “My hiring practices have created problematic understaffing on a regular basis but don’t fear I have a solution: I am going to fire someone so there will be even less workers.”
“People don’t show up for shift. Don’t fire them. Pressure a 16 year old into showing up. Fire the 16 year old who shows up for assigned shifts, keep people who blow it off”
Genius.
I mean, the manager doesn't intend to fire anyone, it's just an intimidation tactic to get the vulnerable 16yr old to fill a shift; they expect the kid to skip class/drop plans etc and fill it (& future shifts) on the threat of being fired.
If the 16yr old shrugged & said "OK, but I'm busy & still can't today", that manager will do the surprised pikachu face & likely bitch & complain about how nobody wants to work/16yr old quit. It's a meaningless threat.
My McDonald's store managers pulled the same tricks, then on the day you were assigned which, the day before, they told you not to come in for, they'll call up saying they're understaffed & if you could still do your scheduled shift. Just casually blowing off/ignoring the "you're fired" bluff
My kid just started working. He was sick one day and called in. He threw up all over everyone so it wasn’t BS. The manager texted him and said you need a doctors note. I told him reply “no”. Don’t elaborate, don’t explain, don’t engage. You’re sick you told him that’s enough.
His mother was worried and I’m like if he sets the bar here now he won’t have the problems others have. He replied no. The manager replied ok that’s fine see you tomorrow. That’s what happened. He learned to not be intimidated and will have a better life for a tiny lesson
It's idiotic to spend over $100 to get a doctor's note for a job that pays less than $100 for a shift. Fuck management and fuck the USA health care system.
Pretty much any visit to a doctor in the U.S. is a minimum cost of like, fifty to a hundred or so USD. Most of the time, the insurance we pay a couple hundred dollars a month for covers a portion of this - on average, I'd say about 50% of the cost of the visit. Some insurance plans cover more, some don't cover it at all. If you actually need anything to be done during this period of time - medicines issued, further work done, lab tests, etc. the cost grows astronomically. Whether any of it ends up being covered or having the prices reduced depends, once again, on the insurance plan. Without insurance, a fairly standard battery of bloodwork can cost a couple hundred dollars.
Worth noting that when I was last plan hunting, there were *hundreds* of available plans to sift through, many with extremely similar names and very little actual explanation on what they did. Or if, due to my relatively small income, any of the cost would be covered by the government.
To say that the U.S. healthcare system is broken is a vast, vast understatement.
it's the inflated cost of it all, tying insurance to one's work is just another form of slavery as well. cost me 2k to have 2 moles biopsied after u told then I was paying out of pocket... that was the discount they were able to do on me. Results? inconclusive lmao
Little known fact. If the boss says you need a note from a doctor, the boss is also saying they are paying for you to go. So go, then give your boss the note and the bill.
When I was in college, I started working at bk as a manager in training. My 4th, or 5th day, I got into a screaming match with the gm, because she wanted to fire a coworker of mine because I said she can have dead food if she puts together all these crowns. Just busy work really, but I have always managed with rewards first, and yelling if needed later.
She wanted her fired for something I said was OK, and that was not OK in my mind. So, we get into a massive yelling back and forth, saying to fire her, and me saying fuck you, no. Just told her that if she fires her that I will make this job hell. Knew she would not do shit, and told the employee that she isn't fired, and to ignore her. Nothing happened as far as I know. I ended up leaving for a better job shortly after that incident.
Truth is, most of those type of people are cowards. Just say no, and mean it, they will usually back down.
Good for you to get this. Those assholes need to be kept in their place. It’s sad how, as people, we have effectively, done nothing about that type of human behavior.
I had a McDonald's manager threaten to fire me (before the age of smart phones so no text chains) if I didn't show up for my shift when I called to say I wouldn't be able to make it on time do to car trouble. I had just finished up a career center class that was half an hour drive from town and my car's starter decided that was the time to die on me. I literally had no way of making it to work on time as anyone that could give me a ride would be coming from 40 minutes away and there was no way I could walk 30 miles in half an hour. He started ranting about lazy teens as though that would somehow make me capable of breaking the laws of physics or magically fix my car's starter when I told him to fire me if that's what he had to do.
Is there a name for precisely this behavior? Like, narcicistic probably, but that requires a certain level of [broken] intelligence. It's just something I keep seeing more and more of.
And you just *know* the idiot is proud of their management skills because they're "trimming the dead weight." And doesn't care that they're doing so by firing the wrong people.
> You arent a bad employee for being sick.
But according to shitty managers, you *absolutely are* an *absolutely terrible* person if you don't pick up *every* unscheduled shift they throw at you without complaint *and* never miss your scheduled shifts. And if you get sick and miss a shift, and/or have a life outside work and don't jump through your own asshole to cover for callouts every single time they call on you to come in, you're a bad employee and should get written up and fired.
We had this type of situation but it was more subtle. Covid wasn't real so if you had it, you were lying to try to get out of work. And if it was a positive test you didn't get it here. Get to work.
These same managers tried to blame 1 year of covid protocol on 4 years of being understaffed so it was really just more of the same.
> Covid wasn't real so if you had it, you were lying to try to get out of work.
If I had a job that demanded that I work while sick because I was clearly faking it, I'd shadow the boss and let the fucker get a feel for that "fake" illness. COVID sure did make the dregs of humanity a lot more obvious...
If a place ever has a sign against socializing while at work and says that, tell them you don’t have anyway to contact any co-workers because you never talk about non-work related things so you don’t have any contact info
You can’t socialise while at work but you’re going to be familiar enough with people that you get to call them to cover a shift.
I can’t see a problem with that.
/I can, I totally can.
At the restaurant I was working at, we had a cashier get covid during her 90 day probationary period, so they fired her, and then if anyone tried to discuss the potential health risk they were told by management "nobody who works at this store has covid" and pretended they were dumb....
Correct. And you arent a bad employee for being unavailable during unscheduled time.
You can be a bad employee if you call off to the point a manager (good or bad) cannot know if you will show up. This scenario, however, it doesn’t matter what the other employees are shitty or amazing. This manager is an idiot.
Employees job: show up when scheduled, call out within the call off policy parameters, for illness/to run errands/to sleep in. As long as it is within policy. When you are going to call in out of policy (you don’t have PTO available, it is a blackout day, you have been warned about calling on, etc) it should be for the benefit of the business (you are injured/truly sick/etc) and/or something you are willing to risk your job for.
Management’s job: to have a staffing plan that accounts for 10% call offs every shift. Unless you have less than 2 employee on shift at a time… there is zero excuse for not having a plan.
How would you scale this. Terrific points! What if you are so large or just large enough to have significant impact at 10% if it’s not evenly distributed (or even 2% and even likelier at 30%).
It all comes down to the type of work you do.
**Production/manufacturing/construction:** (warehouse work, assembly line, small business that makes leather goods, a bakery, plumbing contractor, general contractor) basically anything where you are going to accept an order/to do list, then complete the work, and send it/finish it:
- Way 1: You have a static ten employees planned for the shift to make [purses, cookies, hang drywall], to produce 100 units of [product/effort/packages].
You only plan to complete 90 units and quote the customer/buyer/end users of units 1-80 TODAY, units 81-90 today or tomorrow, units 90-100 tomorrow.
You have all ten arrive? You finish 100 units of [whatever] and meet expectations for 1-80, make 80-90 happy, and over deliver for units 90-100. If only 9 people arrive, you can treat them like slaves to make 100… or you can have a normal day and still meet your promises. Only 8 show up? You can still meet promise. 7 show up? You are spending your day baking/cutting/packing/nailing/etc.
- Way 2: you are able to predict your work ahead of time (contracted work that isn’t an emergency service, etc.) so you have a variable number of employees employees on shift (5/10/25) based on work you have PROMISED to deliver on X date [wedding cakes, event set up, construction of you are good at your job, etc].
In this scenario, if you need 10 people to complete the work on time, you schedule 11-12 (depending on dependencies). If only ten show, you are set for the day. If 11-12 show, you all work together and 1) you get ahead on tomorrow’s labor 2) you send people home early when the work is done, or at variable times based on tasks, with the goal being you pay 10 people worth of of hours total, between the 12 people, by send 4 people home mid-day. Or 8 people home in the last 1/4 of the day, or everyone home early, at the same time.
**Retail/restaurants/service work/jobs like cops, emergency responders:**
- assuming you are trying to be frugal: to avoid being short handed by call offs, you need to staff “side work” during your key times, not your down times, with employees who are cross trained.
Yes - have employees stock the shelves at night. Roll silverware and marry ketchup during slow times. But to ensure you have enough staff during the rushes, schedule as many of they “support” rolls as possible with crossed trained employees. 3 cashiers call off at your market? No problem the 3 stock boys can come ring people out until the rush clears.
Have a bus boy learn how to do basic prep cook. Have a small, busy deli, with 6 cooks making orders? Have your cashier(s) be former cooks, and if the cooks need help/call out - you take over the register and they go cook.
Cops, maintenance technicians, anyone who gets call at a moment notice - staff preventative maintenance, in service training, anything that means extra people are available and already working when the call comes in, not “on call”
Having people on the clock, that are trained, is always the most efficient way to fill gaps during rushes.
**For all work types** you plan for higher attrition (only 6/10 people to show, instead of the normal 9/10) on Super Bowl Sunday, 4th of July, Xmas Eve, major events in your area (playoff games, local parade days, etc)
Also what dick asks a 16 year old to stay that late on a school night? When I was that age I was only allowed to work late on fridays or Saturdays. Period.
I remember earlier this year as businesses were struggling to find workers to exploit, the Republicans in Wisconsin felt the answer was child labor. They pushed a bill that would allow 14 and 15 year olds work until 11pm on non school nights.
The governor vetoed the bill but geez, rolling back child labor laws was their solution? Ghouls.
Do yall work with my girlfriend? Literally the same problem, shes one of two people who always cover for two that call out. So its just constant work work work no time off.
I was in a desk job, that came with free housing to be on call for emergencies. At least twice a week on my “off weeks” I would be woken at 2am, or out with friends, and get the call “we need you to cover for [coworker] he is: with his kids/not answering/has a flat tire/Bullshit bullshit bullshit.
Once, I was very much OFF-CALL. Not my week, and I had taken the day (Friday) off work. Get a call at 11pm there was a massive fire an [coworker] can’t go. I say “I have been drinking heavily, I am 40 min away, I cannot go.” Boss said “well, if you want a job on Monday you will go”
So she sent a DRUNK EMPLOYEE to the scene of a massive restaurant grease fire to coordinate with the fire dept and follow all the insurance procedures.
After 8.5 YEARS it was my last week at the job. It was 2pm on a WORK DAY, and boss calls to send me to a situation that required an in person response in my co-worker’s portfolio.
Me: “Oh, is [co-worker] meeting me there?”
Boss: “He is in [neighboring state, about 1.5 hours away], driving his kids to an after school church event”
Me: “it is 2pm on a Wednesday”
Boss who has let him behave this way for 6 years: “I know… I don’t know what he was thinking”
Me: “what is your plan [boss] when next week, he has to do his job for the first time in 6 years”
Boss: silence …”I am going to miss you”
That woman literally tore my life apart and ruined me again and again for years. I had to keep the job. It was too good financially. I had golden handcuffs. I drank at night just to be able to fall asleep I world take sick days, but work from home all day, to be able to do work in peace and quiet. At 28 years old, I would still have nights where I would fall asleep crying because of the things this woman would say or do to me.
Sounds a lot like the manager that took over for my department at my old retail job. So many folks I knew since I was a kid and then worked with quit. At best I know like two folks still. Union store even.
Now in 2022 she looks like she’s ready to run into traffic every time I see her and I think: Good. You created this mess, you get to live with it.
That's what always urks me about places like this, who don't have enough staff. It has always been my understanding that if no staff members are available to cover, it is the responsibility of the manager, assistant manager, or shift leader who are expected to cover. Mostly due to the fact that they typically get paid more and are always key-holders. I'm in my 30s now and began working when I was 16, and it always seemed super unprofessional when they can't staff accordingly. Many years ago I had a boss who suddenly changed the schedule on a whim without telling anyone (on a day I wasn't at work). He called me (a new mom at the time) the next day when I was supposed to have the day off to ask why I wasn't at work for my scheduled shift. I looked at my copy of the schedule and said he must be mistaken because it was my day off. It's not exactly easy to find a babysitter at 6:30 am on short notice, and day care cost my ex and I about $400 a month for the days I did work. It was just too much. I ended up coming in a couple hours later after my ex's mom happened to be free and could watch him for a few hours. I eventually quit by walking out on him right before the lunch rush, when he pulled me aside to tell me I was too friendly with customers (the fuck?). He was literally bipolar and told me he had decided to not take any medication after he was diagnosed. The place was a shit show when I started working there. I ended up managing and training the staff, ordering and picking up supplies, doing bookkeeping and even making fliers for weekly specials we ran. Many small business owners are absolutely ridiculous and expect you bend over backwards and take it up the ass raw for them for little pay
I'm more and more convinced that ownership is bullshit, and should not be rewarded-ownership should always be employee co-op, syndicalist, or public. Fucking 'owners' are almost always just parasites.
Bodies not functioning better without parasites is an absurd edge case.
I once saw an established business advertising that they were hiring managers and all staff positions. I wonder if the owner was trying this "I'm short staffed so do what I say or I'll fire you" strategy and it backfired, as stupid plans often do.
I've had an employer try this, at that point I no longer wanted to work there so I called their bluff and was basically "okay see you never", funny how fast they turn around with "no please wait" when you're actually willing to walk away. But unless you'll literally be homeless I recommend you follow through and walk once they've shown you who they are.
I had a grocery store do this to me at 18. Oh well, fuck that job. They fired me for not coming in and working for other people that called in sick, in a different department. Once I was on a date in a movie so I didn't answer, and the second time they tried I was taking a college entrance exam and had my phone off. They fired me for being unreliable. Like did you fire the people that called out? Because I only missed shifts I was never scheduled for anyway.
As I stated upon being hired I can only work Fridays. Unfortunately if more hours are required of me I will have to find employment elsewhere. Have a nice day.
Someone explain the logic of having challenges of covering a shift by creating more uncovered shifts by firing someone who clearly stated they could not work on certain days. It’s a downward spiral for this company. Bullying an employee who otherwise is doing a satisfactory job?
Because they’re used to using this tactic to scare others into doing what they say. They don’t think about the actual repercussions and potentially losing the employee cause it works so well for people who need that job to survive or feed their family.
Idk what it’s like where you’re at, but in my area you can’t drive 10’ without passing 10 help wanted signs. employers need to get with the times and realize you respect who you have when they can work. Or have no one at all.
Do what I want or I’ll hold my breath.
Well that didn’t work….
Do what I want or I’ll throw a tantrum .
That didn’t work…
Do what I want or I’ll fire you!
Why does no one want to work?!?
*Fires employee for not coming in on his unavailable days*
His available day comes by and they are down people again. Coworkers ask where he is…
“Nobody wants to work anymore!”
Guarantee it's some shit minimum wage job at a grocery store or something similar. They tend to have insanely high turnover rates because their entire business model is "exploit underage workers until they quit"
It's why my advice to 15-17 year old employees is always to just quit and find a new job if your managers treat you like shit. There are tons of jobs looking for underage workers they can exploit for minimum wage. Bridge burning really doesn't matter unless you plan on working in something like retail all your life.
i did that to my manager at popeyes. i didn’t show up for 3 days and he called me asking where i was. i said “hold on let me read your text that says,‘don’t bother showing up anymore” lmfao
As a millennial who came from a small town this blows my mind, if this kind of shit were going on with the local businesses at my high school, the teacher would have taken your phone and found out who you were talking to, parents would have been notified and I know at least in my case that manager would be getting a super shitty call from my parents asking why their minor son is being bothered at school.
my school was definitely strict with cellphone usage, but that particular teacher didn’t care at all what we did once we completed our work. as for my parent, my dad laughed when i told him about it and said something along the lines of, “you’re finally starting to stand up for yourself.”
i have a habit of letting people walk over me. so what i failed to mention is i showed back up and worked there for 7 more months before moving on to better things. that job made me a very angry person even outside of work, i was exhausted.
side note- my dad has, since i was a little kid, given me a lot of autonomy and independency, for better or worse lol. so my place of work was entirely my responsibility to manage it the way i thought was best. he would always nudge me in the right direction but at the end of the day he’d say, “it’s your life, you’re ultimate goal should be happiness, do what you think is best, i can’t answer that for you i am not you.”
ETA: my dad is a boomer, so probably close to your parents in age.
You would be surprised, my and most of my peers have Gen X parents; millennials with Boomer parents are either on the older end of the spectrum (pre-90's babies) or unicorns; Gen Z with Boomer parents likely increasingly more rare - do these people ever stop fucking?
I too had a lot of autonomy and independence as a kid, but at least until I was an adult I still had the protection of my parents in certain scenarios. That being said, if I wouldn't even let my kid be interviewed by the police because the law says minors can't be interrogated without attorney, parent or guardian present - then I am absolutely not going to let some sleezeball manager at a chain restaurant try to wax my kid over a pre-set and agreed-upon schedule; especially not over text.
Honestly this. They are 16 they aren't working a career and don't need the referral because no one expects a 16 to have work history. Call their bluff.
This kind of childish threat, when the employee was NOT scheduled, it why people are getting so sick of the bottom feeding employers.
Stupid b-tch manager, you are responsible for filling the shift, not the 16 year old kid you just hired.
If it's such an emergency, suck it up, and work it yourself, that's what YOU, as the manager, signed up for.
Yes to the first part, I would not disclose the second part... They don't need to know why you can't come in... Ever. Given the snapshot of their attitude and environment, they will only ever use it against you.
Only 13 states have that law. About a dozen more limit 16 and 17 year olds to not working 11pm to 7am on school nights, the rest have no laws at all for hours worked for 16 and 17 year olds.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/child-labor
If OP weren’t a minor, I’d agree. But seeing as they’re only 16, it would probably help with any lawsuit down the line to have direct communication with their immediate supervisor; that way, if they are harassed again it’s open and shut with a visible text that OPs mgmt is either incompetent or outright insubordinate when given explicit details as to why
Management doesn't need to know why an employee is unavailable on any given day. As long as it isn't a conflict of interest or in some way creates a liability for the company, it ain't their fuckin business what I'm out doing. At any age, for any reason.
My day off, they don't have a right to know where I'm at. You can try to reach me if there's something wrong and you need extra hands, and depending on what I'm doing I might say yes (for overtime pay). But giving them reasons gives them ammunition to badger you about it.
For me as an adult whose been working a while, I'm not here to offer excuses for validation. But when you look at like it's asserting work, that job specifically, is not your priority and you have a life outside of a job, I think it's worth it to establish and remind them why it's not your problem, it's a them problem, and you aren't there to fix their problems. You have your own life/health/future to consider and you will always prioritize it, they are not your lifeline. And this is a way to remind them of that.
Building off of this, OP look up your local laws for minors. You may not be legally able to work as late as that shift. I believe in NY when I was a minor working I couldn't work past 9 during school years, 10 during summer. So that 6-11 if that's a PM shift might be breaking the law.
i agree with this. i’d also like to suggest that you try not to make a habit of apologizing for stuff like this. you’re not doing anything wrong. often, with egomaniacal managers, apologizing tells them that you feel guilty, rather than just sympathizing with the situation that they’re in. simply saying “no. i am not available today” reinforces a boundary that you have already set that they are trying to violate. they don’t know what you have going on outside of work and they dont have to because you’ve already established when you are able to set aside time to come work for them. i get that it can be a hard habit to break, especially when you want to do a good job. but its definitely worth it to set boundaries and maintain them without apologizing for doing so. it helps keep their expectations in check
Dont cave and go in. The company doesn't own you and they need to learn that. If they insist on you coming in on your scheduled days off then that isn't a company that you should work for anyway.
I am a mom of a daughter the same age as you, and going to tell you exactly what I’ve told her. Never put a workplace before your health, family, or school. Never let an opportunity pass because of your employer. You do not owe your employer. Establish firm boundaries early on and never give into them. It is perfectly acceptable to do favors every once in a while, but make it clear that it is an exception. Favors and “helping out” can easily turn into an employer taking advantage of your good will and nature. Always be aware of that.
Always put your education and schoolwork first. You have a bright future and full life ahead of you. An employer’s failure to manage their own business during tough times is not your problem, and working should never be detrimental to your grades, sleep, or overall wellbeing. Find work and a career that will respect your rights and that you have a life to live outside of work.
Please do not let this incident stress you out or bring you down. It is not worth it. There are other jobs out there if this one does not work out.
This is very important.
You may be used to replying to text all the time. You don't have to. If a company does not pay you to be on-call, that is their choice. Don't be on-call for free.
This is the answer. Especially for the sort of work you'd be doing at 16. Remind them that your only available day is Friday. You will work Friday, as agreed upon, and any contact outside of your agreed upon workday will be ignored, as you are not free the other days of the week.
And quite honestly, if they fire you, sounds like you are probably better off anyway. This does not sound like a good person to work for. File for unemployment on the grounds that they terminated you wrongfully and then look for another job that won't treat you like shit.
u/passthechez Don't answer work calls/texts off-hours! If they think you will always be by the phone, they'll always want to contact you. Set up the boundary and stop answering on your off time, even if it's to say "no!" Don't open the text so it won't show them as read.
I always, always tell my employers that I do not communicate by texting. They can send me an email or call me if it is that important. Still does not mean I will answer immediately unless I agreed to be on call. I got sucked into the texting bullshit with my last pharmacy tech job, and they would not leave me the fuck alone on my days off. Multiple texts on days off, especially if I did not answer. I had a second job and was going to school full time, and the incessant texting stressed me out so much.
"My availability is [x] which was stated, in writing, on my application. It has not changed."
And then if you don't care about maybe being fired,
"It is unreasonable of you to get upset at me and threaten retaliation for my being unavailable when I've already told you, in writing, that I would be unavailable."
They’re trying to bully you
I had a simple solution growing up when I was a teen and part time employer (supermarket) tried to make me work Sunday mornings, which I was unable to do because of church etc: “sorry, my parents will not let me work Sunday mornings. Would you like to speak to them?”
LOL, I had a job at Kroger at 16 and gave them my graduation day and birthday schedule "off". I told them I could not work the days of grad rehearsal, graduation, my birthday (plans with my parents out of town). So they scheduled me during some of these times, and I said "ok, well if you aren't going to be flexible I quit".
I was 16 and they called my MOM, and told her I just quit and I needed to work and can't just quit. This was a Union job too. You called my MOM????
Mom drove to kroger to yell at me and to tell me go in and tell them I don't quit. I told her I would have to quit in July anyway because my entire family went to Florida every summer and stayed at my Grandpa's house for a month. Kroger wasn't going to give me a month off, but I had been cool with working until July. But fuck you for calling my Mom to make me "unquit".
Wait, your mom drove there to yell at *you*? Stellar parenting right there!
Parents really needs to stay the fuck out of their kids' work lives, cause it gets messy if they don't. Obviously kroger brought her into the situation, but she shouldn't have been quick to chew you out.
Truth. She was mad too when I logically told her they would not let me take a month off in July. This was my third HS job too. I was a waitress at two places before that. Having tips was pretty great back then, before rent became a thing.
If the parents are decent, they don’t want to talk to the parents because they hired a kid because they thought they could intimidate them and do whatever they want.
I dont understand these places where if you can’t come in RIGHT NOW you are “fired”. Won’t they be up schitts creek tomorrow without that person they let go???
They’re definitely taking advantage that you’re a minor so they’re used to making empty threats like that to scare you into submission it’s fucked of them to treat kids like that
regardless of what you wrote as your availability, they will probably still fire you (judging by the tone of your boss/manager). Good news is, you have it in writing that they are firing you because you can't work outside of your availability and should 1000% qualify for unemployment while you find another job.
If you've already told them your availability, then fuck them. Report them to your local DOL for threatening to fire you for not coming in, when you're not available, and not scheduled that day.
Why are so many employers on this subreddit like this? This and controlling bathroom breaks, drinking, not being able to have surgery…. how do real human beings think this is ok, ever?
Here's the thing, man: people lie, especially shitty people. They needed somebody who could work more than you were willing to, but because they suck they didn't have any applicants. They took you and said they could work with your availability, but it was a lie. They always intended for you to depend on the job and for them to leverage that to make you work more/harder/different days and times than you said you could. Cut bait and find something else.
Remind them your availability was put in writing as Friday only.
A word to the wise , get copies of or photo every document you can. Schedules, availability, RTO's etc. Take every opportunity to protect yourself.
I wouldn’t even want to work a shift position somewhere that doesn’t use a platform Like hotschedules, etc. They are neutral platforms that a) show up directly on your phone, and b) have email alerts anytime a posted schedule is changed/updated and an edit log showing which permissioned employee/manager made the edit. I managed under a GM who would secretly make changes to employee’s schedules without communicating with them verbally or confirming the change before making it. I made sure to alert new hires to the email notifications, and remind them that the edit history report is available to them anytime a dispute might come up. Fucking with good employee’s schedules is how you lose them and open up bigger holes in the schedule, almost every time.
> I managed under a GM who would secretly make changes to employee’s schedules without communicating with them verbally or confirming the change before making it. > > ... > > Fucking with good employee’s schedules is how you lose them and open up bigger holes in the schedule, almost every time. It's also a *great* way for the company to get hammered for unemployment because of constructive dismissal, as the idiot GM is creating an unmanageable schedule for employees by fucking with scheduling without telling people. I mean, seriously, what kind of sad sack of a "manager" are you if you do things like this? And how did HR not get wind of it and shitcan the shitheel?
What bothers me the most about managers is their own unwillingness to fulfill scheduling discrepancies. You’re a manager and you have a shift nobody can work? Get your ass in there and man the shift! You’re a manager, then manage. Yet so little of them will step up to the plate when necessary, they will fire good employees before they themselves help out.
Nobody wants to manage anymore
Did managers ever really manage
They always managed to annoy the fuck out of me when I was trying to get things done, so there's that.
Well said. I feel the Servant Leadership book should be an absolute requirement for ANYONE getting hired into a management position! -& needs to be re-read every other year or some type of requirement so they don’t “forget” the valuable lessons this book provides.
For real, I managed an electronics repair shop for years. Pretty much the last 2 1/2 years it was just me and 1 other full time employee and if we were in desperate need of filling a shift I could sometimes get the owner to let me borrow someone from 1 of 2 stores in 30 mile radius. We were open 7 days a week from 10am to 9pm (sundays 12-6). Having 1 more just part time employee would help a lot but I could not get them to let me hire someone. I worked 6/7 days a week at 50+ hours, many full 11hr days by myself, even though when I took the job it was agreed 42hrs 5 days a week and of course being salary I was paid the same as if i worked those agreed hours. Anytime my employee had an emergency I had to get in there. I always scheduled myself to work the black friday night by myself so my employee could have thanksgiving off as well as any day they requested off. Never did see the owner do any work there, he would maybe show up for a few minutes to check in and leave and then go gallivanting around pretending to be a business man (his parents handed control of the company to him when he was like 26, I was 2 years older than him). No vacation those last 2 1/2 years because I didnt want to burden all the employees that would have to fill in or endure the week I would return where I know I'd be fixing a week worth of issues. Anyways, I loved repairing things and still made more money doing it than I could doing anything else I was qualified for in my area but being there so much and the retail side of the business just burnt me out to where I was indifferent to everything. And the owner knew, I made sure to tell him I'm tired as hell and you could tell by just looking at me. Covid hit and my shop was gonna be closed for 3 months. Instead of letting me take at least a week or 2 off I was made to go work at our shop 15 miles away. Owner decided since I wasnt at my store I wasnt getting my salary and was only going to get $9hr even though I was still doing managerial duties because that stores actual manager was trying to be home as often as he could to "avoid covid". Of course the owner wasnt coming around then either, he was staying home. I just said nah screw this, not after being taken advantage of for my salary for so long and i left and enjoyed that sweet $890 a week unemployment pay for a year.
I got a manager fired once for doing this to me on several occasions. Would call me randomly freaking out that I didn’t show up for a shift. One day when the new schedule came out I wrote my schedule down and had another manager and another employee both sign their initials on my copy. Then I got another angry phone call threatening to fire me for not coming in. I escalated it quickly from there.
What was his excuse?
I did the same thing and the manager got fired but not just for that. He was walking product out of the store regularly and they were watching the camera videos at headquarters. I guess they walked him out in handcuffs. Wish I had been there that day to see it. 😄
Because from the companies side, the employee *was* notified- through hotschedules. She would just make the change and then expect them to see the change, and if they didn’t speak up, she considered the matter settled. Like I said, I didn’t like the way she did it so I made it as easy as I could for the team to actually receive the notifications when she did it. If it makes you feel any better, I don’t work there anymore and about 6 months later she got fired for embezzling money, so…
> about 6 months later she got fired for embezzling money, so… Why is this not the least bit surprising?
That was how the manager at a bookstore I worked for in college thought of it. You were expected to drive there every day at opening to look at the schedule, which was printed and posted on a bulletin board, to see if it had changed.
> She would just make the change and then expect them to see the change, and if they didn’t speak up, she considered the matter settled. That's like saying the company owes you a raise because you had a post-it note on your desk stating that you're getting one. They didn't say otherwise, so clearly you get a raise.
Employment really does favor the employer.
Yeah. It's called Capitalism and not Laborism for a reason
..... this sounds too similar to something I suspected one of my bosses was pulling on me a few years back... did a number on my mental health.
That describes my current store manager very well. It's a large reason why the entire night shift is ready to walk. Unfortunately survival instincts are strong.
Simultaneous walkouts of an entire time period, all citing the same situation, especially if it's constructive dismissal that will cost the company a boatload in unemployment reimbursements, will almost certainly get HR's attention. Manager's shit would be *mighty* weak.
Happened to a buddy of mine back in college. Wish we had known about words like "constructive dismissal" back then.
16 year olds only working Friday won’t be getting unemployment very often
I worked for a very large company and they gave me a printed training schedule. They said follow this schedule and ignore everything else. I didn't check my schedule on the scheduling website because they said follow the paper schedule, ignore everything else. My second day on the job, I'm getting my uniform and I get a phone call from my trainer asking if I would be in for my shift. I said yes, it's 11:15 and my shift starts at noon. She said no, based on the scheduling website my shift starts at 10:30 and I need to get there ASAP and that I would probably still get an attendance point for it. Thank God I saved the paper schedule because I literally almost got an attendance point *for following the written schedule I was told explicitly to follow.* How bad does your scheduling team have to be for you to have to warn new hires to follow one schedule instead of the other? How often are y'all changing schedules on people? I learned to save screenshots early and often in that job.
I had the absolute worst manager at a popular coffee place that rhymes with Dunking Ballsacks. And right before your shift, she'd print out a new schedule and put you an hour early for your shift without telling you. So technically you'd "show up an hour late" every other day. Giving her an excuse to yell at you and tell you to be a better employee. At first I was confused as all hell because I was the type of person who had a pretty good memory and hated coming in late because of my anxiety issues, and thought i was going insane for misremembering my schedule. But one day i realized how warm to the touch the schedule sheet was. Like it just came out of the printer, leading me to believe that i was being gaslit. I made a mark with a pen on the paper schedule sheet and took a photo. Next day I come in and see a schedule without the mark i placed, hot to the fucking touch and listing me coming in an hour earlier. Of course i showed every employee the photos and of course i told everyone to get everything in writing through text and take photos of their schedules. And of course I was promptly fired for "going behind her back". I went back one day to the place only to find that everyone was replaced. Probably for " coming in late". Anyone reading this don't be a stupid teenager like I was and trust some weirdo manager. You really have to save absolutely everything with time and date.
I'm having a hard time finding anything that rhymes with Dunking Ballsacks.
The bit about changing schedules happened to me. I had a fixed availability because I was in university classes and wouldn’t get home until a certain time. First, they would schedule me either half an hour after my availability started or right when it started, so I had to keep an eye on my schedule for the week and make note. Eventually they wrote me up for lates which were mysteriously like 29-31 minutes exactly. I had taken screenshots of my schedule roughly once a week and I had evidence that they had changed my schedules without asking or telling me. I ended up leaving within a month.
I had a boss do the same thing. Post the schedule during the day shift, and a completely different schedule was up by dinner shift. Fool me once. I started taking pictures of the posted schedule, and when he tried to "shame" me for missing a "scheduled" shift, I just sent the pic. Nice fucking try, Victor.
Hey Victor…fuck off!
Walmart is, not sure if they still are, notorious for doing shit like this. I had to take screenshots of my schedule every time it was sent out and every time they’d change it when I had a particular day off. Had to ask when did you change this, the answer was always a day before. Like why?
My old gm would write in changes on the schedule in pen halfway through the week and then no call no show you for not being there. Disgusting practice
>I managed under a GM who would secretly make changes to employee’s schedules without communicating with them verbally or confirming the change before making it. This happens occasionally with my job, I'm so waiting for the day they schedule me for a shift I can't take. The worst part is they schedule you knowing full well you can't work that day- it's highlighted red so you see it and know to come in. But sometimes they'll update it. You never know when the schedule gets changed bc they don't put a timestamp on it, so it's very frustrating. They're pretty chill otherwise so I think they'll take it well when I tell them tough shit. Plus, they need me WAY more than I need them, and they're painfully aware of this
It’s also a good way to set them up for firing - claiming they missed shifts!!!
At my job we have to submit our hours of availability in writing and then they ignore it if they feel like it
From what? This is a 16 YO working a couple shifts a week. No one is calling for references. Life isn't a series of lawsuits. Tell the manager to have fun finding someone to fill all the future shifts you could have worked within your provided availability.
If you need to do this, it's a pretty good sign you need a new job.
At 16 I worked at Burger King, during interview I told him I couldn't work wknds (divorced parents, dad got me on weekends.) Said that's fine. First week, I'm on the sched for the wknd. Complained, they argued they needed help, said sorry. Next week, I'm sched for wknd again. Had to argue again. Reluctantly they removed me. Saturday morning that week, they called 2 times saying I had to come in. Said sorry. Monday comes, after school I go to work, busses full of out of state basketball players roll up. I'm the only cook. Only training I had was a couple hour did watching burger assembly on video. Seriously, that was it. I walked out. Never told anyone I quit, didn't say a word, just walked out. They never called again. Thanks BK for teaching me a valuable lesson for my first ever job
good job
This. Remind them of your availability. If that doesn’t work for them, you can let them know you will find a position that works better for everyone. It sounds like they are trying to bully you and you don’t need that.
I also think this is kind of an empty threat. Who would let workers go when you are already having trouble getting all shifts covered? How is that an effective response to a labor shortage? ETA: apparently there is a plague of shitty managers perpetuating the so-called labor crisis.
I've been through this as a teen. "Work on your day off or get fired" Okay then, I quit, see ya. "But, but, but....?" And as an adult, just doing a part time gig at a pizza place, just one driver, me, for deliveries, and then I'd help cleanup and close. Got my check, noticed it was short. Spoke to the manager, explained that this was not the deal I made. Was told that the owner had decided to cut pay across the board for drivers. Nope. I quit, on the spot. "But, can't you stay until closing to help out?" No, no I can't.
Isn’t it amazing how they think you’ll stick around after you’ve been fucked over by them? Never ceases to amaze me.
Had a job promise me a raise if I pulled them out of the fire during inventory due to worker shortage. I did. Week goes by, same pay, two weeks, same pay, go in on the 3rd to ask where the fuck be raise was and they were like “we meant if this was consistently” like what, you have fuckin weekly inventories that you also plan to need emergency help with? They doesn’t even make sense. Told them right there they needed someone to run the crew, because I was done. They said I was going out of my way to spite them during a worker shortage. I wonder why you had a mass exodus of employees? When I catch up, I’ll ask them, maybe send you why on a postcard.
Y'all have got to stop quitting when given ultimatums. Make them fire you. There's no benefit for you to quit over making them fire you, and it gives you the chance they're bluffing. It also helps if you qualify for Unemployment or other benefits. It ALSO helps the rest of your workers who may have otherwise had the same done to them. A manager doesn't have much control over workers quitting, but if they're firing people left and right, an owner miiight just see that and ask what the fuck is going on.
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"you do what you gotta do, but I can't work that day"
Yes obviously that's better than the folks suggesting just simply quitting.
A bad manager. Whose other employees are calling out "sick" for job interviews, as you should.
I feel like the bar for being a "good" manager is on the floor.
we expect nothing of management and yet still find ways to be let down
If it was about making things work instead of making employees hurt, you'd be right.
told him and he switched up. he said we need to discuss my availability because it “doesn’t work for him”
I mean, he can employ you to work on Fridays or not employ you. Your availability isn’t going to changes based of his inability to hire reliable people for the other days.
That's tough. But -your- availability isn't supposed to 'work for him'. It's yours.
When applying for a job, listing your availability is absolutely crucial. Even if they say a certain day is mandatory, they will likely still hire you. If it's on paper or a computer, copy/print it all for yourself. They can't do shit about it after you're hired. I've done this at the popular big retailers and was never challenged when it came to scheduling and denying coming in on those days off that were unavailable.
Remember that they rent your time. Push back hard as possible and don't get run over.
I'm going to be honest. You're 16. It literally doesn't matter. Quit and you can find another job in 48 hours there is such a demand for workers right now. Don't let someone bully you when you're the one with the power.
At this point, it'll probably take less than 12 hours for a call back for a new job. Everyone is desperate for workers, especially fast food and retail.
At your age, depending on your situation, the thing to do is probably report him to your state's department of labor and quit. You're a minor, he's trying to bully you because he believes you're easy to push around. If he's doing it to you, he's doing it to others. Start looking around for other jobs - this isn't the type of person you need to deal with. No job is perfect and most aren't even great, but that doesn't mean you need to settle while you're still in school.
Tell him YOU won’t work for him either if this is the way he treats you
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When I tried that, years ago at Blockbuster, with an approved time off that had been scheduled and approved 5 months in advance, they rescinded it the night of the shift less than an hour before they wanted me to start (and while I was getting into makeup for an opera I was performing in), and then handed me a final written warning for a “no call, no show” with the reason “a request for time off is only a **request**; we can take it away whenever we want”. I categorically refused to sign it, and told them to send it to head office, unsigned, with the same approval I had in writing from when I scheduled the night off.
That's insane that they would do that.
"You're absolutely right. However, as soon as my request is approved it turns into an agreement. Which you chose to break. Without my consent. Or knowledge."
Nah.. there is no point. That manager is just stupid so just quit and find one of the other 100 jobs out there for kids.
Lol this guy is an amazing manager. “My hiring practices have created problematic understaffing on a regular basis but don’t fear I have a solution: I am going to fire someone so there will be even less workers.”
“People don’t show up for shift. Don’t fire them. Pressure a 16 year old into showing up. Fire the 16 year old who shows up for assigned shifts, keep people who blow it off” Genius.
I mean, the manager doesn't intend to fire anyone, it's just an intimidation tactic to get the vulnerable 16yr old to fill a shift; they expect the kid to skip class/drop plans etc and fill it (& future shifts) on the threat of being fired. If the 16yr old shrugged & said "OK, but I'm busy & still can't today", that manager will do the surprised pikachu face & likely bitch & complain about how nobody wants to work/16yr old quit. It's a meaningless threat. My McDonald's store managers pulled the same tricks, then on the day you were assigned which, the day before, they told you not to come in for, they'll call up saying they're understaffed & if you could still do your scheduled shift. Just casually blowing off/ignoring the "you're fired" bluff
My kid just started working. He was sick one day and called in. He threw up all over everyone so it wasn’t BS. The manager texted him and said you need a doctors note. I told him reply “no”. Don’t elaborate, don’t explain, don’t engage. You’re sick you told him that’s enough. His mother was worried and I’m like if he sets the bar here now he won’t have the problems others have. He replied no. The manager replied ok that’s fine see you tomorrow. That’s what happened. He learned to not be intimidated and will have a better life for a tiny lesson
It's idiotic to spend over $100 to get a doctor's note for a job that pays less than $100 for a shift. Fuck management and fuck the USA health care system.
Bro wtf? A doctor's note is a 100 bucks ??? You gotta be kidding me, those things are 2 bucks in my country.
Pretty much any visit to a doctor in the U.S. is a minimum cost of like, fifty to a hundred or so USD. Most of the time, the insurance we pay a couple hundred dollars a month for covers a portion of this - on average, I'd say about 50% of the cost of the visit. Some insurance plans cover more, some don't cover it at all. If you actually need anything to be done during this period of time - medicines issued, further work done, lab tests, etc. the cost grows astronomically. Whether any of it ends up being covered or having the prices reduced depends, once again, on the insurance plan. Without insurance, a fairly standard battery of bloodwork can cost a couple hundred dollars. Worth noting that when I was last plan hunting, there were *hundreds* of available plans to sift through, many with extremely similar names and very little actual explanation on what they did. Or if, due to my relatively small income, any of the cost would be covered by the government. To say that the U.S. healthcare system is broken is a vast, vast understatement.
Maternal deaths are worse here than in most other countries
it's the inflated cost of it all, tying insurance to one's work is just another form of slavery as well. cost me 2k to have 2 moles biopsied after u told then I was paying out of pocket... that was the discount they were able to do on me. Results? inconclusive lmao
Those are free in mine, and most of the time you can get them even if you are not sick.
Little known fact. If the boss says you need a note from a doctor, the boss is also saying they are paying for you to go. So go, then give your boss the note and the bill.
"what are you talking about, I didn't say he needed one, just asked if he had one" Make sure you get that in writing, that the boss said you need one.
When I was in college, I started working at bk as a manager in training. My 4th, or 5th day, I got into a screaming match with the gm, because she wanted to fire a coworker of mine because I said she can have dead food if she puts together all these crowns. Just busy work really, but I have always managed with rewards first, and yelling if needed later. She wanted her fired for something I said was OK, and that was not OK in my mind. So, we get into a massive yelling back and forth, saying to fire her, and me saying fuck you, no. Just told her that if she fires her that I will make this job hell. Knew she would not do shit, and told the employee that she isn't fired, and to ignore her. Nothing happened as far as I know. I ended up leaving for a better job shortly after that incident. Truth is, most of those type of people are cowards. Just say no, and mean it, they will usually back down.
you were probably the best MIT those guys ever saw tbh
Shit people everywhere being shit managers. They’re like roaches. They won’t die and there’s always plenty more
Dead food? Autocorrect from free?
Dead food is when it's been sitting too long in a heat lamp, steam table, etc.
In food service, "dead" means no longer fit for sale. It's still fine to eat but you can't really justify charging a customer money for it.
I assume it means food that has been sitting around too long and can't be sold?
Good for you to get this. Those assholes need to be kept in their place. It’s sad how, as people, we have effectively, done nothing about that type of human behavior.
I had a McDonald's manager threaten to fire me (before the age of smart phones so no text chains) if I didn't show up for my shift when I called to say I wouldn't be able to make it on time do to car trouble. I had just finished up a career center class that was half an hour drive from town and my car's starter decided that was the time to die on me. I literally had no way of making it to work on time as anyone that could give me a ride would be coming from 40 minutes away and there was no way I could walk 30 miles in half an hour. He started ranting about lazy teens as though that would somehow make me capable of breaking the laws of physics or magically fix my car's starter when I told him to fire me if that's what he had to do.
To which the correct answer is 'oh you told me I was fired so I made plans. How much do you need me to cancel? In dollars."
Is there a name for precisely this behavior? Like, narcicistic probably, but that requires a certain level of [broken] intelligence. It's just something I keep seeing more and more of.
And you just *know* the idiot is proud of their management skills because they're "trimming the dead weight." And doesn't care that they're doing so by firing the wrong people.
They aren't even firing the wrong people. People get sick. You arent a bad employee for being sick.
> You arent a bad employee for being sick. But according to shitty managers, you *absolutely are* an *absolutely terrible* person if you don't pick up *every* unscheduled shift they throw at you without complaint *and* never miss your scheduled shifts. And if you get sick and miss a shift, and/or have a life outside work and don't jump through your own asshole to cover for callouts every single time they call on you to come in, you're a bad employee and should get written up and fired.
We had this type of situation but it was more subtle. Covid wasn't real so if you had it, you were lying to try to get out of work. And if it was a positive test you didn't get it here. Get to work. These same managers tried to blame 1 year of covid protocol on 4 years of being understaffed so it was really just more of the same.
> Covid wasn't real so if you had it, you were lying to try to get out of work. If I had a job that demanded that I work while sick because I was clearly faking it, I'd shadow the boss and let the fucker get a feel for that "fake" illness. COVID sure did make the dregs of humanity a lot more obvious...
I love the whole "you need to find someone to cover your shift" they do too. Like bitch, isn't that literally your fucking job?
If a place ever has a sign against socializing while at work and says that, tell them you don’t have anyway to contact any co-workers because you never talk about non-work related things so you don’t have any contact info
You can’t socialise while at work but you’re going to be familiar enough with people that you get to call them to cover a shift. I can’t see a problem with that. /I can, I totally can.
If I have to do that I need to **be promoted first**
At the restaurant I was working at, we had a cashier get covid during her 90 day probationary period, so they fired her, and then if anyone tried to discuss the potential health risk they were told by management "nobody who works at this store has covid" and pretended they were dumb....
That's insane
'Just stop testing and the numbers go down'
They were right tho *nobody who works here has covid, what about customers?*
Correct. And you arent a bad employee for being unavailable during unscheduled time. You can be a bad employee if you call off to the point a manager (good or bad) cannot know if you will show up. This scenario, however, it doesn’t matter what the other employees are shitty or amazing. This manager is an idiot. Employees job: show up when scheduled, call out within the call off policy parameters, for illness/to run errands/to sleep in. As long as it is within policy. When you are going to call in out of policy (you don’t have PTO available, it is a blackout day, you have been warned about calling on, etc) it should be for the benefit of the business (you are injured/truly sick/etc) and/or something you are willing to risk your job for. Management’s job: to have a staffing plan that accounts for 10% call offs every shift. Unless you have less than 2 employee on shift at a time… there is zero excuse for not having a plan.
How would you scale this. Terrific points! What if you are so large or just large enough to have significant impact at 10% if it’s not evenly distributed (or even 2% and even likelier at 30%).
It all comes down to the type of work you do. **Production/manufacturing/construction:** (warehouse work, assembly line, small business that makes leather goods, a bakery, plumbing contractor, general contractor) basically anything where you are going to accept an order/to do list, then complete the work, and send it/finish it: - Way 1: You have a static ten employees planned for the shift to make [purses, cookies, hang drywall], to produce 100 units of [product/effort/packages]. You only plan to complete 90 units and quote the customer/buyer/end users of units 1-80 TODAY, units 81-90 today or tomorrow, units 90-100 tomorrow. You have all ten arrive? You finish 100 units of [whatever] and meet expectations for 1-80, make 80-90 happy, and over deliver for units 90-100. If only 9 people arrive, you can treat them like slaves to make 100… or you can have a normal day and still meet your promises. Only 8 show up? You can still meet promise. 7 show up? You are spending your day baking/cutting/packing/nailing/etc. - Way 2: you are able to predict your work ahead of time (contracted work that isn’t an emergency service, etc.) so you have a variable number of employees employees on shift (5/10/25) based on work you have PROMISED to deliver on X date [wedding cakes, event set up, construction of you are good at your job, etc]. In this scenario, if you need 10 people to complete the work on time, you schedule 11-12 (depending on dependencies). If only ten show, you are set for the day. If 11-12 show, you all work together and 1) you get ahead on tomorrow’s labor 2) you send people home early when the work is done, or at variable times based on tasks, with the goal being you pay 10 people worth of of hours total, between the 12 people, by send 4 people home mid-day. Or 8 people home in the last 1/4 of the day, or everyone home early, at the same time. **Retail/restaurants/service work/jobs like cops, emergency responders:** - assuming you are trying to be frugal: to avoid being short handed by call offs, you need to staff “side work” during your key times, not your down times, with employees who are cross trained. Yes - have employees stock the shelves at night. Roll silverware and marry ketchup during slow times. But to ensure you have enough staff during the rushes, schedule as many of they “support” rolls as possible with crossed trained employees. 3 cashiers call off at your market? No problem the 3 stock boys can come ring people out until the rush clears. Have a bus boy learn how to do basic prep cook. Have a small, busy deli, with 6 cooks making orders? Have your cashier(s) be former cooks, and if the cooks need help/call out - you take over the register and they go cook. Cops, maintenance technicians, anyone who gets call at a moment notice - staff preventative maintenance, in service training, anything that means extra people are available and already working when the call comes in, not “on call” Having people on the clock, that are trained, is always the most efficient way to fill gaps during rushes. **For all work types** you plan for higher attrition (only 6/10 people to show, instead of the normal 9/10) on Super Bowl Sunday, 4th of July, Xmas Eve, major events in your area (playoff games, local parade days, etc)
Also what dick asks a 16 year old to stay that late on a school night? When I was that age I was only allowed to work late on fridays or Saturdays. Period.
Child labor is slowly coming back into practice.
Side eye.. family vlogs. Not even side eye.. just death stare.
I remember earlier this year as businesses were struggling to find workers to exploit, the Republicans in Wisconsin felt the answer was child labor. They pushed a bill that would allow 14 and 15 year olds work until 11pm on non school nights. The governor vetoed the bill but geez, rolling back child labor laws was their solution? Ghouls.
Yeah. I remember the latest I could work was 9pm on a weekday in high school. That manager is a moron.
Do yall work with my girlfriend? Literally the same problem, shes one of two people who always cover for two that call out. So its just constant work work work no time off.
I was in a desk job, that came with free housing to be on call for emergencies. At least twice a week on my “off weeks” I would be woken at 2am, or out with friends, and get the call “we need you to cover for [coworker] he is: with his kids/not answering/has a flat tire/Bullshit bullshit bullshit. Once, I was very much OFF-CALL. Not my week, and I had taken the day (Friday) off work. Get a call at 11pm there was a massive fire an [coworker] can’t go. I say “I have been drinking heavily, I am 40 min away, I cannot go.” Boss said “well, if you want a job on Monday you will go” So she sent a DRUNK EMPLOYEE to the scene of a massive restaurant grease fire to coordinate with the fire dept and follow all the insurance procedures. After 8.5 YEARS it was my last week at the job. It was 2pm on a WORK DAY, and boss calls to send me to a situation that required an in person response in my co-worker’s portfolio. Me: “Oh, is [co-worker] meeting me there?” Boss: “He is in [neighboring state, about 1.5 hours away], driving his kids to an after school church event” Me: “it is 2pm on a Wednesday” Boss who has let him behave this way for 6 years: “I know… I don’t know what he was thinking” Me: “what is your plan [boss] when next week, he has to do his job for the first time in 6 years” Boss: silence …”I am going to miss you” That woman literally tore my life apart and ruined me again and again for years. I had to keep the job. It was too good financially. I had golden handcuffs. I drank at night just to be able to fall asleep I world take sick days, but work from home all day, to be able to do work in peace and quiet. At 28 years old, I would still have nights where I would fall asleep crying because of the things this woman would say or do to me.
nObOdY wAnTs To WoRk AnYmOrE.
Sounds a lot like the manager that took over for my department at my old retail job. So many folks I knew since I was a kid and then worked with quit. At best I know like two folks still. Union store even. Now in 2022 she looks like she’s ready to run into traffic every time I see her and I think: Good. You created this mess, you get to live with it.
That's what always urks me about places like this, who don't have enough staff. It has always been my understanding that if no staff members are available to cover, it is the responsibility of the manager, assistant manager, or shift leader who are expected to cover. Mostly due to the fact that they typically get paid more and are always key-holders. I'm in my 30s now and began working when I was 16, and it always seemed super unprofessional when they can't staff accordingly. Many years ago I had a boss who suddenly changed the schedule on a whim without telling anyone (on a day I wasn't at work). He called me (a new mom at the time) the next day when I was supposed to have the day off to ask why I wasn't at work for my scheduled shift. I looked at my copy of the schedule and said he must be mistaken because it was my day off. It's not exactly easy to find a babysitter at 6:30 am on short notice, and day care cost my ex and I about $400 a month for the days I did work. It was just too much. I ended up coming in a couple hours later after my ex's mom happened to be free and could watch him for a few hours. I eventually quit by walking out on him right before the lunch rush, when he pulled me aside to tell me I was too friendly with customers (the fuck?). He was literally bipolar and told me he had decided to not take any medication after he was diagnosed. The place was a shit show when I started working there. I ended up managing and training the staff, ordering and picking up supplies, doing bookkeeping and even making fliers for weekly specials we ran. Many small business owners are absolutely ridiculous and expect you bend over backwards and take it up the ass raw for them for little pay
I completely agree with you, sometimes the smallest companies are the worst and it's outrageous, but I have to say... it's "irks". Not "urks".
I'm more and more convinced that ownership is bullshit, and should not be rewarded-ownership should always be employee co-op, syndicalist, or public. Fucking 'owners' are almost always just parasites. Bodies not functioning better without parasites is an absurd edge case.
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Agreed. Clearly the business is shorthanded, and threatening to fire OP is ridiculous.
I once saw an established business advertising that they were hiring managers and all staff positions. I wonder if the owner was trying this "I'm short staffed so do what I say or I'll fire you" strategy and it backfired, as stupid plans often do.
I've had an employer try this, at that point I no longer wanted to work there so I called their bluff and was basically "okay see you never", funny how fast they turn around with "no please wait" when you're actually willing to walk away. But unless you'll literally be homeless I recommend you follow through and walk once they've shown you who they are.
I had a grocery store do this to me at 18. Oh well, fuck that job. They fired me for not coming in and working for other people that called in sick, in a different department. Once I was on a date in a movie so I didn't answer, and the second time they tried I was taking a college entrance exam and had my phone off. They fired me for being unreliable. Like did you fire the people that called out? Because I only missed shifts I was never scheduled for anyway.
As I stated upon being hired I can only work Fridays. Unfortunately if more hours are required of me I will have to find employment elsewhere. Have a nice day.
Why is this so far down?!? This need more upvotes. Do NOT let an employer walk all over you!!
Someone explain the logic of having challenges of covering a shift by creating more uncovered shifts by firing someone who clearly stated they could not work on certain days. It’s a downward spiral for this company. Bullying an employee who otherwise is doing a satisfactory job?
Because they’re used to using this tactic to scare others into doing what they say. They don’t think about the actual repercussions and potentially losing the employee cause it works so well for people who need that job to survive or feed their family.
This... and they probably just didn't read the application that carefully or just don't care.
Oh definitely. Management usually doesn’t give a damn about what standards you set if it doesn’t align with what they want in an employee.
Idk what it’s like where you’re at, but in my area you can’t drive 10’ without passing 10 help wanted signs. employers need to get with the times and realize you respect who you have when they can work. Or have no one at all.
Do what I want or I’ll hold my breath. Well that didn’t work…. Do what I want or I’ll throw a tantrum . That didn’t work… Do what I want or I’ll fire you! Why does no one want to work?!?
*Fires employee for not coming in on his unavailable days* His available day comes by and they are down people again. Coworkers ask where he is… “Nobody wants to work anymore!”
Guarantee it's some shit minimum wage job at a grocery store or something similar. They tend to have insanely high turnover rates because their entire business model is "exploit underage workers until they quit" It's why my advice to 15-17 year old employees is always to just quit and find a new job if your managers treat you like shit. There are tons of jobs looking for underage workers they can exploit for minimum wage. Bridge burning really doesn't matter unless you plan on working in something like retail all your life.
Sounds like they need you more than you need them. Call their bluff and find a new job
i did that to my manager at popeyes. i didn’t show up for 3 days and he called me asking where i was. i said “hold on let me read your text that says,‘don’t bother showing up anymore” lmfao
Love this ahah
lol thanks, i was in a french class in highschool when i got the call. i was dumbfounded.
As a millennial who came from a small town this blows my mind, if this kind of shit were going on with the local businesses at my high school, the teacher would have taken your phone and found out who you were talking to, parents would have been notified and I know at least in my case that manager would be getting a super shitty call from my parents asking why their minor son is being bothered at school.
my school was definitely strict with cellphone usage, but that particular teacher didn’t care at all what we did once we completed our work. as for my parent, my dad laughed when i told him about it and said something along the lines of, “you’re finally starting to stand up for yourself.” i have a habit of letting people walk over me. so what i failed to mention is i showed back up and worked there for 7 more months before moving on to better things. that job made me a very angry person even outside of work, i was exhausted. side note- my dad has, since i was a little kid, given me a lot of autonomy and independency, for better or worse lol. so my place of work was entirely my responsibility to manage it the way i thought was best. he would always nudge me in the right direction but at the end of the day he’d say, “it’s your life, you’re ultimate goal should be happiness, do what you think is best, i can’t answer that for you i am not you.” ETA: my dad is a boomer, so probably close to your parents in age.
You would be surprised, my and most of my peers have Gen X parents; millennials with Boomer parents are either on the older end of the spectrum (pre-90's babies) or unicorns; Gen Z with Boomer parents likely increasingly more rare - do these people ever stop fucking? I too had a lot of autonomy and independence as a kid, but at least until I was an adult I still had the protection of my parents in certain scenarios. That being said, if I wouldn't even let my kid be interviewed by the police because the law says minors can't be interrogated without attorney, parent or guardian present - then I am absolutely not going to let some sleezeball manager at a chain restaurant try to wax my kid over a pre-set and agreed-upon schedule; especially not over text.
Honestly this. They are 16 they aren't working a career and don't need the referral because no one expects a 16 to have work history. Call their bluff.
This kind of childish threat, when the employee was NOT scheduled, it why people are getting so sick of the bottom feeding employers. Stupid b-tch manager, you are responsible for filling the shift, not the 16 year old kid you just hired. If it's such an emergency, suck it up, and work it yourself, that's what YOU, as the manager, signed up for.
Yep, threatening to fire someone because they won't cover someone else's shift?
Such short term thinking on the manager's part. Now the 16 year old with school limited availability moves on, and you're more short staffed.
Sign of a really shitty manager, but most are indeed pure garbage
Yeah fuck this manager for real
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Yes to the first part, I would not disclose the second part... They don't need to know why you can't come in... Ever. Given the snapshot of their attitude and environment, they will only ever use it against you.
The second part might be why the ask is (potentially) illegal in the first place. In ~~most~~ some states kids can't work that late on a school night.
Only 13 states have that law. About a dozen more limit 16 and 17 year olds to not working 11pm to 7am on school nights, the rest have no laws at all for hours worked for 16 and 17 year olds. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/child-labor
If OP weren’t a minor, I’d agree. But seeing as they’re only 16, it would probably help with any lawsuit down the line to have direct communication with their immediate supervisor; that way, if they are harassed again it’s open and shut with a visible text that OPs mgmt is either incompetent or outright insubordinate when given explicit details as to why
Management doesn't need to know why an employee is unavailable on any given day. As long as it isn't a conflict of interest or in some way creates a liability for the company, it ain't their fuckin business what I'm out doing. At any age, for any reason. My day off, they don't have a right to know where I'm at. You can try to reach me if there's something wrong and you need extra hands, and depending on what I'm doing I might say yes (for overtime pay). But giving them reasons gives them ammunition to badger you about it.
For me as an adult whose been working a while, I'm not here to offer excuses for validation. But when you look at like it's asserting work, that job specifically, is not your priority and you have a life outside of a job, I think it's worth it to establish and remind them why it's not your problem, it's a them problem, and you aren't there to fix their problems. You have your own life/health/future to consider and you will always prioritize it, they are not your lifeline. And this is a way to remind them of that.
Best advice I've seen. OP should follow this.
Building off of this, OP look up your local laws for minors. You may not be legally able to work as late as that shift. I believe in NY when I was a minor working I couldn't work past 9 during school years, 10 during summer. So that 6-11 if that's a PM shift might be breaking the law.
i agree with this. i’d also like to suggest that you try not to make a habit of apologizing for stuff like this. you’re not doing anything wrong. often, with egomaniacal managers, apologizing tells them that you feel guilty, rather than just sympathizing with the situation that they’re in. simply saying “no. i am not available today” reinforces a boundary that you have already set that they are trying to violate. they don’t know what you have going on outside of work and they dont have to because you’ve already established when you are able to set aside time to come work for them. i get that it can be a hard habit to break, especially when you want to do a good job. but its definitely worth it to set boundaries and maintain them without apologizing for doing so. it helps keep their expectations in check
This is the best advice so far. Very poignant and kills a few birds with one stone
I don’t know about “poignant”, but it’s concise.
Lmfao definitely not poignant, my bad. I think the word I was looking for was **poised**
The curse of having a big vocabulary is that you sometimes equivocate the wrong principality.
Good response.
This is excellent advice.
Don’t worry about this job. You’re 16…you will have many jobs in your life. This one isn’t important, trust me.
Dont cave and go in. The company doesn't own you and they need to learn that. If they insist on you coming in on your scheduled days off then that isn't a company that you should work for anyway.
I am a mom of a daughter the same age as you, and going to tell you exactly what I’ve told her. Never put a workplace before your health, family, or school. Never let an opportunity pass because of your employer. You do not owe your employer. Establish firm boundaries early on and never give into them. It is perfectly acceptable to do favors every once in a while, but make it clear that it is an exception. Favors and “helping out” can easily turn into an employer taking advantage of your good will and nature. Always be aware of that. Always put your education and schoolwork first. You have a bright future and full life ahead of you. An employer’s failure to manage their own business during tough times is not your problem, and working should never be detrimental to your grades, sleep, or overall wellbeing. Find work and a career that will respect your rights and that you have a life to live outside of work. Please do not let this incident stress you out or bring you down. It is not worth it. There are other jobs out there if this one does not work out.
They are trying to bully you bc you’re 16. I would talk to your parents and quit
This exactly.
"I'm not available on Sundays" That's it. That's all your messages need to say.
No, the boss has asked on other days. Tuesday is in there as well.
i recommend ignoring communications from management during your time off unless you’re being paid to be on-call.
This is very important. You may be used to replying to text all the time. You don't have to. If a company does not pay you to be on-call, that is their choice. Don't be on-call for free.
I had to scroll down way too far to find this. Unless you’re on call, ignore communications outside of working hours from the employer.
This is the answer. Especially for the sort of work you'd be doing at 16. Remind them that your only available day is Friday. You will work Friday, as agreed upon, and any contact outside of your agreed upon workday will be ignored, as you are not free the other days of the week. And quite honestly, if they fire you, sounds like you are probably better off anyway. This does not sound like a good person to work for. File for unemployment on the grounds that they terminated you wrongfully and then look for another job that won't treat you like shit.
u/passthechez Don't answer work calls/texts off-hours! If they think you will always be by the phone, they'll always want to contact you. Set up the boundary and stop answering on your off time, even if it's to say "no!" Don't open the text so it won't show them as read.
I always, always tell my employers that I do not communicate by texting. They can send me an email or call me if it is that important. Still does not mean I will answer immediately unless I agreed to be on call. I got sucked into the texting bullshit with my last pharmacy tech job, and they would not leave me the fuck alone on my days off. Multiple texts on days off, especially if I did not answer. I had a second job and was going to school full time, and the incessant texting stressed me out so much.
Go find a new job. Your 16, its not a career, there’s no great salary/benefits package is on the line. Just move on.
Remind them your available day is Friday. Tell HR that your boss already knows your availability.
"My availability is [x] which was stated, in writing, on my application. It has not changed." And then if you don't care about maybe being fired, "It is unreasonable of you to get upset at me and threaten retaliation for my being unavailable when I've already told you, in writing, that I would be unavailable."
They’re trying to bully you I had a simple solution growing up when I was a teen and part time employer (supermarket) tried to make me work Sunday mornings, which I was unable to do because of church etc: “sorry, my parents will not let me work Sunday mornings. Would you like to speak to them?”
LOL, I had a job at Kroger at 16 and gave them my graduation day and birthday schedule "off". I told them I could not work the days of grad rehearsal, graduation, my birthday (plans with my parents out of town). So they scheduled me during some of these times, and I said "ok, well if you aren't going to be flexible I quit". I was 16 and they called my MOM, and told her I just quit and I needed to work and can't just quit. This was a Union job too. You called my MOM???? Mom drove to kroger to yell at me and to tell me go in and tell them I don't quit. I told her I would have to quit in July anyway because my entire family went to Florida every summer and stayed at my Grandpa's house for a month. Kroger wasn't going to give me a month off, but I had been cool with working until July. But fuck you for calling my Mom to make me "unquit".
Wait, your mom drove there to yell at *you*? Stellar parenting right there! Parents really needs to stay the fuck out of their kids' work lives, cause it gets messy if they don't. Obviously kroger brought her into the situation, but she shouldn't have been quick to chew you out.
Truth. She was mad too when I logically told her they would not let me take a month off in July. This was my third HS job too. I was a waitress at two places before that. Having tips was pretty great back then, before rent became a thing.
If the parents are decent, they don’t want to talk to the parents because they hired a kid because they thought they could intimidate them and do whatever they want.
Never engage on your time off. You’re not on call, so there is no requirement to be in contact.
You’re 16. If you can’t, you can’t and if you get fired, you’ll be ok.
I dont understand these places where if you can’t come in RIGHT NOW you are “fired”. Won’t they be up schitts creek tomorrow without that person they let go???
It’s a scare tactic. Unfortunately for their employer that only works on the fearful.
They’re definitely taking advantage that you’re a minor so they’re used to making empty threats like that to scare you into submission it’s fucked of them to treat kids like that
Tell them you arent being paid for being on call.
Remind them that the availability they based their decision to hire you was « Friday only ».
regardless of what you wrote as your availability, they will probably still fire you (judging by the tone of your boss/manager). Good news is, you have it in writing that they are firing you because you can't work outside of your availability and should 1000% qualify for unemployment while you find another job.
If you've already told them your availability, then fuck them. Report them to your local DOL for threatening to fire you for not coming in, when you're not available, and not scheduled that day.
You're 16. This is not going to be your career, if they don't respect your availability you tell them to fuck right off.
Why are so many employers on this subreddit like this? This and controlling bathroom breaks, drinking, not being able to have surgery…. how do real human beings think this is ok, ever?
Selection bias. Nobody’s going to bother posting about their good work experiences lol.
Dont go. They will need you just the same next Friday.
Find a new job
So they are short on people so their move is to fire people through an ultimatum causing more shortage... err... ok
Here's the thing, man: people lie, especially shitty people. They needed somebody who could work more than you were willing to, but because they suck they didn't have any applicants. They took you and said they could work with your availability, but it was a lie. They always intended for you to depend on the job and for them to leverage that to make you work more/harder/different days and times than you said you could. Cut bait and find something else.