Sunday, May 10, 2015

My Job Change And R.E.S.P.E.C.T

I’ve waited to share this post until everything became finalized and could put into words how I felt.

Allow me to start by saying that the job I took last May was not at all the company I had originally thought it was. The company turned out to be very different than what they had painted themselves to be; full of warm-fuzzies in creating a supportive working environment for their employees.

And I started to notice this last year in the fall, when I began to see the handwriting on the wall and realized they were a company who could care less about their employees and were only interested in making a profit by putting forth the least amount of effort and money to get it.

I don’t understand how a lucrative company expects you to achieve monthly and yearly goals when they continually cut the staff budget so that you practically have no one on the sales floor to help customers, so that only the mangers are working (and working their asses off); doing the jobs of eight people. Not only does this create stress between the employees, but it also creates stress for the customers because they can’t be properly and professionally served.

Without going into every single reason why I quit this job, let’s just say that I could no longer subject myself to the stress, disorganization, and utter chaos. It got to the point where I dreaded going to work because my stomach was in a continuous knot. And please allow me to say that I’ve been in the retail industry for over 28 years, so I am by no means a novice when it comes to experiencing the stress that sometimes occurs with this industry. However, this company has been by far the most stress-inducing and careless retailer I have ever worked.

And I need to say here, it was not the specific store I worked that was the problem because I genuinely liked and enjoyed my co-workers. It was corporate I had a problem with because it seems to be the way they run all their stores.

And here is one example:

The air-conditioner broke in the store almost four weeks ago. And corporate took their sweet old time doing anything about it until they could find the cheapest possible way to have it fixed. So for the past four weeks, we have had to work in a store without any air-conditioning. But did they care enough about their employees or customers to have it fixed promptly? No. As of Saturday (my last day at work), the air-conditioner had still not been fixed.

Anyway. Two weeks ago while I was walking to work one morning, I decided to give my two-week notice that very day. And at that time I didn’t have another job, but didn’t care, because I somehow knew I would find a job quickly. Which I did. In fact, I got another job in one week. Which I start tomorrow.

You see, here’s the thing…I am a good employee. I’m responsible; reliable; experienced and very knowledgeable in what I do. I’m also an employee who is more than willing to go beyond what’s expected of me and do more. And I don't expect a job to be absolutely perfect without any issues or stress. I don’t expect nirvana.

However…

When I feel as though I’m being taken advantage of and not at all appreciated by a corporation whose only concern is themselves, then I don’t have a problem calling it quits and finding one who does appreciate me.

Because it’s called self-respect.

Have a super week, y’all!

X