Not working hard enough?
I am sick of working, and the temptation to simply resign on the spot is simply overwhelming. An incident happened at work today which changed my impression of most of my co-workers there, and left me terribly frustrated.
This entry was initially filled with excessive cursing, but I decided to censor myself after much thought. Nobody deserves to go through an entire entry full of vulgarities, because we’re all innocent beings.
I can only say this much. I detest people nagging at me to work harder when I am already very stressed. I was already working so hard that almost everyone could see the crease lines on my forehead as I worked. I was trying my very best to work fast to accomodate the large influx of customers, but apparently the supervisors and managers don’t even adknowledge my efforts. Instead, they were complaining about me.
I overheard one of my co-workers at the ice cream counter remarking; “Today’s crowd isn’t considered that bad. But look at the state of Station 1! The Station 1 crew aren’t good at all!” (For your information, the restaurant is divided into two stations and for tonight, I happened to be allocated to station 1.)
Another supervisor then spoke to me and said that when the restaurant is busy, I should not be so laid-back and relaxed.
I nearly exploded at her when she said that. I was working my head off clearing tables, refilling glasses, attending to customers, carrying overloaded trays, pouring soup into bowls at such a fast rate that I scalded myself twice.
Do you call this laid back?
The spark that ignited the fuse came along when one of the managers complained that I had to work a little faster when I was in the midst of clearing three tables at a time. I was already rushing from table to table collecting soiled dishes and had to manage an overloaded tray when I have an elbow injury. Furthermore, I was so stressed at that moment that I just wanted to scream.
I didn’t scream. Instead, I broke down since I couldn’t handle it anymore.
I don’t bother about what my co-workers are talking about behind my back. I don’t even give a damn about what they think of me after this whole incident. Go ahead and whisper! I’ve already come to terms with the fact that working in the F & B line is not for me, and that I am hopeless when it comes to being a waitress.
Go on, talk behind my back! Backstab me all you want! Brenda is hopeless. Fine, I know. I’ve already accepted that.
I know I am going to hear stuff like “That’s how the real world is like” and “That’s working life for you”. But no, I don’t believe in cliches. So what if this is working life? So what if this is the real world?
Such scenarios simply indicate how screwed up this so-called real world is like, so we’re just going to sit back and accept it, with the mentality that “Oh, the world is like this…”, thinking that nothing we can do can salvage how degrading we are starting to become?
C O M M E N T S (11)
It sounds like you had a horrid day at work, or everyday is horrible at that place. Perhaps you should speak with your manager? And if things don’t improve you should consider looking for another place to work, nobody should have to go through what you’re going through day in and day out to the point where you just want to break down. I hope things get better and look after your injuries too =D
Brenda’s Reply: Thanks! I wish I could just walk out and find a new job elsewhere. But part of me would feel guilty doing it because I may leave the restaurant in a lurch (i.e. shorthanded). I hope everything gets better for me too. *Sigh*
It is hard working at a place; doing the best you can and still feeling like you are not appreciated. Brenda, if I was you, I would talk to the supervisor and hopefully, that will get it all straightened out.
It is a good thing that you did not scream, though, because they probably would have used it as an excuse to fire you.
I hope that your next day at work is much better :)
You could get some comedy CDs or take a bath. Don’t forget tea with extra honey!
best of luck. ~_^
dear brenda, hang in there! i wish the world could be better, but under certain conditions, people show their worst side. perhaps the service industry is such that more must be endured. im still learning to take everything w a pinch of salt, and not being too bothered by failing to meet expectations, because u can get mentally burnt out if u get too bothered by it. i totally agree abt the cliches - we shouldnt have to take all that crap!!
everyday is a new day! *hugz* hope u feel better soon! :)
I had a difficult, physically demanding summer job once; I realized that I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my working life and it helped me choose a totally different industry that I have now enjoyed for the past several years. And I know I could *never* be a waiter. ;-)
So press on to the end if you can—when classes start (they haven’t started for you yet, right) you could quit your current job and/or get a different job. That’s what I did when my difficult summer job ended.
Be strong! :-)
That’s the service industry for you… *Sigh* They are definitely expecting too much from you, and can’t seem to be satisfied even when you are working your hardest…
Erm… I suggest you quit?
I’m sorry about what’s happening to you at your workplace. I’ve heard of such things and thankfully, I don’t have such co-workers nor supervisors. perhaps they could have misunderstood you?
Aw, being stressed like that is absolutely terrible. It seems as thought many people are getting quite stressed these days, so your not alone. People have told me I have a stressful life which i find hard to believe, just from the fact that I hardly ever feel stressed. What you need to do, is try your best, if it isn’t good enough for other people, ignore them, it’s good enough for you. Just do what you can at a rate you can handle. And as far as those remarks toward your station goes, you have to keep in mind that they were talking about you AND your co-workers, not just you alone, so don’t take it all in as though it were entirely your fault. If the job isn’t really working out for you and it is starting to impact your health from all the stress, start sending out applications at other places, and if you get another job, then quite.
Brenda, you can always call me and kao bei kao bu at me if you’re troubled by work… Haha… Even tho’ I hardly pop by these days, my ears are still free…
Anyway, at least you’ve learnt that F&B isn’t the industry for you, so you can avoid it in the future… Perhaps you are more suited to admin jobs?
Try getting a job somewhere else. Waitressing is a load of shit and always will be, and people always throw huge fits over the littlest stuff. Don’t mind them. You were doing a good job whether they say so or not.
Yes, the real world is fucked.
yikes.
i just think that u’re not fit to work in e F&B industry, and probably the service sector. lol!
but we all have to learn to take those backstabs and everything as “er bian feng”. there’re meaner people out there.
take care of ur elbow &scalded hand/arm.
dont frown too much! or those evil wrinkles will come crawling. try to smile all those shi*t away (: smiling helps sometimes.
maybe ur colleagues were talkign about u (the station 1 thingy). relax ya? ((:
just concentrate on ur work lor.
jiayou ah! (:
Brenda’s Reply: Thanks Queenie! *Hugs*