God, I hate my job

[sonny]

Its currently 4:15am here at a popular copy place which shall remain nameless. I am all by myself, and have been since 10PM, and I have been bombarded with total morons who need the world printed out "NOW". I have just sat down to eat. I haven't even really started the work I need to for tommorrow. Its a frustraiting night. They're all like this and I wonder "Is it worth it to go to a job that I hate, and am berated by half-wits asking why their colors arent perfect. Is it worth it to have your manager to constantly ask you to move to 2nd shift because it 'would really help him out' even though i would lose a dollar an hour? Is it worth stressing over getting 5000 copies of Aunt Martha's Apple Brown Betty recipe in time for the big picnic? Is it worth it to drag myself away from the reds game to put on a stupid uniform with an apron and drive accross town to get to a job that i just dont like?

When I come home from a terrible night, my son who is 19 months runs to the screen door when I open the gate to let my car in the driveway, and in his simplest, sweetest words presses his nose agaist the glass underneath the screen and soflty yelps "Dada!"

Its then when I know. Yeah, its worth it. No matter how hard it is, its worth it knowing I'm providing for my family and being a good husband and father. It will be well worth it when I get a job (hopefully as a Columbus Police Officer) that will allow us to live a more stable living, to remember how it was to live in want and to give to others who are in lean times.

So I hate my job, but I love my life.

[RFS62]

I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but every person who comes in there when you're tired or discouraged is a blessing.

If you can learn to deal with them with love and kindness in your heart, regardless of how aggravating they may be, you'll be building strength and courage in your own personal experience.

You want to be a policeman. You'll have to deal with situations that most of us can't imagine. Use your current travails as training for your road ahead. Learning to deal with the public takes time and experience.

I referred to Castenada on another thread recently. I'm going to again here. It's the concept of a "petty tyrant".

Instead of succumbing to the obvious approach of hating these people who come and go in your life, see them as a blessing. Only you can control your reaction to their demands or actions. If you can see them as an opportunity to grow, a challenge to deal with them with love, you'll be made infinitely stronger. It doesn't take a strong man to be disgusted with them for their petty ways and actions. It takes a strong man to overlook their actions and conduct yourself with love and respect for all people, no matter what their station in life. That's true strength.

Every time someone behaves badly towards you is an opportunity to grow stronger with your response. Or to grow weaker and sink into the terrible morass of hate and resentment. The choice is all yours. You can't give them power over your moods.

And the reward is just as you said it. Knowing that you are loved and are taking care of your family. And knowing that the examples you set in living your life will be noticed and emulated by your son and your family and everyone who comes in contact with you.

A petty tyrant can be a blessing, or a curse. How you perceive it is all up to you.

I'd rather light a candle than curse the darkness.

[Heath]

I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but every person who comes in there when you're tired or discouraged is a blessing.

If you can learn to deal with them with love and kindness in your heart, regardless of how aggravating they may be, you'll be building strength and courage in your own personal experience.

You want to be a policeman. You'll have to deal with situations that most of us can't imagine. Use your current travails as training for your road ahead. Learning to deal with the public takes time and experience.

I referred to Castenada on another thread recently. I'm going to again here. It's the concept of a "petty tyrant".

Instead of succumbing to the obvious approach of hating these people who come and go in your life, see them as a blessing. Only you can control your reaction to their demands or actions. If you can see them as an opportunity to grow, a challenge to deal with them with love, you'll be made infinitely stronger. It doesn't take a strong man to be disgusted with them for their petty ways and actions. It takes a strong man to overlook their actions and conduct yourself with love and respect for all people, no matter what their station in life. That's true strength.

Every time someone behaves badly towards you is an opportunity to grow stronger with your response. Or to grow weaker and sink into the terrible morass of hate and resentment. The choice is all yours. You can't give them power over your moods.

And the reward is just as you said it. Knowing that you are loved and are taking care of your family. And knowing that the examples you set in living your life will be noticed and emulated by your son and your family and everyone who comes in contact with you.

A petty tyrant can be a blessing, or a curse. How you perceive it is all up to you.

I'd rather light a candle than curse the darkness.

When you've lived for over 100 years, advice is easy to dispense, o' wise one.





:gettingoffthelawn:

[Team Clark]

I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but every person who comes in there when you're tired or discouraged is a blessing.

If you can learn to deal with them with love and kindness in your heart, regardless of how aggravating they may be, you'll be building strength and courage in your own personal experience.

You want to be a policeman. You'll have to deal with situations that most of us can't imagine. Use your current travails as training for your road ahead. Learning to deal with the public takes time and experience.

I referred to Castenada on another thread recently. I'm going to again here. It's the concept of a "petty tyrant".

Instead of succumbing to the obvious approach of hating these people who come and go in your life, see them as a blessing. Only you can control your reaction to their demands or actions. If you can see them as an opportunity to grow, a challenge to deal with them with love, you'll be made infinitely stronger. It doesn't take a strong man to be disgusted with them for their petty ways and actions. It takes a strong man to overlook their actions and conduct yourself with love and respect for all people, no matter what their station in life. That's true strength.

Every time someone behaves badly towards you is an opportunity to grow stronger with your response. Or to grow weaker and sink into the terrible morass of hate and resentment. The choice is all yours. You can't give them power over your moods.

And the reward is just as you said it. Knowing that you are loved and are taking care of your family. And knowing that the examples you set in living your life will be noticed and emulated by your son and your family and everyone who comes in contact with you.

A petty tyrant can be a blessing, or a curse. How you perceive it is all up to you.

I'd rather light a candle than curse the darkness.

RFS you never cease to amaze me. If I ever get to heaven (long shot) I will be putting your name on my resume I hand to St. Peter.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Well said. Words that can be taken to heart by all of us. Thanks, RFS62. I needed that!

[SunDeck]

I have been in jobs I didn't like and now that I have a career that is satisfying I look back on all of it an understand that there's something to be learned in every one of them. You will get there one day, too.

As for your current situation- being in a customer service position can be very stressful and I empathize with you. It's easy to feel like you die a little bit with every crappy customer. They never say thanks, they think you are their servant, they are stupid. All of these things are basically true about everyone at certain times. Me, you, them- we're all pretty dumb and our enormously important problems really are about as unimportant as they come in the grand scheme of things. Serving these people without developing a hate for them is tricky, but it is possible because none of their problems have anything to do with you personally. You have solutions, I am sure you know your job and you are there to do what you can within certain limits to get them what they need. Knowing that, and keeping your focus on the fact that you are doing everything you can to give these people the best possible service should allow you to keep from disdaining every minute you spend with them.

Ultimately, I find that it boils down to attitude. If I decide to make every customer happy and if I challenge myself to turn every crappy transaction into a success story, then it translates into a more enjoyable experience for me and for them. It is tough...but I'm pretty good at it after all these years.

Now, about working a later shift for less money- I believe you have every right to tell your boss that working the less desirable shifts ought to be worth something.

Good luck.

[Roy Tucker]

"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." - Drew Carey

[reds1869]

I have been exactly where you are, in exactly the same city with pretty much the same circumstances. As RFS62 said, "light a candle" and you will make your part of teh world a little better. In the end, I grew more from my two years with lousy jobs and no money than from anything I've done in my life. No matter where fate takes you, this period will strengthen your ability to succeed and be happy.

[BoxingRed]

I agree with RFS62 in principle and, in fact, my company based their ideals on those very same ideas.

I will say, at least from the sound of it, that RFS62 does not work in the retail or retail service industry. I don't think I had any idea how evil, petty and selfish people can be until I began working in a bank. It's not so easy to slough things off when people spit at you, throw things at you, cuss you out and threaten to get you fired on a daily basis. I work in grocery now, which is far better, but still has some moments where you ask, "How could someone treat a perfect stranger this way and not feel any guilt, shame or sympathy?" On top of that, they would never act that way towards someone in most other situations. Well the answer is that they generally see you as less than human.

So, I like what you are saying RSF62, but it's a lot easier to put into practice in some fields more than others.

[RFS62]

I agree with RFS62 in principle and, in fact, my company based their ideals on those very same ideas.

I will say, at least from the sound of it, that RFS62 does not work in the retail or retail service industry. I don't think I had any idea how evil, petty and selfish people can be until I began working in a bank. It's not so easy to slough things off when people spit at you, throw things at you, cuss you out and threaten to get you fired on a daily basis. I work in grocery now, which is far better, but still has some moments where you ask, "How could someone treat a perfect stranger this way and not feel any guilt, shame or sympathy?" On top of that, they would never act that way towards someone in most other situations. Well the answer is that they generally see you as less than human.

So, I like what you are saying RSF62, but it's a lot easier to put into practice in some fields more than others.

Yep, no doubt some jobs are harder than others. My family was in retail, we had a small country store as I was growing up. In my current profession, I come across people who are in all different kinds of stress.

If you allow a hateful and petty person to bring you down to their level, they win and you lose. I refuse to give that kind of power over my moods to a stranger. Maybe you could look at it as a competition, if that helps you wrap your mind around it. You hate, you lose.

[cincinnati chili]

If you allow a hateful and petty person to bring you down to their level, they win and you lose.

But if you give that hateful and petty person a good ass-kickin' do you still lose?

Or do you win?

Can we call it a tie?

[Razor Shines]

I agree with RFS62 in principle and, in fact, my company based their ideals on those very same ideas.

I will say, at least from the sound of it, that RFS62 does not work in the retail or retail service industry. I don't think I had any idea how evil, petty and selfish people can be until I began working in a bank. It's not so easy to slough things off when people spit at you, throw things at you, cuss you out and threaten to get you fired on a daily basis. I work in grocery now, which is far better, but still has some moments where you ask, "How could someone treat a perfect stranger this way and not feel any guilt, shame or sympathy?" On top of that, they would never act that way towards someone in most other situations. Well the answer is that they generally see you as less than human.

So, I like what you are saying RSF62, but it's a lot easier to put into practice in some fields more than others.

I worked in retail for most of my life and my wife manages a retail store. We've both had run ins with rude customers but neither of us of have had anything thrown at us or been spit on, those are things you don't slough off.

If one of my employees was having customers cuss at him and threaten to get him fired on a daily basis, I'd be worried about what that employee was doing to cause that. Because it shouldn't happen very often. Customers being rude, sure, that's probably a daily occurrence, but cussing you out and threatening your job, if that's happening more than once or twice a month you may have a problem handling rude customers. IMHO

[BoxingRed]

I worked in retail for most of my life and my wife manages a retail store. We've both had run ins with rude customers but neither of us of have had anything thrown at us or been spit on, those are things you don't slough off.

If one of my employees was having customers cuss at him and threaten to get him fired on a daily basis, I'd be worried about what that employee was doing to cause that. Because it shouldn't happen very often. Customers being rude, sure, that's probably a daily occurrence, but cussing you out and threatening your job, if that's happening more than once or twice a month you may have a problem handling rude customers. IMHO

Banking is a lot different than retail in that way. Try telling some one that they can't have their money because they don't have proper ID. Try telling someone they can't have immediate access to money they deposit in the bank. Tell someone they can't cash a check because they showed up 10 minutes after closing on a Friday. Or that they owe money because they have overdrawn their account. Try telling a business owner that they were $300 short in their night deposit.

Believe me, it ain't pretty. When you invlove people's money, add frustration, embarrassment and a host of other anxieties, the results are UGLY. I mean you can feel the anger and hatred coming off of people like 5 alarm fire. And those are the times when you do everything right. Imagine what happens when you make a simple mistake.

I still see a guy from time to time that is convinced I shorted him $100. I swear he would deck me and kick me while I am down if he could get away with it.

BTW, I was generally considered excellent at customer service, though I had my moments where I had enough.
And I receive top marks for customer service in my grocery job now.

[Razor Shines]

Banking is a lot different than retail in that way. Try telling some one that they can't have their money because they don't have proper ID. Try telling someone they can't have immediate access to money they deposit in the bank. Tell someone they can't cash a check because they showed up 10 minutes after closing on a Friday. Or that they owe money because they have overdrawn their account. Try telling a business owner that they were $300 short in their night deposit.

Believe me, it ain't pretty. When you invlove people's money, add frustration, embarrassment and a host of other anxieties, the results are UGLY. I mean you can feel the anger and hatred coming off of people like 5 alarm fire. And those are the times when you do everything right. Imagine what happens when you make a simple mistake.

I still see a guy from time to time that is convinced I shorted him $100. I swear he would deck me and kick me while I am down if he could get away with it.

BTW, I was generally considered excellent at customer service, though I had my moments where I had enough.
And I receive top marks for customer service in my grocery job now.

I worked at a bank while I was in college. Maybe the one I worked at was different.

[dabvu2498]

Good stuff, '62.

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” That's Biblical or something.

For a more proximate reference, the Nordstrom's model of customer service is something we could all use from time to time.