I hate my new job

[Anna]

I just got a job at a burger place last week and I already absolutely hate it. The work itself isn't bad; I think cashiering is fun! But even though I'm only working about 4 hours a shift, it easily eats up 6 via bus transportation. Which means on days I work I have minimal time to do any studying/school work. The managers are jerks that have been having a blast playing tricks on me. They also apparently have the right to keep me over my shift however long they want, even though my last bus home leaves right after my shift finishes. (and the area the burger place is in is not-so-safe after 10pm)

This would be a no-brainer for me, but the problem is I really need money. I'm a college student with no financial support from my family(story for another time, let's just say we don't agree on some important issues), and I have under $2000 in my bank account. (My apartment rent is about 800/month, minus utilities and water)

On the other hand, and here's the ray of light, I'm friends with the manager/owner of a cafe. It's right near my school, much closer than the burger place. I go in there all the time with my boyfriend and chat with the manager. Sometimes he gives us discounts on food or a free dessert. Basically he's great. A few days ago he came up to me and basically offered me a job this Summer. The thing is he said that he'd call me when he knew for sure.

What I'd really like to do is own my own business, but I need some sort of income to even start that.

Should I leave my miserable time-absorbing job and take a gamble on getting the job at the cafe? I'd say it's a 90% chance that I get it, but it's still not certain.

I know this is a hard thing give your opinion on, but I'd really like to know what you guys think I should do.

[airen123]

As someone who is speaking from having been laid off for a year and a half, I'd wait until your friend formally offers you the job. Summer isn't too far away.

I'm sorry the job situation sucks, but having no job sucks even worse.

[Shortkaik]

I agree - tough it out for a bit until you've got a firm offer in your hands. Maybe even start putting out other applications in the meantime!

[BadWolf]

That really bites, but definitely hang onto that job until the offer is official. If it doesn't pan out, are there other places near you that you can apply to? Keep on looking while you're there as a job that compromises your safe ride home and likes to abuse you (what kind of trickery?) is not the job for you. Good luck!

[FastFox]

Stay at you current job for sure, all the while keep looking for other work (and waiting for your buddy at the cafe to get back to you), and don't quit until you have an actual start date set for another job. Also, potential employers are more likely to hire someone who already has a job rather than someone who is unemployed, so keep that in mind, your shitty job might just be your ticket to a better one, simply because someone might look at your app and think "Hey she's already working a really shitty job and stuck with it, I bet she'd be a good employee and stick with our not shitty job here!"

[LadyGigi]

Have you talked to other employees about getting a ride with them? Like offering to help pay for gas or something?

[Anna]

Thanks for your responses guys! I'll do my best to hang in there, it's just really stressing me out

@BadWolf: The tricks have been things like telling me I was supposed to do something one way when it was actually supposed to be done in a different way... This has happened several times(and they laugh before they correct me!). It's nothing horrible, but it's incredibly frustrating. You'd think they'd want to train their employees to trust them.

@FastFox: I'll keep looking for sure. I hadn't thought that having a job already would give me any sort of advantage. I always thought it would be a hinderance, like "what does she need us for? She already has a job. There are plenty of unemployeed people that need jobs!" But I guess it doesn't work like I imagine?

@Lady Gigi: None of the other employees during my shift live in my region of the woods. :/ Most live really close so they just walk/bike. I don't know if it would be appropriate to ask someone to go out of their way to pick me up, especially since I don't know any of them well.

Thanks again for your input guys. Here's hoping I hear back from the cafe manager soon!

[jjhatch]

They also apparently have the right to keep me over my shift however long they want, even though my last bus home leaves right after my shift finishes. (and the area the burger place is in is not-so-safe after 10pm)

This isn't legal, ESPECIALLY if your only ride home is public transportation. As a manager in retail (and I don't see why the food industry would be any different, and from what I've heard from friends who work in it, it's not), if we have someone scheduled from, say, 12pm to 5pm, and we need them to stay later, we can ask them, but we can't make them. If they say yes, then great, if they can't, well it sucks for us but we manage and get over it, because they were not scheduled past 5pm.

[Unda]

This isn't legal, ESPECIALLY if your only ride home is public transportation. As a manager in retail (and I don't see why the food industry would be any different, and from what I've heard from friends who work in it, it's not), if we have someone scheduled from, say, 12pm to 5pm, and we need them to stay later, we can ask them, but we can't make them. If they say yes, then great, if they can't, well it sucks for us but we manage and get over it, because they were not scheduled past 5pm.

I second this. If it's seriously the last bus then they really have no grounds to make you stay longer. Your safety is more important than their last minute jobs that anyone could do. If they have a problem with that they need to stop scheduling you for those shifts.

[Anna]

This isn't legal, ESPECIALLY if your only ride home is public transportation. As a manager in retail (and I don't see why the food industry would be any different, and from what I've heard from friends who work in it, it's not), if we have someone scheduled from, say, 12pm to 5pm, and we need them to stay later, we can ask them, but we can't make them. If they say yes, then great, if they can't, well it sucks for us but we manage and get over it, because they were not scheduled past 5pm.

Grrr. I checked online and in Washington State mandatory overtime is perfectly legal. :/ If I understand correctly from what I read, it sounds like they can even make you come in on a day off (Implied that they can fire you if you don't?).

Here's the link if anyone's interested:

http://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/Overtime/WhenApply/default.asp

We'll see if I can even keep this job though. I'm scheduled to work until 11:30pm (closing) on Saturday and that's just not possible for me. I guess I'll find out when I go in tomorrow!

It seems like mandatory overtime isn't unique to Washington either. After skimming through information on several other states it seems many have some variant on it. I think something like that should be illegal, but I'm not surprised it isn't.

[leadchipmunk]

I believe it is the same thing here. A lot of states that don't have a clause about mandatory overtime compensate by being a fire-at-will state, that way they can still fire you if you don't work it. Sorry for your luck, I don't see how this could be legal, but it is.

Good luck with the cafe job pulling through for you.

[Elastigirl]

Sorry about your job situation. No advice, just wanted to wave to a fellow Washingtonian.

[Egg and Lettuce]

Only advice, don't quit untill you have another job. If you don't have another job, have a bit of money squared away and take some time off.

If study is truly a concern, can you do some of it on the bus??

i know its hard but if this is any consolation it doesn't really get much easier, days ge shorter but work hours grow longer. The more you get paid them more is expected of you (which isn't a bad thing) and my final most important bit of advice............. the grass isn't always greener, usually its the same shade of lime.

[Jcannon98188]

Hello from a fellow washingtonian. Only advice? Don't quit till you have a new job in hand. I did that, and ended up 5 months in unemployment land (my parents just lovveeeddd that).

Keep checking on craigslist, something will come up!

[skip-tracer]

Do they really have the right to keep you past the end of your shift as much as they want? You should definitely question that.

When I've had jobs that I've disliked I've always been a bit more willing to risk pissing off my boss, but maybe that's not a good idea.

[aj_rock]

They might have that right, but I'm sure the big boss over their head won't be happy about paying you overtime because the managers felt like being dicks and keeping you late. Nor would he/she be happy that their customer service is inefficient because the managers cant be bothered to train employees properly...

[Jcannon98188]

They very much have that right, atleast here in Washington they do. I usually tell them to screw themselves and leave though. Only reason I didn't get fired though is because the manager hated their job as well

[Anna]

Hello to you too my sweet Washingtonians

I have been a bit more... opinionated than I would be if this job was important to me. I mean YES it's important; I need a job to take care of myself, but I don't necessarily need this particular job you know? ...I'm sorry guys, I should probably just be happy to have a job right now. Beggars can't be choosers and all that.

To be a bit more fair, they only keep me late if they're busy. The only inflexible problem with them keeping me late is my bus schedule. I honestly just can't stay past 10.

I think if mandatory overtime was written in and agreed to on an individual basis between boss and employee it would be more ok, but as it is it seems like a violation of freedom and individual autonomy. Am I overreacting on this?

Also, as a footnote: I called in today and apparently it's ok that I can't work until closing on Saturday, so that's one weight off my back!

Thanks again for all your responses guys

[jjhatch]

Wow, I had no idea there were states that did that. Texas isn't one of them which is why I thought that it was illegal. That's pretty messed up. (Granted, I have mandatory overtime, but it was part of my job description and it's only 5 hours)

Anyways, have you talked to them about how you really can't stay past 10 because you won't have any way of getting home?

[amandolin]

Have you actually talked to the managers about scheduling you earlier so you can get out in time to catch the bus?

Working in the food industry I know that you should never plan to be out at a certain time, because it just doesn't ever work out, however alot of managers will make an effort to work with you if your limited by transportation.

On a side note, I agree with everyone else, don't quit until you have something else. Having a jobs says, "oh well they hired her she must be good". Where being unemployed say "No one else wants her, why should we". I know that it's not true in many many cases, but just seems to be how companies work.

[Librarian of Doom]

On a side note, I agree with everyone else, don't quit until you have something else. Having a jobs says, "oh well they hired her she must be good". Where being unemployed say "No one else wants her, why should we". I know that it's not true in many many cases, but just seems to be how companies work.

This. Especially if the person hiring is older (and by older, I mean at least 50). When I was quitting my secretarial job to go back to school, I watched my 60something boss sort the resumes; anyone with a large chunk of unemployed time immediately went into the reject pile. He just didn't trust that they were a "good worker"; which, as everyone knows, is so important when hiring for a barely minimum wage job with no benefits :S

[Ian]

I may be completely wrong, as 1) I don't live in Washington 2) I don't live in the US and 3) I work for a union, so there's no question about my overtime... but I think from a couple of comments that people are confusing 'mandatory overtime' and 'overtime pay'. From what I understood of the Washington state employment law, purely from the link you posted, 'mandatory overtime' means that the boss can ask you to stay later than your scheduled shift end. But 'overtime pay' wouldn't apply until you'd worked more than 40 hours in a week.

That said, you aren't a slave. The can ask you to stay, you can say 'no'. They can fire you, or you could negotiate something with the boss. Seriously you'd have to be working for a real jerk for them ignore your transportation requirements.

But as the other wise posters before me have said, stick with it until you get something else, but DON'T simply give in whenever they ask you to stay. Frankly most people respect someone with backbone, whereas if you don't put up a fight, they'll keep pushing, just to find out how far they can go before you push back.

Good luck!