Got a new job, hate it.

spankysue

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice about a job I started last week. My uncle just started managing a petrol station and rang me up last Wednesday to ask me to start work on Thursday. So I was delighted, 'cause it's been about 18 months since I last worked, went in Thursday and within about half an hour, I knew I didn't want to be there, actually cried on the walk home.

The person who's training me is a complete bibe, shouting at me for not doing things when she knows I've never done this kind of work before, I don't get proper breaks, just 5 mins here and there and I don't know the hours or days I'm supposed to be working from one day to the next. Seems I was lucky enough though to get Sunday off, as nobody else working there has had a day off yet.

I understand that my uncle is only finding his feet too, and he was good enough to give me a job, that's why I feel like I can't leave, don't want to be letting family down but it's really getting to me, I can't sleep, I feel like crying every time I just think about the place. I hated being on the dole and I'm desperate to do something, but I don't think I can take much more of it, I actually hate the place.

My OH has told me to either stop giving out or leave, but I'd feel selfish for giving up a job when there's so few out there and I don't want to let my uncle down either. Can someone please give me some advice on what to do?

Outkast_IRE

When a business first opens it can be a bit manic, people overworked etc.
However you should be demanding your proper breaks, and so should your co workers.

If you havent worked in 18 months i think you should stick it out for a while , and look for alternative work in the mean time.

bubbaloo

I think you should try to stick it out for a while. If your uncle is the manager, surely he has authority over this woman who shouts orders at you. Could you talk to your uncle about setting up a proper structured roster and scheduled breaks? It seems your colleagues woiuld thank you for that too. Worth a try? Sometimes it takes a stronger person to stick it out than to walk away. Good luck.

road_high

I think there's communication problems here on both sides to be honest. Think you all need to be clear on where you stand re breaks etc. And also need to be clear if you need training in an area that you need to be properky trained.

spankysue

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

When a business first opens it can be a bit manic, people overworked etc.
However you should be demanding your proper breaks, and so should your co workers.

If you havent worked in 18 months i think you should stick it out for a while , and look for alternative work in the mean time.

Thanks for the advice, think I'll say something tomorrow about the breaks and I'll definitely be looking for something else. When I was out of work for the 18 months, I retrained and now have a Fetac Level 5 in Office Administration, just wish I could find something in that area

biko

As said - see if you can look at the schedule and try to figure out a better plan than the current supervisor and then present that to your uncle?
It's hard to change things but if someone presents a better plan it makes things easier.

spankysue

biko wrote: »

As said - see if you can look at the schedule and try to figure out a better plan than the current supervisor and then present that to your uncle?
It's hard to change things but if someone presents a better plan it makes things easier.

The problem with that is that there's two people who know the job inside out, one of them being the bibe that's supposed to be training me, and 'cause everyone else is new, the two girls have to be there the whole time, one in the morning, one in the evening.

professore

What about asking your uncle for some office admin work, even part time as part of your hours? Surely a filling station needs this?

Tact is very important here as you don't want to come across as a lazy good for nothing whinger.

By the way in practically any job you are going to have to work with awkward people, and mostly these are the ones in charge.

Amy2010

professore wrote: »

WBy the way in practically any job you are going to have to work with awkward people, and mostly these are the ones in charge.

Unfortunately, you come across difficult or nice colleagues. I've gone through this myself. It isn't easy. My suggestion is to talk to your uncle first. Then, talk to your difficult colleague with your uncle to try to iron out difficulties. It is all about communication and have agreement in place.

the_syco

spankysue wrote: »

one of them being the bibe that's supposed to be training me

Sounds like the bibe hasn't a clue how to train people, and is shouting at you in the hope that you don't cop this. Said bibe may also have a mate that she wants to give your job to, so may be hoping you quit.

Stick it out for two weeks.

amdublin

Re the girl who is training you:
If she is impatient with you again just turn to her and say "I've never done this before so i am sorry but you are going to have bare with me"

And in your head think "afterall it can't be that difficult if you can do it"

Stick with it op, things will get better

spankysue

the_syco wrote: »

Said bibe may also have a mate that she wants to give your job to, so may be hoping you quit.

This has crossed my mind a few times.....

spankysue

Thanks everyone for your kind words and advice

I'm definitely going to take it on board. I'll have to stick it out for another bit anyway, hopefully it'll be better in a few weeks when I'm fully trained and things settle down a bit.... and I can get bítch face off me back :P

tony81

Your uncle's the manager.. and as a manager it's his job to ensure you can do your job without putting up with crap from other employees. It's also his responsibility to ensure you get your proper breaks.

Atomicjuicer

Might the trainer be afraid that as you're family you may get additional power and so deep down maybe she feels threatened?

christmas2012

Ya at the start it can be a bit hectic,once you settle in,it should cool off,if not dont leave the job straight away have another job lined up and an offer of another job BEFORE you leave..

Otherwise you just left a job,and wont be entitled to get dole,(unless you get fired from your job then thats different),just make sure either way you leave with a p45,and have another job lined up..

In these times you wont get much sympathy for leaving a job,i stuck out a **** job with crappy pay and a bad supervisor with a b!tchy attitude for 2 years,and i didnt cry or leave once.
I know if i did i wouldnt get much sympathy,how would it look on my CV also??And i certainly wouldnt get any dole..

spankysue

Hi everyone, just wanted to give ye an update, I've settled in a bit more now & know what I'm doing so the bibe is off me back now, she's actually being really nice to me. I know now too why she was being such a b1tch, she hadn't had a day off in 2 full weeks, and she used to be a manager and now she's not, so in a way, I can understand why she was so moody.

My uncle is still being an incompetent boob though, he does fcuk all, he just seems to sit on his arse in the office all day, leaving me and the other girl to do everything else.

Still only getting one day off a week (which is really p1ssing me off), and still no proper breaks, just 5 mins here and there to have a smoke, and even though my uncle is telling us to take proper breaks, we can't 'cos he won't stick around long enough to cover them (something always seems to have to be done in the office). If he wasn't my uncle, I'd be reporting him to the labour commissioner...and telling him to stick his job up his fat hole

Actually starting to really dislike him now, so I better get something soon before I end up hating him. Fingers crossed something will come up.

Atomicjuicer

spankysue wrote: »

Hi everyone, just wanted to give ye an update, I've settled in a bit more now & know what I'm doing so the bibe is off me back now, she's actually being really nice to me. I know now too why she was being such a b1tch, she hadn't had a day off in 2 full weeks, and she used to be a manager and now she's not, so in a way, I can understand why she was so moody.

My uncle is still being an incompetent boob though, he does fcuk all, he just seems to sit on his arse in the office all day, leaving me and the other girl to do everything else.

Still only getting one day off a week (which is really p1ssing me off), and still no proper breaks, just 5 mins here and there to have a smoke, and even though my uncle is telling us to take proper breaks, we can't 'cos he won't stick around long enough to cover them (something always seems to have to be done in the office). If he wasn't my uncle, I'd be reporting him to the labour commissioner...and telling him to stick his job up his fat hole

Actually starting to really dislike him now, so I better get something soon before I end up hating him. Fingers crossed something will come up.

Glad it's going better for ya!

Office work *can* actually be hell by the way :P

spankysue

Atomicjuicer wrote: »

Glad it's going better for ya!

Office work *can* actually be hell by the way :P

Thanks

I can understand that but it shouldn't take him 8 hours to do a few orders, considering that was his job for 30 years before he started "managing" the petrol station.

[Jackass]

spankysue wrote: »

Hi everyone, just wanted to give ye an update, I've settled in a bit more now & know what I'm doing so the bibe is off me back now, she's actually being really nice to me. I know now too why she was being such a b1tch, she hadn't had a day off in 2 full weeks, and she used to be a manager and now she's not, so in a way, I can understand why she was so moody.

My uncle is still being an incompetent boob though, he does fcuk all, he just seems to sit on his arse in the office all day, leaving me and the other girl to do everything else.

Still only getting one day off a week (which is really p1ssing me off), and still no proper breaks, just 5 mins here and there to have a smoke, and even though my uncle is telling us to take proper breaks, we can't 'cos he won't stick around long enough to cover them (something always seems to have to be done in the office). If he wasn't my uncle, I'd be reporting him to the labour commissioner...and telling him to stick his job up his fat hole

Actually starting to really dislike him now, so I better get something soon before I end up hating him. Fingers crossed something will come up.

To be fair to your uncle, I doubt he's sitting in the office trying to beat his record of 12 faps in one day, he's more than likely running through sales reports to try and gauge stock orders for the shop and looking for cheapest suppliers and doing shop accounts and wages etc. Any business needs a hell of a lot of administration, I've never done retail myself, but I sometimes wonder if it's worth all the hassle of so many small products and various suppliers and big staff turnover and doing rotas for shift work etc.

Also, what the hell is a bibe?

All in all though, glad it's working out a bit better. I'd recommend talking to your uncle about staffing. Tell him that he needs at least one more staff member so that you can get more time off and split shifts into half days or whatever, as only two people in the shop doesn't allow for breaks and a third probably wouldn't be economical, so roster overlapping shifts that maybe one opens, one comes in mid-morning, opener leaves in afternoon when evening shift person comes in, and mid-morning person leaves when evening worker comes in, then one person closes, having two staff members at all times except usually at the two least busy points of the day, just after opening and before closing.

May result in less hours for you (but the same amount of paid hours for your employer), but it seems like you all would like more time off.

spankysue

Hey guys, back again with another update and looking for more advice, slightly off topic but still relating to work.

Job is ok now, getting proper time off and stuff, it's all going smoothly, still don't really like the job I'm doing but I'm just getting on with it now with a smile on me chops

Now for off topic.... was in work today, when I got a missed call from the place where I did work placement when I did the office admin course, I loved the place where I was btw, the short time I spent there was the happiest time in my working life.

Anyway, I rang back and it turns out they wanted me to cover someone who's off sick for a few days, so I explained that I was working now and was so sorry but I couldn't do it. (I thought it'd be stupid to leave a full time job just to cover someone who's off sick) They were delighted that I'd gotten a job and then said that if anything changes down the line to let them know 'cause they loved having me there.

Now I'm thinking I might ring them tomorrow to have a proper chat, but how do I say it? Or do I ring the person who rang me this evening? I'd love to help them out but it would be stupid to leave my current job for what could potentially be only a few days work wouldn't it.....

Head is wrecked now over this

Outkast_IRE

spankysue wrote: »

Hey guys, back again with another update and looking for more advice, slightly off topic but still relating to work.

Job is ok now, getting proper time off and stuff, it's all going smoothly, still don't really like the job I'm doing but I'm just getting on with it now with a smile on me chops

Now for off topic.... was in work today, when I got a missed call from the place where I did work placement when I did the office admin course, I loved the place where I was btw, the short time I spent there was the happiest time in my working life.

Anyway, I rang back and it turns out they wanted me to cover someone who's off sick for a few days, so I explained that I was working now and was so sorry but I couldn't do it. (I thought it'd be stupid to leave a full time job just to cover someone who's off sick) They were delighted that I'd gotten a job and then said that if anything changes down the line to let them know 'cause they loved having me there.

Now I'm thinking I might ring them tomorrow to have a proper chat, but how do I say it? Or do I ring the person who rang me this evening? I'd love to help them out but it would be stupid to leave my current job for what could potentially be only a few days work wouldn't it.....

Head is wrecked now over this

Your head shouldnt be wrecked, as you said yourself it would be silly to leave fulltime work to cover a few sick days.

The main thing is that you made a good impression with them and if there is change in circumstance they will ring you, just remember to keep on applying around while your working. Im a big believer in the saying its easier to get a job while in a job.

westies4ever

spankysue wrote: »

Hey guys, back again with another update and looking for more advice, slightly off topic but still relating to work.

Job is ok now, getting proper time off and stuff, it's all going smoothly, still don't really like the job I'm doing but I'm just getting on with it now with a smile on me chops

Now for off topic.... was in work today, when I got a missed call from the place where I did work placement when I did the office admin course, I loved the place where I was btw, the short time I spent there was the happiest time in my working life.

Anyway, I rang back and it turns out they wanted me to cover someone who's off sick for a few days, so I explained that I was working now and was so sorry but I couldn't do it. (I thought it'd be stupid to leave a full time job just to cover someone who's off sick) They were delighted that I'd gotten a job and then said that if anything changes down the line to let them know 'cause they loved having me there.

Now I'm thinking I might ring them tomorrow to have a proper chat, but how do I say it? Or do I ring the person who rang me this evening? I'd love to help them out but it would be stupid to leave my current job for what could potentially be only a few days work wouldn't it.....

Head is wrecked now over this

phone them back when you're a bit more prepared. They'll totally understand that you cant just drop your current job for a few days - in fact they'll admire your professionalism and loyalty. Explain that you loved it there too and ask that they keep you in mind if something more long term comes up.

spankysue

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Your head shouldnt be wrecked, as you said yourself it would be silly to leave fulltime work to cover a few sick days.

The main thing is that you made a good impression with them and if there is change in circumstance they will ring you, just remember to keep on applying around while your working. Im a big believer in the saying its easier to get a job while in a job.

Thanks, and that definitely is true, I missed the call from them this morning 'cause I was on hold ringing back another place that I'd missed a call from that were calling me for an interview....but then they hung up on me :pac:

spankysue

westies4ever wrote: »

phone them back when you're a bit more prepared. They'll totally understand that you cant just drop your current job for a few days - in fact they'll admire your professionalism and loyalty. Explain that you loved it there too and ask that they keep you in mind if something more long term comes up.

I was thinking I might ring them in the morning and maybe try to arrange a face to face chat tomorrow afternoon or just pop in to them next week when I'm off, don't know which is best to do though.