I have a supervisor and a supervisor supervisor. They both work the floor with me and the others. One of my co-workers say they're great people to work for. I wanted to believe that, but deep down, I'm thinking, Man, I know I'll be putting that to the test.
And I did when I thought I could get out of working the weekend. I get a call from my supervisor, who said, "The schedule is the schedule." And then she gave me an ultimatum: "You give it some thought, then you come back to me." Right then and there I thought I should just quit. I mean, I have some fun things I planned on doing, plus I have some work coming in with the Vikings, and I can even do some research stuff. I don't need this shit.
But then I gave it some thought. Whenever I feel angry and pushed around, I know that it will pass, and sometimes, if you give it some time, things will clear up for you. It did in a roundabout way: When I called a different store and asked that store's Human Resources Department if I could work for them instead (I thought that I could start with a clean slate and get the days I wanted off off). That was Sunday afternoon. I didn't think I was going to get anyone because I didn't think an HR department would be open over the weekend, let alone Thanksgiving weekend.
But they were, and that led me to thinking about the time I went in to fill out my application. There was a list of days and specific dates you could conflict out of. Then I realized that I think I did make myself unavailable for either Friday or Saturday, or both. Well, there's my silver lining.
So I called up the HR department at the store I'm actually working in right now. And yes, they were open. I "gently insisted" that she look at my conflict form, and after a minute, it did say that, yes, I begged off of Saturday. Work Friday but not Saturday? I need both -- still do -- but I'll take it, especially after the slap in the face Sunday night that the family is running out of money.
The HR person said she'll let my supervisor supervisor know about the conflict day she had me working on. So I thought it would be settled -- or, at least, I won't have to deal with it until I come in last night. Would they be mad? Would I get fired? In this life, I have to be prepared for anything.
I get let in. Neither supervisor acknowledges me. After I hang up my coat and get dressed, I go out to the field to start working. But my supervisor supervisor, just after she tells me which department to go to, addresses the situation. And she's OK with it, to a point. She knows she made a mistake about having me work Saturday, but she reiterated, with some passion in her voice despite diddling on her smartphone: "Whatever (supervisor's name) says, goes." She also mentioned that she put out next week's schedule Wednesday, and then I called her Friday. You know, the reason there was a two-day break was a little thing called Thanksgiving. But whatev.
I still had conflicts for next week, and before the conversation ended, I let her know about this. She said she needs to know, like, tonight, or at worst tomorrow. And she was adamant about it to the point where, it was clear, she was really angry about having my conflict brought to her attention. Either she's mad at me, and by extension herself, for overlooking that, or her boss or someone from HR chewed her out over the oversight.
OK, fine. There's some backbiting, but I can understand that. I probably would feel the same way if I was her. So I just put my head down and work. Meanwhile, I make sure I give her the dates next week that I can't work (Friday and Saturday) and make sure I get it to her before the end of the day, er, night, aka a couple hours ago.
I should have known that either I got on her shit list or she isn't as nice of a person as her employee said to me last week. When I asked her if she needed my employee ID#, she said no but didn't look at me. She didn't even miss a beat while she was snacking on something. Then, after I gave her the slip of paper detailing that I have to miss next weekend, she motioned for me to come out of the break room with her. There, she asked whether I was going to miss any more weekends. I said no, only because I need the money from this job.
"I will not give you any more weekends," she said emphatically, "I need people working Friday and Saturday." Well. Again, I could chalk it up to a prissy employee trying to get what he wants and not just working. But her passive-aggressive actions the rest of the night have made me reconsider this job.
First, after she ended this "private" talk we had, I opened the door to the break room for her, just to show her, hey, no hard feelings. She went in without thanking me. Double well. Later, as I was folding shirts, she comes over to my table and dumps several unfolded shirts on it. "These are not supposed to be on hangaaaars," she said as she left them there. Now, we put stuff that belongs on that table or shelf or rack that someone else is working on, on the assumption that it's easier for that person to take care of it. Hell, I've done it, and I've only been on the job three days. But the way she did it made it clear that she was pissed at me. You know, if you don't like it, tell me so. Then, while I look for a way out of this job, I'll at least give you some credit for honesty. Now, I won't feel too bad for making you take me out of work next weekend, then telling you I quit.
(By the way, all this time, my supervisor was OK with me. She directed me where I needed to go first thing last night, and then I launched into an apology about giving her tone [even though I didn't] and not calling back, blah-blah-blah. She was nice to me, surprisingly so. Unfortunately, I have a nagging feeling that she would be as backbiting as my supervisor supervisor if circumstances were different. What I'm saying is, I think she would be as bitchy as my supervisor supervisor if she weren't there, and she was only playing good cop because her boss was playing bad cop.)
God, I need the money. But with all the fucking tension and the feeling that I'm making undue demands from her, maybe this isn't going to work out. Maybe I should move on.
And to think a job that'll last only till the New Year would stress me out this badly.
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