Hello everyone, I'm looking for some advice on what I should do next. To give some context I had a family emergency that required me to miss a day. I have been at this job for 2 months, the job is a midnight shift stocking shelves. I work with one other person during my shift, hes been working there for 2 years and is always complaining about how our boss is managing the store and how he treats him, recently I had to miss a day due to a family emergency which ended up me unfortunately calling out. I'm going to share images of our conversation.

More information about my aunt's situation (the family emergency), she was getting kicked out where she was living suddenly so I had to go help her pack her things and move practically everything, she has some sort of scoliosis in her back and recently diagnosed with breast cancer, she starts panting just going up 12 or so stairs. No one else in the family helped her. I don't regret my decision.

Now the only concern I have right now is whats going to happen at this meeting and if hes going to violate my labor rights. It doesn't seem like hes going to pay me and if I don't attend I'm worried he'll fire me.

At this point he has ignored my message.

If you have any suggestions that I should talk to him about or any advice on what I should do I'm open to hearing it, and also did I do anything wrong? Am I in the wrong?

I've missed a total of 2 days. First day being in a lot of pain + sleep deprived.

Fyi I live in the state of Idaho and I'm paid hourly.

Thank you.

Edit: also my coworker also says that our boss only expects us to miss 1 day in a year. Which I personally find wild. I'm going to audio record my meeting with him if I do end up going.

Edit 2: I live in a small town with very little job opportunities, not trying to lose the job but also I hate being mistreated, very conflicting feelings.

*******Edit 3: Firstly I'd like to thank all of you for commenting, I appreciate the time you have dedicated towards commenting. After reading 2 hours worth of comments 10 hours after it was posted I'd like to make a few clarifications, Every time I'm at work I get the job done with my coworker on avg 2 hours before our official clock out time, I've never mistreated anyone poorly at my job. My coworker has called out 3 times in 1 month when I first started, which gives me hope on not being fired.

Also I didn't think trying to reschedule a better meeting time that worked for both of us was a bad idea, I was trying to think about his schedule and mine.

I did get all social cues from his texts and did understand the severity of the situation, my way of going about it might have been a bad decision.

I was just wondering since I was coming in on a day off if I'd be getting paid, I didn't think the question was a bad one and this is what I was mostly wondering about, if asking was a bad idea.

From what I'll take from you all is this,

1. Dont over explain
2. Go in and apologize and explain why I thought it was important to me to help my aunt
3. I'll be sure to conduct myself differently when faced with a similar situation like this
4. I've already gone ahead and applied for 1 other job since thats all that is hiring around me, (interview went very well btw, just 2 week notice at current job might have thrown it off due to his hiring time restraints)
5. Since idaho is a 1 side consent party I'm going to audio record the meeting
6. Im going to a military recruiter after the meeting

I'll update you guys on how the meeting turns out, I also believe I'll be fired however I have hope!*******

I’m fresh out of High School with an A/B average (3.8 GPA) and have no plan for what I want to do with my life yet, but I will go ahead and say that school is not for me. I don’t want to go to college. My family members have been pestering me with the “you have to have a plan” speech. My mom’s side of the family comes from a long line of military members, so of course, they regularly push that enlisting is option for me. I took my ASVAB and got a 56, took it up to the Air Force’s office and the woman brushed me off like the score wasn’t good enough and she didn’t want me there. I’d been trying to get a hold of them for a while, so when I finally got an appointment at the office it did kind of rub me the wrong way. I never wanted the military to be my first option anyways, so it wasn’t too much of a bother. I had been set on going to mortuary school, but I did a little research of my own, and in my state, morticians don’t make a livable wage (imo) unless you own your own funeral home on top of that, and I just don’t have the funds for that. I have been very recently looking for plumbing internships because I can’t find an apprentice class that isn’t fully booked. I think it’s a good idea. As far as I know, plumbers never run dry of a job and they get paid relatively well, and I enjoy hands on work. I’m tired of my family shutting down my ideas and telling me it’s “a man’s job” instead of at least trying to be the slightest bit of supportive. I already honestly have no will to really do anything, so I’m still just working the same part-time job I’ve been at for almost 3 years now, but I’m still actively applying for higher waged jobs and looking for trade programs I’m interested in. All in all, it’s just so frustrating just barely passing a month from being graduated and having absolutely no support system or anyone to turn to.

Every job has a defined benchmarked time - if not documented, then too in your team lead / manager's head.

For an example - my colleague used to take 4 days for a job.. I being efficient - and after sacrificing my personal life and working my ass off for the company, I complete it in 2 days..

The new benchmark now would be 2 days.. and in exigency, they'll ask to complete the same stuff in 1.5 days - which when you wouldn't deliver (because you are already at your 100% at 2 days), you'll be labelled as inefficient.

Give your 60-70% exertion at work place (eg complete in 3.5 days in this case) - which will be decent, and when the boss / manager wants something quick - expand it to 100% (say 2 days) thus being valuable when required and getting the most brownie points - that the guy does stretch himself when we require him to.

That way you'll have work life balance, Annndd you'll be in good books of the management.

I was feeling fine at work today, but as I drove home. I rapidly started sweating and having a throbbing headache so I took a test. I sent this picture letting him know I could not make it tomorrow. For context, the reason for the “bad timing” statement is the fact he texted me off work hours just before I took this test and when I was already feeling unwell. Is it me being unreasonable to excuse myself so I can care for my health? Will I really disappoint because so much of the team do rely on me for a lot of information and getting work done? I don’t feel he respects my personal needs or simply does not have the awareness, but also i truthfully don’t want to let the team down if possible.

I did inform both a general manager and second-hand manager who were both understanding. (They’re quite occupied with lots of matters so mention to consider this guy i’m texting “My Boss”.

How should I even respond to him or this case? Should I just go straight to HR? What are your guys’ opinions?

My family has a trip planned that will require me take off 1.5 days. I put in the request in March for this June trip and initially without looking at the PTO calendar my boss said “sure that should work”. My entire family got the time approved and booked the trip. She then told me too many people (2 people) in the company region are off that day, but since our store has been particularly slow lately she might be able to make it work but she wouldn’t know until a week before. So I held out hope until this week and she told me there’s no way for it to work. By the way, I’m an overachieving employee that bends over backward any chance I get to help the company. This family vacation is already booked. My family and I discussed it and we think I should just tell her “I won’t be in these days. We talk about a work/life balance all the time and this is it. When it comes between work or time with family, family will always win. I am willing to accept whatever disciplinary action is appropriate, but I will not be coming into work those days.”

Thoughts?

I regret every day that I didn’t report my supervisor to her boss after this, or report her to HR. 6 months later she fired me and cited this incident because I finally decided to leave with one hour left in my shift. At least now I’ve learned from the experience- to be critical of my supervisor and to have boundaries. I never should have come in to work that day.

I’m struggling to even process these feelings right now. I want to start by saying I am incredibly grateful. I know how brutal the market is. I’ve been in the trenches for six months, staring at a mounting pile of rejections and watching my savings dwindle. I finally landed a role, and for that, I am lucky. I know many people would kill for this.

​But guys... I am in a state of absolute, inexplicable horror.

​My last job was two days a week in-office, and the pay was significantly higher. I just started this new role, and it is five days a week in-office. Even though the commute is "reasonable" by standard metrics (about 30–40 minutes), the realization of what I’ve actually signed up for is hitting me like a freight train.

​I spent six months fighting to get back to work, and now that I’m here, I feel like a caged animal. The transition from total freedom (and the flexibility I used to have) to being physically tethered to a desk from Monday to Friday is soul-crushing in a way I can’t describe. I feel like I’ve gone back in time ten years.

​Has anyone else dealt with this specific brand of "employment trauma"? I feel like a jerk for even complaining when I was literally desperate for a paycheck two weeks ago, but the loss of autonomy and the pay cut feels like a mourning process.

​How do you reconcile the humility of being grateful for a job with the sheer frustration of losing your life to an office? Is the 5-day grind even sustainable anymore once you've tasted the other side? Most of my Healthcare and blue collar peers reading this must be thinking I'm out of my mind and this is the classic 1st world problem privilege but just sharing my thoughts out loud as I prepare for my first day with some degree of acceptance that to my next opportunity (where I want to be financially, title, role, work life balance flexibility, etc.) could be another 6 months of aggressive applying away. Till then, it's 5 days in office once more.

Edit: this is getting an extreme amount of traction so I’m deleting context because it seems that most people arent even reading what I wrote anyways. Im scared he’ll see this which is mainly why i’m deleting context. Im not fired, and it seemed my boss understood once I explained to him. I am not “written up” or in any trouble.

I work as a digital marketer and I have to work Monday-Friday, 9-5 in office. Yesterday I was sick, and since our boss is away and the second in command was out, I was allowed to work from home. The difference in quality of life is incredible. I signed into Canva on my computer, pulled up the company software and image database, logged into my email, and boom I was set for the day.

I worked a flawless day from the comfort of my own home. I was able to run to Petco to grab some supplies for my pets, run to get some lunch without feeling rushed, and eat peacefully in my kitchen instead of surrounded by phones ringing and customers walking around. Today I'm back in office surrounded by my annoying coworkers, having to deal with all their nonstop talking, loud sounds, pointless questions, and coffee making. I've been here for 50 minutes and I'm already way more miserable.

And it just begs the question, why do employers force employees who can easily do their job at home to come into the office all week? Seems nonsensical.

With a hybrid role as well. That would be heaven. I'd be employee of the year lol.

Most people were so happy to work at home, not having to worry about commute and how far you live from the office.

I wish we could pull together to make that happen. if i/we could change anything about the modern job landscape, it would be that.

organzing for better living conditions, more choice in your work/life balance, better job opportunities, lower housing prices is what we should be organizing for.

Edit: Bored Panda is apparently trying to make money off this, so I'm just going to edit to say Bored Panda sucks and they're predators for actual content. So, when it comes to this post, it's completely made up. None of this happened. You're reporting on fiction. Shame on you.

I have been having this same argument for months, but I wasn't backing down.

This poor woman, who does excellent work, lives in another state and wakes up at 3 AM to commute two hours to the office. That four hours out of her day. Now, in office days are only required once a week, but that's still around 16 hours of her life a month that could be utilized better.

So every month, I had the same conversation. And every month, I got the same, tiring, bullshit excuse: "It's one day a week. She doesn't even have to be there 8 hours." Like that changes the 4 fucking hour commute?!

She is in charge of her parents health and has two kids. What if there was an emergency and she had to drive TWO HOURS to get home?

So at one point I just ignored HR. I said work from home until I tell you that you can't. I'll hold it off as long as I can. A month later I get a shitty badge swipe report that basically says I have the authority to allow this to happen but I'm a shitty manager for it. Whatever.

So now I have to tell her that I need improvement on the next badge swipe report, or it could lead to a warning. I have given three warnings my entire life and it was for serious shit. This is absurd. I told her that too.

She complied and one day a week, when she did. Her work suffered for it.

So I'm all the way done with this shit. I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Finally I went to my department head. Bold move, I know. I got my boss on board first. In my line of work, HR stuff that isn't major (violence, sexual assault) being brought to a department head is not ok.

That was the ticket though. I laid out my argument and documentation of the past 6 months, as well as productivity reports on a monthly and weekly basis VS daily basis. I showed the Google maps estimation of travel time. I brought my A game.

You know what he said? "I'm confused she lives over an hour away. That's automatically considered a remote employee for our department "

APPARENTLY, THE RULES CHANGED DURING THE PANDEMIC AND HR DIDNT UPDATE THEIR GUIDLINES FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.

6 months. 6 months.

In the end though, I got my employee her remote position. That felt really good.

I have a 9-5 where I make a little over 72k/year but 22k is in stock that takes 2 years to vest so I really make 50k/year.

I just got a second job at a fast food restaurant making about half what I make now and it’s a lot of work.

At my main job I chill, make sure everything is running smooth and that’s it’s.

With the restaurant it’s constant moving, always slammed, cleaning up sucks.

I remember what it was like working at a car wash for min wage. Absolutely brutal.

I do have a lot of respect for the people that do this as their full time job. They work hard!

What are your experiences with this?

Edit: Im About to vest about 4k in stock after taxes. If I sold I’d solve most of my money problems but I don’t want to sell so I took a second job.

currently owe around 8k which 100% of second job is going to but I’m also saving money from my main job.

I expect to be here until the end of the year but if I get lucky I could leave by September.

My job isn't extravagant and the pay isn't great but after working in retail for 10 years I love working in an office.

I have my own cubicle to myself, I don't have managers hovering over me and micromanaging me all day. I have a set schedule every week which makes it so much easier to plan things. I know I'll have Saturday Sunday off every week and I never have to close again. I can go to the bathroom whenever I want for as long as I want, I can have coffee at my desk, or I can eat snacks at my desk. I can wear cute clothes to work instead of a uniform.

I know a lot of people hate the standard 9-5 job but I just wanted to give a different perspective. I feel like after working in retail for so long it really makes me appreciate it so much more.

I’ll make this quick because it’s 3 am and i have work in 6 hours. Yay me!
I just graduated a few months ago with my bachelors degree. I have been planning to attend graduate school in the fall, after which i will be able to pursue my dream career.
During this in between period, i decided to pick up a somewhat easy job just to have some money coming in and what not. My boyfriend got hired as well, at the same time. I won’t go into too my h detail about where exactly we work, but there are so many pros and cons idk what to do.
Pros: free good food almost every shift. Nice coworkers for the most part. Compared to a cashier/desk job, the work is active and more interesting. The drive to work is 10 minutes. My boyfriend and i get to work together.
Cons: the work is interesting, but not fulfilling. The customers are wealthy, pretentious, and rude. I am suffering the consequences of being good at my job, meaning i feel like i am now doing the job of multiple people.
But the biggest issue is the hours. They are insane. 12 hour days almost everyday. I have tried talking to my manager about this, how i have no energy, it is affecting my mental health, and i have had no time to apply to grad school. I was assured it would change. He gave me like two days off that week and then it went back to normal. I am so drained. I miss my pets. I am scared i won’t be able to go to grad school because i have had no time to look into it. I am so depressed.
I love so many parts of this job, but i feel so walked on. I am so frustrated because truly if they just worked with my schedule I would love to keep working. My boyfriend feels the same, as his career has been on hold as well. I truly don’t want to quit but i don’t know what else to do.

The other issue is i feel like they take advantage of me and my willingness to help. I am afraid to even bring this issue up again because they just talk me into a corner and make me feel crazy for needing this change. I just feel so helpless and overwhelmed.

Rant - I started a job about 10 months ago with a "flexible" PTO policy. Essentially, I have unlimited time off, to use at my discretion, up to 2 weeks at a time. I understand the other arguments against these open-PTO policies but something else has become abundantly clear to me having been with this job for about a year now.

​

The problem is, my immediate teammates (there are 5 of us) NEVER take time off. So what ends up happening is, I am the "slacker" of the team. I do not hesitate to take a random Friday off if work is slow, and I plan to take whole weeks off for various trips and vacations coming up this summer and fall. All in all, I will probably take 4 weeks of total PTO this year.

​

I get my work done on time and am generally well-liked with the company and team, but I feel like an ass because in comparison to the rest of my teammates, I take a lot of time off. I want to be there for my team and pick up some of their work when they take their own time off, but they (as mentioned above) rarely or never take time off, so I have yet been able to prove my ability to be a good teammate. I speak with folks from other departments and they regularly take time off, sharing fun stories about the trips they've taken and the places they've seen - yet another thing I do not get to share with my team because they are too caught up working to speak about anything else besides work.

​

/end rant. I am not necessarily looking for any advice here, maybe just some affirmations or similar stories from other people with PTO policies like this. This too could also be used as a point of consideration for anyone weighing the pros/cons of 2 jobs with different PTO policies, I guess.

YouTube video

The pivot everyone made during the start of covid seemed like the right way to go for workers in America. And we all said we'd never let anything come before our health again. And less than 3 years later most of us are back in the office, making less than before and scared of losing our job more than ever. It's really sad. We have this one life and we're letting some small class of billionaires grind us to the bone and spit us out

I reported their account and posts. Hopefully, we can get them removed from LinkedIn.

With how common hybrid and remote work have become it feels like we’ve already proven that the old 9 to 5 and 5 days a week model isn’t the only way to be productive. And yet most companies are still sticking to the traditional schedule like it’s set in stone.
The funny thing is that Fridays are often the least productive day of the week anyway. Most people are just coasting, avoiding meetings and just waiting for the weekend. Meanwhile, a well structured 4 day week with focused effort can get just as much if not more done. I’ve seen teams run more efficiently in four tight days than in five sluggish ones (my friend works in a similar jobs, but has 4 days of work instead of 5 and we pretty much do the same thing even though we work 1 day extra). I honestly think people would be sharper and way more energized and maybe even more creative with that extra day off. I personally noticed my focus improved the one week I took a Friday off and used it to reset like I just did some errands, watched some tennis and threw in a couple small bets for fun on jackpotcity while following the matches at the same time haha. I went back on Monday way more locked in. So like what’s holding it back? Why is this still not a thing?

I'm just wondering, What else would you do if you don't have to worry about going to work or earning money?

To anyone wondering or second guessing if they should start working at Amazon, don’t go. ESPECIALLY during the holidays. They just hit me with mandatory overtime, 12 hours A DAY FOR 5 DAYS. On your feet at all times, and they have no sympathy nor empathy for you. If you can handle that by all means go, but if you can’t or just don’t want to be physically torn down, you please please don’t go. I’m only going bc I’m in a bad financial situation, but even then, there are better alternatives. Please heed my warning. Please.