Journal is rated Moderate (13+) for language.

Let me start by saying that I’m writing this to vent. I’m irritated to the point where I just feel the need to say something. This Journal is not meant to garner petty or attention. I’m just trying to vent my frustrations in a non-destructive manner.

Those of you who either saw my last journal or have talked to me the last couple of weeks know that I’m experiencing some frustrations with my current place of employment. Today was a nightmare of a day. I honestly came within 30 seconds of asking my boss “Would you like my two weeks notice? Because that’s where this conversation is going.” I am over-worked to the point where it’s just not sustainable anymore. Today things just sort of came to a head. I’m frustrated with the excessive workload that I have, under-paid, and work for a company where nobody gets any benefits. (The owner actually tries not to give people holiday pay. He told one of the guys in the warehouse that he denied holiday pay for that employee “Just to see if I could get away with it.”)

For the record, it’s my opinion that anybody who’s responsible for more than a half-million dollars worth of business activity being accurately performed every month is worth more than $12 an hour. I really should be paid more for what I do.

So, what happened today that was so terrible?
Well, I got the short end of what i call the “My boss doesn’t know what one person worth of work looks like” problem. Around 2pm three separate projects were dropped on my desk and I was told that they’re due tomorrow morning. Never mind that one of these projects happens to be about 4 hours of work on its own. Never mind that I have to arrange a meeting on the second project. (With a sales lady that’s so swamped with work there’s no way she’s got the information I need ready.) And of course never mind that the guy handing me these projects has neglected to give me critical information on the third project.

So, after an hour long process of getting information (A process that’s agonizing enough you could say it’s akin to pulling people’s teeth.) it’s 3pm. I clock out at five, the boss gets irritated if I take overtime, and I have about 5-6 hours worth of work on my desk. Fan-fucking-tastic. So, at this point the boss-man is leaving the building for the day and says “I need that stuff emailed to me so I have it when I get in at 6am tomorrow.” I try to explain to him that I still need some pricing info and that the workload’s heavier than one person can handle. His response was a curt “Get the pricing from (Coworker) and just get it done.”

I think it bears noting at this point that the workload currently sitting on my desk is usually assigned to about three people. I have about two hours to do it myself.

So, I grind away until 7pm. I’ve got two of the three projects done thanks to one of my coworkers helping out. (I’m convinced at this point she’s a saint. Her estimate-writing game is on freaking point) and project three has about an hour left to complete. The office manager says it’s time to close up and that I need to come in early tomorrow to complete the third project for the big boss.

I’m frustrated because I know that I’m going to get reamed because it’s not done when the big boss rolls in at 6am.

I’m frustrated because I’ve gone above and beyond and it’s still not good enough. (Other coworkers have made comments that the workload I currently have is far more than a single person should be assigned.)
I’m frustrated because I’m expected to do the work of three people for shit wages.
I’m frustrated because my boss outright does not care. I’ve worked here long enough to see this in practice. The current business strategy is to ride people hard until they burn out and quit. Then hire a replacement. (We’ve actually had more than six different people run our scheduling department sense October of ‘15. It’s that bad.)
I’m frustrated because I don’t want to burn out and quit. I want to have another job lined up before leaving. But damn if it isn’t hard to bite my tongue sometimes.

The only consolidation I have is that I know for a fact half the people I work with have resumes out. One guy is kinda public about the fact that he got Fridays off so he can work with a temp agency to find a different job. The lady running the warranty department has semi-publically announced that she’s done because she was asked to commit fraud for the company. One of the office managers made it known a few months back that her job was so awful it has effectively destroyed her marriage. And oh yeah, who could forget the head of our sales department? She actually put in her two-weeks notice and told everyone that she’d rather be unemployed than put up with this nonsense. (I should note she withdrew her notice a week later after getting offered a pay bump and a personal assistant. She’s confided in a few people that she’s giving it a three-month probationary period. She may very well call it quits at the end of the year.) When you work at a 12-person company, this is a huge chunk of your workforce to have publicly talking about quitting. There are definitely more on their way out that just aren’t saying anything.

What I’m saying is this place is a shit-sty and everybody knows it. I take solace in knowing that I’m not the only one working at this location who feels this way. The fact that I’m not alone in my position comforts me.

If you’ve read this all the way to the end, congratulations you’re a freaking trooper. Thanks for letting me vent.