( Credit to utterlycute.com)
Picture a pyramid shaped hive.
At the top is the store queen bee.
Just below her are two co-queen bees, below them are a dozen hive division manager bees and below them are hive area manager bees... who have hive co-area manager bees.
The nectar runs down hill as they say.
When the queen bee warns the hive co-queen bees and they shove whatever threat they think will improve things in the hive on down through the ranks until we little worker bees get steamrolled. Work is stress. Expectations are set so high that one can not accomplish what is assigned...
When the queen bee warns the hive co-queen bees and they shove whatever threat they think will improve things in the hive on down through the ranks until we little worker bees get steamrolled. Work is stress. Expectations are set so high that one can not accomplish what is assigned...
to management satisfaction.
Here's a good example. Today in one hour, I fielded 52 phone calls. I also had to respond to the walkie-talkie whenever a manager bee wanted something done. They don't page... I page. I also had to let people into the fitting room... count and search what they were taking in to try on without offending them and recount when they came out again. Somewhere in the middle of that... management railed at me for not answering the walkie-talkie fast enough. I explained that I had all 5 lines ringing one after the other and a customer with a question in person.
Here's a good example. Today in one hour, I fielded 52 phone calls. I also had to respond to the walkie-talkie whenever a manager bee wanted something done. They don't page... I page. I also had to let people into the fitting room... count and search what they were taking in to try on without offending them and recount when they came out again. Somewhere in the middle of that... management railed at me for not answering the walkie-talkie fast enough. I explained that I had all 5 lines ringing one after the other and a customer with a question in person.
(A customer waiting to get into a fitting room was watching and listening to me getting into trouble on the walkie-talkie, which is very loud.)
I apologized.
I detest groveling over an unfair expectation. I feel bad about getting raked over the coals in public and I feel worse about allowing that to happen to me.
Our hive area manager bee got into trouble because not enough stuff was being put back on the racks fast enough for the queen bee... who has been away on vacation. Hummm... let's see, back to school shopping time, with multiples of returned items, under staffed and badly scheduled. Of course it must be the bottom of the hive worker bees at fault! It can't have anything to do with management choices, actions or the lack thereof. So our area and co-area manager bees have been stinging everyone verbally.
You know what happens when manager bees go bad? All the worker bees go into a frenzy. Frenzy actually causes mistakes to happen but worse than that, they begin to sting each other. There is so much back stinging going on right now that I don't want to talk to any of my co-worker bees. All the little bees blame each other when the other is not around. They whisper it in conspirator conversations to each other and to the manager bees.
Our hive area manager bee got into trouble because not enough stuff was being put back on the racks fast enough for the queen bee... who has been away on vacation. Hummm... let's see, back to school shopping time, with multiples of returned items, under staffed and badly scheduled. Of course it must be the bottom of the hive worker bees at fault! It can't have anything to do with management choices, actions or the lack thereof. So our area and co-area manager bees have been stinging everyone verbally.
You know what happens when manager bees go bad? All the worker bees go into a frenzy. Frenzy actually causes mistakes to happen but worse than that, they begin to sting each other. There is so much back stinging going on right now that I don't want to talk to any of my co-worker bees. All the little bees blame each other when the other is not around. They whisper it in conspirator conversations to each other and to the manager bees.
Our little hive has become a hornet's nest.
Ugh. I dread the next two days at work. I can't wait for my day off. Meanwhile... I will continue to come home every day and search for a different job. My last retail job was a piece of cake compared to this insanity. Its exhausting and drains me of my will to do anything more than
Ugh. I dread the next two days at work. I can't wait for my day off. Meanwhile... I will continue to come home every day and search for a different job. My last retail job was a piece of cake compared to this insanity. Its exhausting and drains me of my will to do anything more than
sit in a stupor when I get home.
Hence the failure to post.
Thanks for checking in on me and thanks for hanging in there.
I can't promise a lot.
But I will do at least a post a week.
Christmas is coming and if "back to school" was bad...
well...
I don't even want to think about it.
Good to hear from you again. Not so good that your job circumstances are so awful. Keep up the job search. Something better will come along.
ReplyDeleteI've always believed that happy employees work harder than unhappy ones and that was always my management style (when I was in management).
Being self-employed since 2001 hasn't always been easy, but the only person I have to put up with at work is Mr. Cube and he has to put up with me. Today is our 30th Anniversary so I'm getting used to it.
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DeleteHappy belated 30th Anniversary! That's proof of a strong relationship these days. :)
DeleteI've been management and I've been worker bee. My dad was an owner/employer. I've seen lots of sides and its all work with down sides relative to the task. But this place can be nuts.
Sorry to hear this but glad you're still out there. Hang in there, and take comfort that some of the 1% can look forward to a roasty-toasty future... and I don't mean retiring to Florida. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWoe to you who are rich... amen, amen I say unto you, they have had their reward.
Ya don't hear that one preached too often down in the slave states, but I'm pretty sure it's in there.
I'm surviving. Just needed to blow off steam.
DeleteI've never been in danger of being in that 1%. =:/
Retail is hard. I liked it, when I worked it but I was fortunate to work under good management who had reasonable expectations. Hopefully a better job will come around.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I will find something better.
Deletegees, i am so sorry to hear you work under such rotten conditions. that's just ridiculous. i sincerely hope you can find something else sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteMe too, but all things in their time.
DeleteSounds like you are working in a no-win situation. As a worker bee, you can only do what you can do....and yet you are the ones being held responsible when things don't go well. That is, as you say, bad management on a few different levels. I do hope you find something more worthy of your many talents than this evil empire.
ReplyDeleteStay strong, Silly Rabbit! We're all pulling for you!!!
Thanks laura b. I'm thinking that this is a life lesson. I'm working on puzzling it out so that I can move on to better things. I certainly will not take a good job for granted again!
Deletethat sounds awful but you did an excellent job of describing the situation is probably playing out all over the world.
ReplyDeletein our hive we have queen bees flying across the country to tell us that our workers have to shave 15 minutes off a task. of course the queen bees travel first class and stay at the best hotels. they spend an hour or two in our office then it's off skiing or meeting old friends for drinks.
i wonder how far the pendulum can swing before it breaks.
The world is looking scarier by the day billy pilgrim!
DeleteI think we may find out soon how far it can swing.
I am so sorry to hear about the work situation! That sounds like a messy, nasty hornet's nest over there. I'm glad you're still checking out other job opportunities.
ReplyDeleteOn a more positive note, I love that photo of the bunny in a bee costume!
Oh yes... I don't give up easily. When I found my favorite job, I looked for over a year for it and that was in a booming economy.
DeleteIsn't he just the sweetest bunny? I got a real kick out of finding him. =:]
AaackkK! I thought this was a guinea pig the whole time. I didn't put it together with the rabbit theme. So much for a high IQ... Do'h, I can still be so dense.
ReplyDelete