For the last week I've been having a dilemma. After my mediation with the EEOC, I expected Lowe's to give me the kid glove treatment... at least for a while. The agreement in the mediation, which I'm not allowed to discuss, would have meant that I keep my job and they would in turn leave me alone.
This lasted less than a week. For the last few days I've found myself back in my old department. Several people got fired. One person had Reserve duty. Another guy went in for surgery. Today I worked straight through without getting a break or lunch or being relieved.
How does the saying go? An emergency on your part does not constitute a crises on my part.
In all fairness, who could have predicted management would have to fire two department managers and a guy who was there when the store opened five years ago? They're hiring, but getting rid of people quicker than they're being replaced. Hence, calling me late Monday night and asking me to cover Electrical. Alone.
Wanna know the best part? The guy running electrical now is having a worse time than I was. In the few days I've been in there, I noticed a few things. By themselves they're little things, but they quickly add up to major inventory problems. I've spent the last year actively ignoring the shrink budget for the store, but tonight I'd take a peek at it just to see if the current department manager is doing as poorly as I was. The powers that be at the time really made me feel like I was screwing up and couldn't do anything right. It really plays with your head. They really do a head trip on you in retail. There's a whole psychological factor in it. Every retail store would be in trouble if the employees suddenly decided to stand up for themselves. I'm guessing this is why everyone is against unions. Bullying the workers seems to be the way business operates. This is no way to run things. The last store manager actually laid out the corporate plan one afternoon. They want Lowe's to be run by only part time employees. The way they have it figured, it would cost them less if they had the entire work force be part time and temporary.
The flaw as I see it is that part time employees equal part time loyalties. I've noticed the most dedicated workers are the ones that feel the company is taking care of them. If a business decides not to take care of its' employees, than the workers will not look out for the best interests of the business.
Start thinking long term, business type people.
This lasted less than a week. For the last few days I've found myself back in my old department. Several people got fired. One person had Reserve duty. Another guy went in for surgery. Today I worked straight through without getting a break or lunch or being relieved.
How does the saying go? An emergency on your part does not constitute a crises on my part.
In all fairness, who could have predicted management would have to fire two department managers and a guy who was there when the store opened five years ago? They're hiring, but getting rid of people quicker than they're being replaced. Hence, calling me late Monday night and asking me to cover Electrical. Alone.
Wanna know the best part? The guy running electrical now is having a worse time than I was. In the few days I've been in there, I noticed a few things. By themselves they're little things, but they quickly add up to major inventory problems. I've spent the last year actively ignoring the shrink budget for the store, but tonight I'd take a peek at it just to see if the current department manager is doing as poorly as I was. The powers that be at the time really made me feel like I was screwing up and couldn't do anything right. It really plays with your head. They really do a head trip on you in retail. There's a whole psychological factor in it. Every retail store would be in trouble if the employees suddenly decided to stand up for themselves. I'm guessing this is why everyone is against unions. Bullying the workers seems to be the way business operates. This is no way to run things. The last store manager actually laid out the corporate plan one afternoon. They want Lowe's to be run by only part time employees. The way they have it figured, it would cost them less if they had the entire work force be part time and temporary.
The flaw as I see it is that part time employees equal part time loyalties. I've noticed the most dedicated workers are the ones that feel the company is taking care of them. If a business decides not to take care of its' employees, than the workers will not look out for the best interests of the business.
Start thinking long term, business type people.
No comments:
Post a Comment