Calling all Bronies: What kind of worker are you?

[jackleapp81 456]

I work at a Taco Processing plant, and I have coworkers with varying degrees of commitment to their job. Before I get into their levels of commitment, let me describe to you what we do:

 

The tacos at our plant are pre-assembled by "intelligent" robot machines which are ideally supposed to construct the tacos flawlessly.

 

They don't. Not always.

 

This is where we (the workers) come in. The tacos that the machine makes are sorted onto a conveyor belt. This belt goes extremely fast, and it's our job to pack the incoming tacos into these little white boxes that will be packaged and sold in various places around the United States. It's also our job to weed out the tacos that have rips or tears in them, and to throw out the tacos that have the "bad meat" in them. Bad meat happens when chemicals from the taco meat vat don't mix together properly, resulting in a stinky pile of preservatives and a mixture of other chemicals. Yum.

 

Anyway, I cannot stress enough that we have to work FAST. In the time span of 5 seconds, we are expected to get at least 15-20 tacos into our boxes (provided the tacos haven't been "tainted" or shredded by the machines). The amount of speed and efficiency that any given coworker has is their main source of pride in their job.

 

Some workers pack the tacos quickly, and they strive to pack them quicker every single day. These are the over-achievers. Great workers, but they have a tendency to overlook shredded or tainted tacos in favor of impressing the boss with their speed.

 

Some pack the tacos fast, but don't aspire to go any faster than their current speed. These are the "content-with-their-current-place-and-position" people, as I like to call them. These are probably the best workers at the plant, since they are better at weeding out the tainted tacos, and they work at a steadier rate, which means they don't get exhausted easily.

 

Lastly, there are the packers who only pack at the bare minimum speed. These are the discontent workers, who either cannot or will not motivate themselves to perform their jobs to the best of their ability, which can result in feelings of bitterness and, obviously, discontentment. They're generally unproductive, and the first people to be put on the chopping block when it's time for company layoffs.

 

My question to you is: What kind of worker are you? The over-achiever? The discontent and un-motivated individual? Or are you the type of person who works just hard enough to get a feeling of pride in your work, but not so hard that you stress yourself out? I think these are universal work mentalities, whether you're a student in school, a construction worker, or an executive at an accounting firm, so let me know your thoughts!

[Shanks 10,816]

I am a dairy clerk/backup checker at a grocery store though I first started in the service deli which I sucked at so I was made a General Merchandise Clerk (non food stocking and some non parishable food stocking) and was promoted to food clerk in less than a year and later made a dairy clerk. I am responsible for breaking down and working both the milk load and the grocery deli (yogurt, cheese, butter, eggs and everything else that does not come in the milk load) or "wall load" as I call it. I am also responsible for ordering product for my section as well as organizing and maintain the back cooler, checking the expiration dates on products and despite my objections coming up to the front to act as a checker/cashier when I am called.

 

When I first started though I knew that I wasn't going to be working at a grocery store for the rest of my life took a great deal of pride in my work and was an overachiever at first. In part due to this I pulled an Applejack quite a few times and because of that have amassed quite a few injuries on the job 3 of which took me out of work for several weeks and required physical therapy.

 

But due to a combination of family tragedies, profound disagreements with company policy and my own company stabbing me in the back by suspending and almost firing me a year ago as of next month I have become extremely burnt out, unhappy and am now just going through the motions and on some days am struggling not to gut some poor fool. The good news of course is that I have a solid plan to get out of there, but it is going to take some time so for now I view the job as a necessary evil. My plan is simple I am going to become an author by writing about my experiences living with Autism, if this plan succeeds I will help both myself and others.

Edited May 28, 2013 by EarthbendingProdigy

[Gigapony 650]

I work at a retail store, in which my job is to run the cash office. That entails counting and filling the registers every morning, preparing deposits, making sure the safe is balanced and accounted for, and keeping records of all of this. I am also in charge of the inventory to a large degree. I have to make sure all damaged product/returns are processed/labelled/sorted, gather damaged/defective products as well as discontinued/buyback products to be shipped to the warehouse and then prepare those shipments, and making sure that they're scanned and removed from inventory. And again, making and keeping records of all of this. Needless to say, I have a lot to do there, and I have to do it all by myself.

 

As for my feelings on all this, it's a mixed bag. On the one hand, despite the fact that it's often very hard and tedious work, with very little time to actually do it all, I do enjoy it to a degree and I do take some sort of pride in doing it properly and on time. But on the other hand, I only took the position because I was promised that I'd be promoted and given a pay rise. Neither of which happened and I'm STILL doing all the work. Which leaves me bitter as you can imagine. So sometimes I can be a bit of a slacker when I start to feel like I'm getting shafted.

 

On top of THAT, I'm also cross-trained in several other departments (I know more than some of the managers) and I'm often called upon to help out in those departments, even as I'm busy working on my own stuff.

 

So to answer the question, I would say I'm a hard worker, and I'd say I'm dependable. But at the same time I'm also a bitter and jaded worker that feels like I'm doing a lot for very little in return, so how hard I work is very dependent on my mood.

[Thrashy 2,800]

I'm a payroll accountant at an ag company that grows strawberries and bell peppers. When I first started in October '08, I was basically tasked with invoicing our pepper customers, and aside from that, filing. As time went on, I gained training in other areas: inputting pepper receiving tags into our accounts receivable system; inputting vendor invoices into our accounts payable system; processing A/P checks and mailing them off to our vendors; making promissory notes for our growers to sign, and later, inputting those notes into our grower loans module so that I can run about 100 different reports per week on how much money our growers get advanced vs. how much we take out of their return checks; and of course, what has become my main job, payroll.

 

To make things as simple as I can, I do work for 3 different companies, though I am paid only through one. The company that doesn't contract outside growers is the one I process payroll for. My week starts when the lead field supervisor brings in the employees' time cards, along with receiving reports on how many boxes of strawberries we've shipped off to our coolers. My first task is to input those box figures into an Excel spreadsheet, then process the actual time cards themselves; this includes sorting them by employee #, coding them according to which jobs were worked in which field, counting and running tapes for the number of hours worked and boxes picked, inputting those hours into a reconciling hours list...and that's it for the easy part. Then I get to input each employee's daily hours and box pick into Excel crew sheets, make sure everything balances, import those crew sheets into Great Plains, make a bunch more Excel sheets, and blah blah blah blah blah EVENTUALLY I print the employees' paychecks and process about a hundred or so more reports and OH GOD I JUST DON'T CARE ANYMORE.

 

And yeah. That's my every week.

 

But you know what? As taxing all that is on my brain - which, I might add, is not tailored for accounting work - I could live with it, if it weren't for a couple of things:

 

1.) My boss is perhaps one of the most condescending, micromanaging, vapid, vacant-eyed pieces of human trash I have ever met in my life. Literally nobody likes her, and she's been the reason so many others have quit...my sister included. Only one four-letter-word can come close to describing this creature (hint: starts with the 3rd letter of the alphabet), but even that doesn't do her justice. Her most infuriating tendency is to juggle me around from task to task - many of which totally do not need to get done right away - when I need to be focusing on my PR-related tasks. It's not just me; my supervisor quite often gets pissed off at her for this as well.

 

2.) Phones. My God, phones. When I have this much to do, answering the phones is simply not something I need to be doing...and yet it seems I'm one of the only ones who can ever be bothered to pick up. It's like I've been designated as the office receptionist. I swear to all that is good, if my life were a video game, you would see a daily "sanity meter" next to me which depletes just a bit every time I hear that godawful ring. THIS IS WHAT DRIVES ME TO DRINK, PEOPLE.

 

Alright, that's enough capslock-rape for today. Promise.

 

SO. All that bitching out of the way, yes, you can say I'm a very discontented worker. I deliberately make it a point to do only the bare minimum of what's expected of me, since I've more or less convinced myself that the further behind I fall in my PR duties, the less my boss will try to make me her dancing monkey to deal with her bullshit meaningless tasks. As such, I tend to spend a lot of time on MLP Forums and YouTube, just to kill as much time as I possibly can. I think I've just about figured out the sweet spot at which I can slack off just enough not to be yanked away from PR duties by my boss, yet not be hounded by my supervisor for taking so long.

 

I think the only reason I've held onto this job for as long as I have is the fact that the economy is still shit, and I've got to hang on to what I have, even if it is meager. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever get laid off because the company's owners are simply too cheap to even look into hiring more staff. But rest assured, the moment I'm presented with something better, I'm dropping this job like Vinyl Scratch drops the bass.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Lowline

[Love*Potion 575]

@@jackleapp81,

 

Wow, let me say that this is a very interesting job- I never really thought about it, but of course we need people working in food packaging plants! And it's that much cooler that you work with tacos.  

 

Anyway to answer your question, I would consider myself a good worker. I do referee for sports games and such and I am always very punctual. I am an officer for my school and I finish all of my work in a neat, creative, organized, and timely manner. Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I would consider myself a good worker. I definitely try to do my best with any task at hand. 

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I mostly do odd jumps with my family. Cleaning yards, hauling off garbage, trimming brush, painting, moving plants, moving things around, light repairs.

 

The best is cleaning out houses and garages though, especially when the contents are to be trashed. I've found computers, video games, DVDs, books, electronics, cool old stuff.

 

I found like four NESs in a old shed once, a working PS2 from another place, a whole box of music CDs at another. Not mention all the broken stuff I tear down and junk for the copper and such out of. 

 

I have gotten stiffed though, one woman still owes me over $100, as well as money to my stepdad and friend Mark. I worked hard for it too. I cut two and a half loads of 1in+ thick brush out of her fence, BY HAND with a pair of shears. 

Edited May 28, 2013 by Shoboni

[Gigapony 650]

@,
 
What you've said at the end was put better than I could've. That is, the bit about doing the absolute minimum. It's the same for me, I have so very little incentive to do any more or go above and beyond mostly because I don't get anything out of it (which I'm sure is the same for you), not even a "hey, good job today". Only one of my bosses really bothers to recognise the work I do and show appreciation (he's also a good friend of mine) and so he's the only one I'll bend over backwards for. But the best part of your post was this bit right here:
 

1.) My boss is perhaps one of the most condescending, micromanaging, vapid, vacant-eyed pieces of human trash I have ever met in my life. Literally nobody likes her, and she's been the reason so many others have quit...my sister included. Only one four-letter-word can come close to describing this creature (hint: starts with the 3rd letter of the alphabet), but even that doesn't do her justice. Her most infuriating tendency is to juggle me around from task to task - many of which totally do not need to get done right away - when I need to be focusing on my PR-related tasks. It's not just me; my supervisor quite often gets pissed off at her for this as well.

OH MY GOD you have no idea how much I relate to this. My boss is basically the same. She's nice in some ways, but in other ways... not so much. Specifically her tendency to do the same thing you said, juggle me around from task to task (none of which are nearly as important as what I'm doing, and all of which can be done by anyone else). So I have to prepare a pallet of disco'd items to send to the warehouse before the truck arrives in an hour? You can bet I'm getting put on register for half of that hour. And then, BIG SURPRISE, my stuff doesn't get done. I love the day's she's off, because I get so much done and so calmly too.

I don't bother rushing any more, because I won't be busting my arse for my non-existent promotion/rise, plus if they see how little I end up getting done, maybe they'll actually let me finish some of it. But yeah, I'm only sticking around until I get a good enough amount of experience in this, that I can use to tart up my résumé and (hopefully) find a better-paying job.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Gigapony

[Thrashy 2,800]

OH MY GOD you have no idea how much I relate to this. My boss is basically the same. She's nice in some ways, but in other ways... not so much. Specifically her tendency to do the same thing you said, juggle me around from task to task (none of which are nearly as important as what I'm doing, and all of which can be done by anyone else). So I have to prepare a pallet of disco'd items to send to the warehouse before the truck arrives in an hour? You can bet I'm getting put on register for half of that hour. And then, BIG SURPRISE, my stuff doesn't get done. I love the day's she's off, because I get so much done and so calmly too.

 

I don't bother rushing any more, because I won't be busting my arse for my non-existent promotion/rise, plus if they see how little I end up getting done, maybe they'll actually let me finish some of it. But yeah, I'm only sticking around until I get a good enough amount of experience in this, that I can use to tart up my résumé and (hopefully) find a better-paying job.

YES, somepony who understands!  

 

I swear, every day my boss isn't there is like a vacation day for me...well, a working vacation day, if that makes any sense. You'd think that my levels of slackage would shoot up on those days, but really, those are actually my most productive days. Call me crazy, but not having someone constantly breathe down my neck and disrupt me tends to make me work a little faster.

 

Speaking of raises, I've somehow managed to get two over the almost-5 years I've been here. The first one was a piddly 50 cent raise, but the next one was a dollar. I mean, it's not like I'm making enough to be able to survive on my own, but still, my face when they announced my most recent raise:

 

Honestly, I didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for my employers.

[Leavinh 313]

I would say I'm a "content with my current place and position" type worker.

 

I work at a greenhouse and my job is to basically fill the shelves with all of the flowers they can possibly hold, fix/set up displays, water everything twice a day, and help customers find anything or carry pottery/really heavy pots of flowers. It's one of those jobs where if you try to work too quickly you'll miss a lot of things. I'd consider myself a good worker since I'm pretty much always doing something, I'm punctual (for the most part), and I hardly take any breaks even when offered.

 

To be honest, I actually really like the job and I don't really have any grievences...Well, except for the time this lady came in and asked me to load up three really big pots (they're like 2/3 my size) and then decided they weren't the right color so I had to put them back. Don't worry, she found three more big pots for me to move.

[Shanks 10,816]

1.) My boss is perhaps one of the most condescending, micromanaging, vapid, vacant-eyed pieces of human trash I have ever met in my life.

I have been pretty lucky, most of the managers/key carriers(low level managers) I have worked with I have gotten along with quite well, there are two managers I am working with now that I am not too fond of. The first one is riding the coat tails of his older brother who works as a key carrier at another store in the same district and got his promotion to key in large part due to his influence and has let it go to his head. The guy is like the text book definition of asskisser/brown noser, but he is not as bad as the head manager who I have nicknamed Mr Slash and Burn who screws me over by not scheduling enough help, has a nasty habit of not listening to what anyone says and is also a huge liar and I can't stress enough how much I can't stand liars.

 

But my ultimate beef though is with the higher ups as in the executives all the way up to the CEO mainly for that whole unpleasantness the other year and making me a backup checker despite my objections and not listening to me when I tell them that I can't be up there both due to my inability to stand in place for prolonged periods of time due to my knee injuries and severe anxiety and sensory issues I have up there due in large part to having Autism.

 

 

I found like four NESs in a old shed once, a working PS2 from another place, a whole box of music CDs at another. Not mention all the broken stuff I tear down and junk for the copper and such out of. 

It is incredible what people will throw out, I gave my old NES to my cousin but still have my SNES and Nintendo 64.

[Quilava 1,290]

 I work at a Coffee shop at a local gas station. I think I'm somewhere in between the "content with their position" and the "over-achiever" as I work very well, but there is always room for improvement. Now during my shift (I work 3rd shift -> 10PM-6AM) I am alone, so I have to make sure everything is kept up with. Though it's not really much, it can be a bit stressful at times when a rush decides to pour in. Also, since I'm alone during my shift (though another person comes in 1 - 1 1/2 hours before my shift ends to prepare for the morning shift and help out) it also means I have to work quickly to get everyone in and out as fast as possible, which normally I can handle quite well. My speed really depends on how many people are in line and how long they've been waiting (or...how long I THINK they've been waiting).

 

 I don't really mind my job, but there are factors that make me, not like it so much. Before we start our shift, there is a list of things we do to prep ourselves (temps, counts, etc), and it is also up to the person working before us to make sure that everything (for the most part) is stocked before we leave. For me however, this is not the case. There is one co-worker in particular who barely even does the bare minimum in terms of upkeep. Whenever I come in after her, I have to scour everything and check as to what she didn't do and add that to my list of things that must be done before I can even start what I need to do (her shift is rarely even busy so it isn't hard to keep up with everything). /rant

 

 It just puzzles me how some people can just not care about their job, but still go to it everyday ._.

[Thrashy 2,800]

 

 

But my ultimate beef though is with the higher ups as in the executives all the way up to the CEO mainly for that whole unpleasantness the other year and making me a backup checker despite my objections and not listening to me when I tell them that I can't be up there both due to my inability to stand in place for prolonged periods of time due to my knee injuries and severe anxiety and sensory issues I have up there due in large part to having Autism.

Isn't that kind of...illegal? I thought it was an employer's legal obligation to make accommodations for employees with specific needs relating to health. Sounds to me like they're bordering on discrimination.

[Retro*Derpy 3,185]

I am a man of mind over labor. I'd prefer using brain power over muscle. Unfortunately for me though, I was stuck in a do or die situation, and I ended up having to do a newspaper factory job.

 

It BLOWS. Getting the skin under your nails sliced by thick paper only to then be coated from the ink of the paper itself isn't the best of feelings. When you aren't inserting or putting the paper together, you're getting over-the-head 40 pound bundles that are hard enough to reach, nother-the-less getting about 30 of them. Not to mention inserting the paper is probably one of the most boring things you can do for a job. You do not go home until all the work is done, which is why we call Black Friday hell week. We usually don't go home until 1-4AM on hell week, only to have started at 2PM the previous day. Heck, almost all the workers go out and get drunk off their asses every Friday knowing they made another week. Though the boss is pretty awesome, as long as you show somewhat on time the boss won't care. Listening to music is allowed as well, through 1 earbud, which is the only reason I've made it this far. #endrant

I'm sure this doesn't sound bad for some people, but I honestly, hate every moment of it. Tried finding another job, but everywhere I can go is full. Oh well.

[Rockabilly Wingtips 57]

I m not a super hard worker but i do help alot around the house. i take out the trash mow the lawns. every year i help repaint the house. im NOT a hard worker in school and my grades will tell ya that much.

[Shanks 10,816]

Isn't that kind of...illegal? I thought it was an employer's legal obligation to make accommodations for employees with specific needs relating to health. Sounds to me like they're bordering on discrimination.

To make a long story short the reason the official "reason" they made me a backup checker is because my position as dairy/food clerk requires it which is true but when I was first promoted I worked a shift to where I didn't have to do that my average workday at the time was either 4am-1pm or sometimes 4am-9am. The first half of my shift I helped the night crew and on the second half did either dairy or whatever else they needed me for but was taken off this shift and had my responsibilities temporarily reduced due to getting 3 injuries that each took me out of work for a couple of weeks in a years time. For a while I mainly faced/coded the aisles and filled empty spots whenever I found them but was never put in the check stands due to managements concerns about me standing in place for prolonged periods of time.

 

After a couple of years of no injuries except for the occasional minor injury and my knee acting up every now and then, I was made 2nd dairy clerk but was still kept away from the check stands. I transferred to another store in the district in part due to this one manager who was very unpleasant to deal with and was later fired due to multiple labor law violations and in part because I take the bus and that store is closer to where I live. In that store I did pretty much everything because they were very shorthanded at the time and was made a backup produce clerk but was still kept out of the check stands. After the main dairy clerk was transferred to another store I had to take charge and train someone this new guy who became the main dairy clerk while I remained 2nd dairy clerk because I didn't want to be in charge and couldn't be anyway because I could only handle so many hours due to my knee injuries.

 

Fast forward another year or two later and out nowhere the higher ups interfere and tell me that I have to be in the check stands and that they have scheduled a retraining/refresher class for me. So I gave it a shot and though I have improved from when I first started and am doing the best I can am still the worst checker in the whole store. So I tried to get a doctors note exempting me from this but my union rep advised me to try to work something else out before I do that because he is concerned that they might try to put me on night crew. I am now currently awaiting a meeting with myself, the store manager, the president of labor relations in the company and my union rep which had to be postponed twice the first time because I had to take my written drivers test that day and the second time because the president of labor relations had to deal with some issues about the union contract.

[Dark Moon 965]

I'm a dairy filler/courtesy(takes groceries out for customers) at a Grocery Store chain in Iowa. I mostly fill dairy now though, which basically means I'm left to my own devices in the backroom.  I'm basically the most on task/hardest worker there, over half the people there are horrible slackers that never should have been hired in the first place. Been doing this job for nearly 5 years since I was 14. Glad to be quitting soon when I  leave for college because they definitely do not appreciate all the hard work I do. They continue to try to make me work early mornings, which I have made quite clear that I can't work. Basically I'm a really heavy sleeper and cannot wake up to my alarm at 4 or 5 in the morning, which causes me to be late for work, which causes them to continue threatening my job. I haven't worked truck in a year but now that summer has hit they have decided to start scheduling me again. Basically they can manage without me but still continue to be dicks. Also the assistant manager is the biggest dick I have ever met. My job is kind of nice though since I do get raises(not recently), only 25 cent ones though. Started at 7.50 an hour and now make 9.75. Every once in a while they try to "dictate" what I do in Dariy and it really grinds my gears. Usually it's them telling me what needs filled first, which is entirely useless because I have worked in Dariy for 3 years and have  become a master. Plus I have these things on my head called eye balls. Come on people, I don't need your fucking sit rep just so you can feel good about yourself. They really don't give me enough credit. Oh and it always seems that NO FUCKING person can ever work for me when I need a day off.  I had to leave a college visit early because of this. I used to work for people all the time, thinking I was getting brownie points, but no I guess they're all jackasses. I no longer pick up shifts for anyone, period. There I ranted, you happy now. I think that's the most concentrated amount of hate I have ever had.

[Thrashy 2,800]

Fast forward another year or two later and out nowhere the higher ups interfere and tell me that I have to be in the check stands and that they have scheduled a retraining/refresher class for me. So I gave it a shot and though I have improved from when I first started and am doing the best I can am still the worst checker in the whole store. So I tried to get a doctors note exempting me from this but my union rep advised me to try to work something else out before I do that because he is concerned that they might try to put me on night crew. I am now currently awaiting a meeting with myself, the store manager, the president of labor relations in the company and my union rep which had to be postponed twice the first time because I had to take my written drivers test that day and the second time because the president of labor relations had to deal with some issues about the union contract.

Well damn, if that doesn't sound like a fiasco-and-a-half...but at least they're willing to talk about it, so there's a step in the right direction. Hope everything turns out fine for you.

 

 I had to leave a college visit early because of this. I used to work for people all the time, thinking I was getting brownie points, but no I guess they're all jackasses. I no longer pick up shifts for anyone, period. There I ranted, you happy now. I think that's the most concentrated amount of hate I have ever had.

That's pretty much how the game goes...unless you get bosses/supervisors who like you from the get-go, the battle to earn so much as a pat on the back always seems to be a losing one. Would you believe that in the nearly 5 years I've had my job, I can count the total number of "good job"s I've received from my boss on one hand? Ungrateful fucks. It's no wonder I've stopped caring.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Lowline

[Shanks 10,816]

I'm a dairy filler/courtesy(takes groceries out for customers) at a Grocery Store chain in Iowa. I mostly fill dairy now though, which basically means I'm left to my own devices in the backroom.

It sucks that most of your coworkers are not pulling their weight but if that were the case even with that disadvantage I would at least be able to tolerate my crappy dead end job long enough until my exit strategy kicks in. Being a dairy clerk is hard enough as it is I really don't need the added stress of being a backup checker to go along with it which I have only gotten a bazillion write ups because I fail so horribly at that aspect of my job and in some cases it can make it almost impossible to get anything done. I have had shifts where I screwed up by ordering too much because I have no idea what in the frag we even have back there because they won't leave me alone.

[~Master~ Button Mash 2,307]

Well, it's too early to tell, because I just started my first job today.

 

I'm an engineer's assistant at my dad's engineering consulting office. Basically, to put it bluntly, when shit goes wrong in construction, it's our job to analyze the data, and make an expert analysis that can be used in court as evidence. We're investigators. I help sift through data on various projects and put a final analysis together. Part chemistry (because a lot of it revolves around problems with cement mixes), part engineering, part law. 

 

I'll also probably do part-time work in the office's laboratory when it comes up, preping samples of concrete to be put through all sorts of physical and chemical tests.

 

So far it seems like a decent place to work. It's a small company, and everyone knows everyone, and it's a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I'll do my best. I'll try to take overtime jobs, too. I like this kind of work (I've shadowed my dad before at work), and lord knows I need the money.

[Adente 1,000]

I work (seasonally) as a lifeguard and camp counselor at a sleepaway summer camp. That is, the campers stay for a week, and don't go home at night. It is on the beach, (although our water is quite cold, it is very refreshing in the summer months) and I and the rest of beach crew have to watch a very large area of waterfront, which has swimmers, canoes, kayaks, sailboats, and paddle boarders in the water all at once. Not to mention that we must also, besides guarding those in the water, oversee the program activities going on at that time, teach classes in the morning, (I was the water skiing/canoeing instructor) and help out with general program. (Put on skits, be cabin leaders for different groups of campers, sing the camp songs, and just generally keep everything running smooth. It is a taxing job, which is why I'm eternally grateful its only for the summer. The hours are horrendous, (7 a.m.-10 p.m. or later, and you are technically 'on-duty' the whole time; since you must always be sure to be in uniform, ready to assist or help campers/parents at any time, etc. during that period) the pay isn't great, and the job can be a nightmare. But at the same time, I love it! I love my co-workers, the kids, and the stuff I get to do in my job. As far as my work ethic goes, I usually am down for volunteering for extra stuff, but usually because its cool. However, when I had to work for 2 weeks in dish pit this last summer, where I had to hand wash a s*it ton of dishes, my work ethic vanished immediately. So I guess I could say my work ethic is tied to what I'm doing. If its something that engages me, I'm all for it, if I don't like it, I can't be expected to get anything done! So I'm really fickle I guess...

[Celtore 2,770]

I work as a summer labourer for one of my local municipalities.

 

It's a great job, good wages, understanding bosses and fairly relaxed. Some of these guys have no idea how good they have it though. I used to work at McDonalds and faced the polar opposite of those qualities. We were in perpetual panic mode, the managers were callus and cruel and the pay wasn't exactly ideal considering the level of stress we had to deal with. I used to have to go to the break room many times over my two year work period to comfort some poor worker that got on the wrong side of the top manager.

 

One thing working at McDonalds taught me though was to be a strong and dependable worker. Sure I don't need to work at nearly the performance I had to at McDonalds, but I still work at full performance just about every day. I care about what I do and I just feel I'm slacking if I'm not giving my 110%.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Celtore

[jackleapp81 456]

Well, it's too early to tell, because I just started my first job today.

 

I'm an engineer's assistant at my dad's engineering consulting office. Basically, to put it bluntly, when shit goes wrong in construction, it's our job to analyze the data, and make an expert analysis that can be used in court as evidence. We're investigators. I help sift through data on various projects and put a final analysis together. Part chemistry (because a lot of it revolves around problems with cement mixes), part engineering, part law. 

 

I'll also probably do part-time work in the office's laboratory when it comes up, preping samples of concrete to be put through all sorts of physical and chemical tests.

 

So far it seems like a decent place to work. It's a small company, and everyone knows everyone, and it's a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I'll do my best. I'll try to take overtime jobs, too. I like this kind of work (I've shadowed my dad before at work), and lord knows I need the money.

Heck yes! Congratulations on getting your first job! They can be genuinely rewarding, and soul-crushingly disappointing from one moment to the next, so try to keep your head above the water as best you can. It sounds like you're going in with some experience though, so I wouldn't be too worried. You're lucky, getting to work with your Dad like that. It would be a great way to get introduced gradually into the working world instead of jumping into the deep end of the pool right from the start and being woefully unprepared for the realities of the workplace like most kids have to do when they're just 16 years old. Thankfully, my first job was being a janitor at my local waterpark, so I didn't have too much stress aside from the constant fear that my job performance would be evaluated poorly by my boss, since I had no reference to go off of. I was the only janitor there, so I didn't have anybody else to ask for advice. My boss was infuriatingly vague when he taught me things too, so I just had to go with my basic cleaning and maintenance instincts, which were...a'ight. I didn't get fired, so I guess I did well enough.

 

I work as a summer labourer for one of my local municipalities.

 

It's a great job, good wages, understanding bosses and fairly relaxed. Some of these guys have no idea how good they have it though. I used to work at McDonalds and faced the polar opposite of those qualities. We were in perpetual panic mode, the managers were callus and cruel and the pay wasn't exactly ideal considering the level of stress we had to deal with. I used to have to go to the break room many times over my two year work period to comfort some poor worker that got on the wrong side of the top manager.

 

One thing working at McDonalds taught me though was to be a strong and dependable worker. Sure I don't need to work at nearly the performance I had to at McDonalds, but I still work at full performance just about every day. I care about what I do and I just feel I'm slacking if I'm not giving my 110%.

Oh yes, I remember working at Mcdonald's a few years back. It was exactly as you described. Hectic, and incredibly stressful. The bosses I had were hardened and embittered by their years of experience at the place, so they were extremely unfriendly, unhelpful, and impatient people. I got out of that place as soon as I could, which (thank God) was just a month after I got the job. And to think I went into that job with a blissful naivete that I might possibly enjoy working there as much as I enjoyed eating there when I was just a wee child. How wrong I was.

 

And yeah, the low pay just added insult to injury.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

At the moment I work at RCSS as a cashier, one of three male cashiers in the whole store, and one of four total guys employed in the front end department. I think I fall somewhere between the over-achiever and the 'content-with-their-current-place-and-position' types. I always try to do the best that I can every day, while still having patience with customers. I have gotten better and better at it and now it's become second-nature to me. I don't do a whole lot of thinking anymore my brain just knows what to do and does it .I used to be one of the fastest until I started going to school and that's sucked a lot of energy out of me. I'm supposed to be getting a promotion but that doesn't look like it'll be happening anytime soon, they always come up with some excuse of why not this month. I try to take pride in my job, even if it is a crappy dead-end one.

 

Speaking of school, I think my work ethic there is pretty good too. Not a technical job per se (one I have to pay for if it is at all), but I try to move a reasonable speed while taking the time to make sure I'm focused and doing it right. I did only start in mid February, though. I don't like making mistakes there, usually ends up costing someone money and wasting my time. I'm usually stuck working by myself so when I do get help I'm very happy to have it.

[mycarhasaMoustache 449]

I have 2 jobs 1 is Im a mechanic and work from home but that doesn't bring in much money and my second job is a part time cleaner at a Royal mail sorting office I take no pride in that job but I have to do it to pay the bills.