Despite Good Pay, My Job is Kind Of Miserable

[Dillon]

I started my new job a month ago now at Home Depot after being unemployed for 6 months and the first couple weeks were good but now it’s just irritating and somewhat depressing. I also hate doing repetitive tasks almost everyday where I mainly do inventory management or returns but climbing up and down the ladder that the store has and walking constantly made me lose 10 pounds in a month.

I enjoy getting to talk to various contractors such as electricians and carpenters and getting to learn from them. What I don’t like is being treated like I don’t know anything as I had a few occurrences of some nasty people. I had a couple people talk to me like I’m a literal child which I don’t think a child would grow a mustache but ok.

Most of the time some people come to me to complain in regards to product availability “why don’t you have what I’m looking for, can’t you check it on your little device?”I literally tell people who can’t get a clue that there’s nothing I can do and if it’s not in the overhead of the Bay Area that means it’s out of stock like there’s none. I had one instance with a guy who needed electrical wire cut and a specific kind which was 18-6 and I had no idea what that meant so I did the best thing and ask for clarification. “You work here you should know these things!”. As I’m showing him the rolls of wire that we had on display the guy pipes up and says “keep going boy” I lost a nerve with him told him look I only been working here for 4 weeks and I’m still learning, I am a college student and I have much on my plate so why don’t you go ahead and do my job for me. He did not say another word after that.

Yeah it’s great that I’m getting paid $18 and hour working part time but the truth of it all I feel really underemployed as I am not using more than half my skills nor experience that I have accumulated in the past while going to school and having a meaningful career in wildlife conservation and being a educator but all of that fell apart as of last year and ever since I’m applying for jobs that I know best suite me and I am capable of doing but after 23 interviews and 150 applications later I’m just not so sure anymore and I actually stopped pursuing my degree field altogether this month.

I’ve always had trouble as an autistic and felt I’ve been further behind than my peers and the fact I am working in retail and not advancing right now just embarrasses me to a degree. I don’t have much of any friends I talk to anymore and that makes things worse and I’ve been feeling really isolated and lonely as a result despite me actually getting out more involved socially

I feel like I am going all over the place with this post but everything seems to be going downhill lately.

 

[Aspychata]

The job market is definitely iffy right now, and many are being laid off, and some people l talk to, say there are no decent jobs. l see a lot of empty stores in my area. You may not like your job, but you have a job. My neighbor complained she only is a receptionist, and she had quite a career in human resources. But l told her the same thing, you have a job, just make the best of it. You can always apply for employment want-ads while you are at home depot. You can chat with contractors and ask if they are hiring for anything in the office. You meet all kinds of people there, so you have a huge opportunity to make some contacts and find a new employer. I would ask is anybody hiring right now? What type of work is it? Or keep applying to other positions. Don't stop, just keep applying.

 

[Rodafina]

Sorry to hear that, @Dillon. It’s a relatable story - work hard to find any job we can get, dive in with positivity and hope, and slowly become disillusioned by the reality of the situation. It’s a crushing and frustrating cycle that is circling me, too.

I like @Aspychata’s perspective on the situation.

 

[tlc]

This sounds so relatable, and it’s nothing new. It was the same way 30 years ago when I was breaking into the job market while earning my degree in jigs/fixtures/molds/dies. After hundreds of resumes and applications I couldn’t get a job anywhere. Not even an entry level job because they always said I was overqualified, and correctly assumed I would move on to something better when I found it. I really didn’t want to have to use the nepotism crutch, but eventually I just took a job working with the janitor at the shop my dad was working for.

Never did get into my field. I did work for a company an hour away for a couple years that designed engine production lines, but they were hurting for work half the time and are now long gone. Tried another place next door to where I am now, and got fired for not spending enough time socializing. So by then my dad had moved to another shop and I started there. 26 years later that’s where I remain. It’s nothing like what I went to college for, but I’ve learned it very well. And it’s come with some unexpected perks like being able to work on my own things if needed, and get discounts and access to industrial products for home, so that means something too. If something happened to this place, I would be terrified of trying to find a job these days.

As the others said, I would be thankful that you do have a job, and they’re giving you a chance despite still learning. Keep learning and doing the job the best as you can. It will only help in the future, whether you stay or move on. And it’s not you, contractors get paid by the job and are limited by daylight and good weather, so they’re often in a hurry and impatient. And it’s common that stores have additional inventory in the back, so that’s why people ask that.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

What you suffer from is due to working with the public.

Anyone that works with the public must deal with some real pricks. I am in healthcare, someone else may be in sales, someone else a server at a restaurant, whatever, you can't escape it. You can have great interactions with 99 people and then that 1 toxic person shows up to ruin your day.

You can be the most professional and knowledgeable person that day, and most will be grateful for your expertise, but then someone is going to walk up to you with some sort of emotional, psychological, psychiatric baggage you weren't quite prepared for. At that point you need to very quickly understand that these people probably just walk through life that way and it's NOT about you, per se, but rather the situation, and you're just going to be their target.

Listen to them, but they are not going to listen to reason nor logic. Mask like you've never masked before. Keep a straight face and don't react. Disassociate. Just help them through their process and get them on their way.

Working at the hospital for nearly 40 years, I don't know what kind of interaction I am going to have when I walk into a patient's room. I used to deal with adults, but now, primarily premature infants. The babies are fine. It's the stressed out, frustrated, emotionally, mentally, and physically drained parents. 99% are fine, but some have reached their breaking point, and then I walk into the room to do what I need to do. Most of those parents are not aggressive, but rather passive aggressive and you're just going to be mentally abused while you're doing your job to help their baby. I just disassociate. It's not really about me, I just happen to be their target that day. Stay professional, polite, steady and calm, and then walk away when you're done with them.

Later, you can scream in your car while you're in the parking lot.

 

[Mary Terry]

@Dillon - You're dealing with "the public" so you need a lot of patience and a thick skin. I had a waitressing job long ago and realized then that I did not want to ever have to deal with "the public" again. Keep the job for now and use it to get a better job later.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

As others have said, one needs to learn how to let some of the stuff just roll away.

I’m sorry you are experiencing these things. It feels lousy and I know because it has happened to me too. I’ve been treated badly by people I have gone above and beyond to get them the help they need.

I will tell people, “I’m sorry. I don’t know the answer to your question, but I will find out.” Grab the customer by the hand (figuratively) and take them to someone who can answer the question.

 

[Misty Avich]

I started my new job a month ago now at Home Depot after being unemployed for 6 months and the first couple weeks were good but now it’s just irritating and somewhat depressing. I also hate doing repetitive tasks almost everyday where I mainly do inventory management or returns but climbing up and down the ladder that the store has and walking constantly made me lose 10 pounds in a month.

That's the thing about menial sort of jobs. They're too repetitive and I don't know how some people manage to do them day in day out 40-50 hours a week for years without losing their minds. I know they say that all jobs are repetitive but I think jobs like shelf-filling and cleaning and stuff like that are more repetitive than other more exciting jobs.

Most of the time some people come to me to complain in regards to product availability “why don’t you have what I’m looking for, can’t you check it on your little device?”I literally tell people who can’t get a clue that there’s nothing I can do and if it’s not in the overhead of the Bay Area that means it’s out of stock like there’s none. I had one instance with a guy who needed electrical wire cut and a specific kind which was 18-6 and I had no idea what that meant so I did the best thing and ask for clarification. “You work here you should know these things!”. As I’m showing him the rolls of wire that we had on display the guy pipes up and says “keep going boy” I lost a nerve with him told him look I only been working here for 4 weeks and I’m still learning, I am a college student and I have much on my plate so why don’t you go ahead and do my job for me. He did not say another word after that.

Customers are the reason I can't work in retail (although sometimes you don't always have a choice, so I'm not implying that you should leave or anything). I'm a sociable employee and love forming bonds with my colleagues, but talking to customers has always been challenging for me due to nerves.

Yeah it’s great that I’m getting paid $18 and hour working part time but the truth of it all I feel really underemployed as I am not using more than half my skills nor experience that I have accumulated in the past while going to school and having a meaningful career in wildlife conservation and being a educator but all of that fell apart as of last year and ever since I’m applying for jobs that I know best suite me and I am capable of doing but after 23 interviews and 150 applications later I’m just not so sure anymore and I actually stopped pursuing my degree field altogether this month.

I know how you feel. I'm a cleaner, and while I get quite good money for what I do (as most other cleaning jobs are less money an hour) I do find my job stressful yet boring at the same time. The boss is stubborn and thinks we don't have a life outside of work, and I get emotionally exhausted from it.

I’ve always had trouble as an autistic and felt I’ve been further behind than my peers and the fact I am working in retail and not advancing right now just embarrasses me to a degree. I don’t have much of any friends I talk to anymore and that makes things worse and I’ve been feeling really isolated and lonely as a result despite me actually getting out more involved socially

I feel like I am going all over the place with this post but everything seems to be going downhill lately.

While working in retail or cleaning jobs may make us feel behind our peers, it's a fact that lots of NT people work in these sorts of jobs too, sometimes for years. Some NTs may even lack the confidence to get into a high-paying job. I have an NT cousin who I always thought was confident, and she wanted to be a policewoman. She went to university and attended training, but she didn't get in, and is now just working in a newspaper office or something like that, which she often describes as ''boring but it pays the bills''.

Sometimes I envy the engineers at my workplace because their job seems so much more interesting, it pays quite a lot, and no two days are the same for them. But I'm not really cut out for engineering work, as it requires a lot of studying and training and is very complicated stuff. I have a more creative, artistic mind, and I struggle with technical and systematic tasks.
Cleaning isn't the best job for a creative person like myself. It's neither here nor there really, as it doesn't require intelligence or creativity, it's just very boring and thankless work but at the same time very stressful because usually the stress falls on the cleaners and we're less entitled to breaks. When I worked at a care home, although caring was a hard job, once they had got all the residents up and dressed and fed and everything, they just got to sit and play games with them or watch TV with them and maybe fill out some paperwork. But as cleaners just had to be on our feet all day, doing grotty work and not getting much thanks but getting moaned at if we were caught taking 5 minutes.