The Reality of Working for a Supermarket in 2009/Return to Victorian Britain

tek-monkey

My bro got fired from Tesco for having his appendics out, apparently its not an allowable illness despite him collapsing while at work and being hospitalised straight away! Just waiting for the courts on that one...

ninky_2

ILW wrote: »

Example may be commision only sales rep, knocking doors to get people to change their elec supplier etc. Fairly easy to get into as most drop out within a month. The ones that do well tend to get promoted very quick.

what a great way to contribute to society! just what we need. more annoying people knocking on doors selling stuff we don't want. gotta love some people's ideas of the positive sides of capitalism.

ninky_2

Generali wrote: »

I knew people in England that worked for the John Lewis group in many capacities. A colleagues wife worked as a 'checkout chick' for Waitrose and thought they were great and I used to know several people who worked front and back of house at John Lewis in Kingston.

I also used to know one of their directors a few years back and I reckon she'd have been kicking some bottom if she heard staff were being abused or bullied. She wouldn't stand for that sort of thing and I think there's a strong ethos of that although no doubt there are individual bad stories.

just goes to show better ethics and profit can co-exist. think in the case of john lewis it probably all harks back to some religious belief. unfortunately tesco seem to go for maximum profit and their only motivation for change is the fear that bad pr might lose them custom.

lostinrates

ninky wrote: »

just goes to show better ethics and profit can co-exist. think in the case of john lewis it probably all harks back to some religious belief. unfortunately tesco seem to go for maximum profit and their only motivation for change is the fear that bad pr might lose them custom.

I don't know whether it is still the case, but one of the things that encourages both good service and working onditions at John Lewis, is that the workers are all shareholders: it is in their interest for the business to succeed and to pull together as a team.

ninky_2

andygb wrote: »

One person on here in particular was very vocal in rubbishing people as lazy, but I wonder where he/she was employed. Who decided if they were worth it?
.

i'm more than willing to throw my hands up and admit to laziness. i'll do the minimum needed to get the job done and enjoy my hobbies and leisure time way more than work. i'm much more lazy than my OH as can be witnessed not only in his inability to ignore anything that needs fixing but also the fact he loves a tidy house whilst i'll happily leave clothes on the floor, newspapers strewn in the sitting room and often don't put things back where i found them.

he works more hours a week on average than me and it's physically demanding work that involves lifting heavy things (metal), breathing noxious fumes, sometimes burns and scalds and a strict lunch hour and break system.

my job on the other hand involves frequent internet surfing, lunch when i want, trips to the work kitchen where free drinks, toast etc is always on tap and nice chats with colleagues.

i get paid around £1500 a week. he gets £8 an hour.

meritocracy? hard work gets rewarded?

what planet are you living on?

andygb

This is the Capitalist ideal, have many staff working their nuts off, so that you can live a life of luxury. The same "ethics" are true of any large company - employ staff with minimum rights (hiring through an agency helps), and then simply replace them, when they fall by the wayside, much as a fireman used to shovel coal in the old days. Pay the hardest working staff a pittance, whilst at the same time trying to convince them of how grateful they should be for employing them.

i8change

most of these roles seem to be filled by economic migrants (because us Brits are too busy spending our welfare cheques and too lazy to work)

Actually, we are said to work the longest hours in Europe.
They generally have a higher rate of unemployment in France so there are a lot more welfare cheques being handed out there. Does n't mean the French are lazier though, it would be a bit stupid to deduce that.

fedupfreda

Hissing_sid wrote: »

Choose your side carefully when entering into the political arena of your workplace and learn the art of saying absolutlely nothing with lots of words.

Grease and kiss !!!! whenever it's to your benefit.

Treat those below you with the disdain and contempt they so richly deserve because hey.... If they did'nt deserve it they would'nt be below you would they?

Treat those above you in a sickeningly obsequious and sycophantic manner at all times.

Keep your knife sharp at all times for when an opportune back presents itself.

The reward for hard work is more hard work.... So delegate...........

........... But ensure you take the credit, I mean, it was you who did all the delegating.

And if it goes pear shaped well, nowt to do with you is it? No siree. Spread that blame around and down.

If you're English and middle management you are in all likleyhood the most loathsome scum on the planet.

Cough!

:T Thank you. This absolutely made my day. Sums up everything wrong with most workplaces. I think we have all worked for places like this. However you forgot:-

Don't work too hard, or be too responsible - they will just pile you up with more - and will complain if you can't manage the overload.

Prat around like the rest and you will be seen as 'one of the team'. Behave responsibly and point out where things could be improved, and end up labelled as a troublemaker.

Don't bother getting higher qualifications to work your way up the ladder - your boss will just see you as competition and deliberately keep you down.

There is no point in complaining to your manager, they will claim they have the right to run things as they see fit (but you watch them complain like **** if their boss imposes on them...)

Whenever possible vote with your feet at a time when it will make maximum impact (just before the Xmas rush is a good time, or when the rest of the team are just about to go on holiday)

As you will probably guess I used to work in retail, NEVER AGAIN. But I think everyone should do it once in their lives - if only to realise however bad your current situation, it could be worse! IMO all retail managers should be forced to work on the shop floor/distribution centre level for a few weeks out of every year - see how fast conditions would change then.

bendix

ninky wrote: »

i'm more than willing to throw my hands up and admit to laziness. i'll do the minimum needed to get the job done and enjoy my hobbies and leisure time way more than work. i'm much more lazy than my OH as can be witnessed not only in his inability to ignore anything that needs fixing but also the fact he loves a tidy house whilst i'll happily leave clothes on the floor, newspapers strewn in the sitting room and often don't put things back where i found them.

he works more hours a week on average than me and it's physically demanding work that involves lifting heavy things (metal), breathing noxious fumes, sometimes burns and scalds and a strict lunch hour and break system.

my job on the other hand involves frequent internet surfing, lunch when i want, trips to the work kitchen where free drinks, toast etc is always on tap and nice chats with colleagues.

i get paid around £1500 a week. he gets £8 an hour.

meritocracy? hard work gets rewarded?

what planet are you living on?

What's your point? Salary levels are dictated by supply and demand. You presumably have specialist skills which justify your salary because there are very few other people who can do the job. I don't know anything about your OH (I seem to recall you saying he was an immigrant too) or what he does, but unless he is very very stupid he wouldn't be working so hard for so little if he could do something else. I assume he is in the best job he can find given the circumstances, his skill levels etc, otherwise he is acting against his best interests. And I assume he is in a role which many can and are willing to undertake.

What exactly is the issue?

i8change

Salary levels are dictated by supply and demand.

That does n't work, hence the "minimum wage" and plenty of laws to protect workers and give them rights to decent terms and conditions, holidays etc.
It is very easy to understand the point they are making, regardless of your protestations. Some big powerful companies make huge profits yet treat workers poorly. Others, like John Lewis, for example, don't.
Those that care like to know so they can take it into account when choosing where to shop.
If I want a TV I can buy it from Currys or I can go to John Lewis who price match, give a free five year guarantee and treat their staff well. It's an easy choice for me.
It is admirable that, in Victorian times, companies like Cadburys, Lever etc. started to house and treat their workers well, rather than take advantage. They still made a good profit.