My Hostile Workplace Story

 My last job was in 2019, just before the pandemic hit. I was working as a cook at the county jail, when all of a sudden, they decided to change food service providers. They laid us all off without severance or vacation pay. In late 2024, I decided to rejoin the workforce one more time. I had just signed up for Medicare and needed to find a job to help pay the monthly healthcare premium. Prior to that I was on Medicaid, but once I turned 65, they told me that I wasn't eligible anymore. I am waiting until my full retirement age to sign up for Social Security, which is in a couple years. So, without any income, healthcare expenses would slowly deplete my checking account.

Finding a job at my age isn't easy. The only experience I have is restaurant and retail sales work. Most fast-food work is a revolving door. The turnover rate is so high that they always have a listing for jobs, even if they don't have an opening. After applying at several restaurants near my home, I finally settled on a pizza place which I had worked at in the past. I don't want to name them because I have no proof of what I experienced was unique to this store or the whole franchise. I was hired as a shift manager, with a promise of a pay raise after a few months. 

At first, things seemed fine. But it wasn't long before I encountered employees who refused to follow my directions. The previous shift manager would look the other way when employees helped themselves to food. Some would make the wrong order just so they could take it home for themselves. There were arguments about stealing tips because there was no tip sharing policy. Just a lot of things that contributed to making the business less profitable and more stressful than it should have been. Things that frustrated me were not cleaning properly, running out of supplies, and not doing prep for the next shift. I don't know if I'm just from a different generation, but some employees would do as little work as possible. Often leaving early without the shift manager's permission.

The stress from employee behaviors came to a head when one of the cooks threatened me. He basically told me that he was not such a nice guy outside of work and that people who challenged him often came to regret it. He was much bigger and darker than me, someone who could easily be classified as a thug. After that, I told my boss that I would not work if they put him on my shift. This was actually the second person that I had asked to not be on my shift. I found out that the company does not require a background check for new hires. I don't know if this is only for this franchise or if this is a common practice now in the fast-food industry. It could be because after the pandemic it was hard to find food service workers. The threat and knowledge that they hire people regardless of their criminal history made me decide to quit. I suppose I could have filed a formal complaint, but I didn't want the risk of retribution. The job only lasted about 3 months, and I never did get the raise that was promised.