Why should I continue trying to be a good worker if my boss is treating me poorly?

[petitedollbabee]

I always show up early or on time for work, my coworkers do not. They’re often late by 5-10 minutes. My boss gives them “warnings” and that’s all. There’s no true consequence. I’m also very often the only worker out the back of the store doing the work. Everyone else just stands around and I end up carrying a 3 person workload during my shift. No amount of complaints changes anything.

If I do something the “wrong way” at work, my boss corrects me and shows me how to do it the right way. When I try to inform my coworkers about the “right way” to do something, they ask our boss about it, and my boss always says “it doesn’t matter how you do it, there’s no wrong way”, and ends up making me look like a controlling asshole infront of everyone.

I’m told that I’m not allowed to have my phone in my pocket while I work, so I put it in my jacket in the staff room. Meanwhile coworkers are playing on their phones in front of the boss during their shifts, but I’m the only one who gets told off for that.

A few times per year, my boss gives out “treats”, she gives ‘special’ types of snacks to workers, and for the workers that cannot have those types of snacks (due to dietary restrictions), she gives the other workers restaurant vouchers. Everytime this happens, I’m forgotten about. Everyone gets their snacks or their vouchers and I get nothing. I remind my boss of this for weeks until I give up mentioning it. This has happened at least 5 times now since working for her.

Why do I continue to try to be a good worker, when all my boss does is put me in a corner and give me rules that no one else has? Or she forgets about me? I get paid the exact same wage as everyone else, yet I do twice the work, should I just switch off mentally at work and become a lazy, crappy employee like everyone else?

(Sorry for the rant, it’s been one of those days!)

[love_conquers_lust]

Something similar happened to me and I made the poor decision to quit. My scenario was different in that my bosses liked me and wanted to promote me. But I hated some of my coworkers because of their shitty “that’s not my job” or “they don’t pay me enough to do that attitude”attitudes. My advice is gather proof. My supervisor trained me to document document document. She said that’s how you cover your ass. Present your case to either ask for a raise, a promotion, or change in working conditions. ImAlways go to your direct supervisor first. If the direct supervisor is the problem, you have to go over your direct supervisor’s head and keep going up the chain of command until you get your question answered.

I once escalated an issue all the way up to corporate about a poorly written safety policy. I was scared as shit that I would lose my job for days. In the end, they ruled in my favor and actually asked for more of my input.

I made a poor mistake leaving that company culture because there were good coworkers who I didn’t want to leave behind. I didn’t like leaving them saddled with more overtime because I didn’t want to be stuck dealing with shitty coworkers. My message to the company was simple, stop hiring shitty workers with bad attitudes and raise their pay to justify doing so. I don’t know what they did after I resigned, but it put me out of work because I didn’t have a job lined up as a replacement. It was a poor decision because I didn’t have a contingency plan. I should have had another job lined up as a bargaining chip.

I know one of my coworkers got shot in the parking lot trying to deter thieves from breaking into employee cars. That’s what I left behind. I still could have done better besides quit.

[AimeeKyle]

You have several options here:

1. Accept your current place, treatment at work, be positive and stop complaining (from your question, doesn’t sound like this is a healthy, viable option)

2. Accept your current situation but be proactive. Setup meetings with you boss, ask questions and encourage them / force the issue so they create a development plan for you for your continual improvement. If at a larger company, network with anyone and everyone you can. Help the others you are networking with out whenever/however you can. At some point your bosses treatment will self correct or you can move to another group (interest generated by networking).

3. Accept that you situation won’t change and start looking for another job. Take your time and do proper due diligence to ensure you don’t end up in a similar situation. Once you find / accept the new role, give a 2 week notice… (be nice / go above and beyond you last 2 weeks) and move on.

Remaining in you current situation and doing nothing is wasting your time. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

You should do it because the world needs more people that work like they willing to put their name on it. You should do it for the customers. They may be like you and work hard for their money they deserve good service. Continue to be the bright beacon that gives it to them. ALWAYS know your worth and demand the respect you're do. And if you don't recieve it, have no quams about working for someone else who will give you the respect you're do. And when I'm talking respect. Know I'm not talking about warm fuzziness or pats on the back. I'm talking about 🤑. 🤑I how a company shows respect. Know you are NOT the member of a team. You can be friendly with people at work. But work is, and will always be BUSINESS. Never get that twisted. Your boss would slit your throat in a heartbeat if it meant any extra🤑 in his/her pocket.

Before I retired, back when I used to work I used to say when people asked what I did was, "I'm in the business of (my name). And everything I do is the furthering of that business".

[NathanDavis]

it sounds like... you're competent in the best way, and she is competitive in the worst way

this is actually very common at many workplaces... she might see you as a threat to her position, or competence... if you get promoted or take her job, stuff like that

are there other bosses? or someone that is above her? maybe you should speak with someone else rather than her, if that's an option

either way, becoming lazy and a crappy worker should not be an option... either you keep doing your job well or you just quit the job entirely, you could possibly get fired and future employers could see the very bad reviews on a poorly work done, which would be even more unfair but it sounds like something they would do, I've seen that before as well

[petitedollbabee]

Unfortunately she’s the owner of the business, so she’s in the highest position. But you’re right, I’d hate for a future employer to be put-off from hiring me due to me becoming complacent and lazy due to being treated poorly. I can’t quit my job and seek out another one for the time being, so I feel as if I’m just stuck. And becoming a crappy worker isn’t ideal but I’ve been getting so stressed that I haven’t been sure how else to deal with the situation.

Thank you for the advice, and for reading through my long post.

[Benjiman19]

Apparently your boss shouldn't even have a company. She sounds like she doesn't care at all. And if you're doing your job correctly and still getting the same amount as everyone else who are slacking off, I'd say quit. The company will probably fail without you maintaining it. Let it. They aren't good enough for you to be doing 3x the work amount and still be getting the same wages as everyone else. Find yourself a job where you know you're going to be given a raise for the hard work you put into it.

[BourbonAndBacon]

Polish up that resume and move on. It's not going to get better. Find a job you love and a place where you enjoy the work and you will be satisfied. Nothing worse than dreading Monday mornings and spending 5 days waiting for Friday 5pm

[Anonymous]

So I've been in your shoes before. Do NOT stop trying to be a good worker. It doesn't help you. Instead, set aside time to find a new job. That WILL help you.

[Andres77]

Because you will develop a reputation about your work ethic, and you will set examples for your coworkers, and you will teach younger workers to deal with hardship with dignity and confidence and you will gain the confidence of your coworkers, and you will develop a pool of witnesses that will support you when there are depositions and subpoenas.

[Crankor]

Call them out on stuff. If he or she tells you one thing then days another to someone else, I'd tell them, hey remember when you told me this or that? It is important to bring to their attention when your doing others work. A more subtle mention works just fine. Or if your already at the point of wanting to quit then have a 1 on 1 with your boss

[Drewtate]

Just do your job and protect your ass. Leave it at the door when you go home.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

If your boss is treating you poorly, then you need to report them to a higher up.

[RedInnocent68]

Accomplishment, pride, to help you get another job…

[exitseven]

Maybe it is time to look for another job.

[Mansearching]

Got to turn her/him into HR

[Staximus]

Just get a new job

[JesseP1nk]

Try finding other job.

[Alex8736]

Is it amazon you work for?

[CubaPirate]

No you should find another job