'Packages were falling from the belt': Warehouse worker gets placed into a different role by egotistical manager, chaos beckons

The fallacy that certain jobs can be classified as "skilled" or "unskilled" labor is that every job requires different skills and experience in order to be done effectively. You go to your local coffee shop of choice because the barista makes a better and more consistent cup of coffee than you could ever hope to. You probably go back to that shop, too, because that barista's particular consistency and skill stand head and shoulders above even the other specialized baristas in the countless other surrounding cafes. And, yet, that barista is probably making minimum wage—making or breaking their living on the tips they receive from customers. This low wage is justified by society by the fact that our typical definition of skilled labor doesn't apply to their role—or so we say. 

This concept is what I like to refer to as the "clean fork conundrum," and it can be applied to any role. Have you ever had a sluggish and inefficient worker washing dishes during a busy rush at your restaurant? Then you know all about this. You might expect that something as innocuous as washing dishes would have little effect on the operation of the business, but you just wait until there's a stack of dirty dishes a mile high out back and you've completely run out of clean forks—which begins to blow out service times as food sits cooling and ready, waiting for clean cutlery. Next time, you'll make darn sure your star dishwasher is out the back instead of bussing tables.

Take this warehouse worker, who worked for one of the biggest (unnamed) retail warehousing operations around. They were so effective at their particular position that they made up for anywhere from 2-4 other workers, and yet, they probably weren't being paid 2-4 times as much. All they wanted to do was be left alone so that they could get in the zone and fulfill their role in order to make the shift run as smoothly as possible. As is always the case, their egotistical new manager had other ideas, refusing to listen to reason; the manager insisted the worker be placed into a different role for the shift, sealing his fate.

Like what you see? Follow our WhatsApp channel for more.

Author image for Brad Dickson Brad Dickson
Advertisement

Stay up to date by following us on Facebook!

Tags

workplace-stories manager tales-from-the-workplace coworkers managers workplace story warehouse
Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From FAIL Blog

‘I couldn’t believe my ears’: Company asks employees to deduct up to $5K out of paychecks to be ‘team players’

‘I couldn’t believe my ears’: Company asks employees to deduct up to $5K out of paychecks to be ‘team players’

Trending Now

New stepmother demands 17-year-old babysit her children because his father said he would if they married: 'My relationship with his wife and her kids doesn't exist really, and I know that [makes her mad] but she was his choice, not mine'

New stepmother demands 17-year-old babysit her children because his father said he would if they married: 'My relationship with his wife and her kids doesn't exist really, and I know that [makes her mad] but she was his choice, not mine'

01
18-year-old café employee told by her new shift lead to stop talking, stops talking entirely, forcing the lead to backtrack: 'You’re not paid to talk, you’re paid to work'

18-year-old café employee told by her new shift lead to stop talking, stops talking entirely, forcing the lead to backtrack: 'You’re not paid to talk, you’re paid to work'

02
23-year-old small business owner gets swindled out of being paid, goes to the customer's place and removes his front door: ‘Store wide open in the middle of a busy street.’

23-year-old small business owner gets swindled out of being paid, goes to the customer's place and removes his front door: ‘Store wide open in the middle of a busy street.’

03
'Don't come back': Opportunistic employee goes home early when a scheduled fire drill makes management second-guess their instructional wording

'Don't come back': Opportunistic employee goes home early when a scheduled fire drill makes management second-guess their instructional wording

04
25-year-old brother's girlfriend tries to kick 15-year-old out of her own house that the siblings together, saying they want their own "space": 'I reminded her that I own half of this “space” so she’s delusional if she thinks she can just get rid of me'

25-year-old brother's girlfriend tries to kick 15-year-old out of her own house that the siblings together, saying they want their own "space": 'I reminded her that I own half of this “space” so she’s delusional if she thinks she can just get rid of me'

05
17-year-old tells mother that he doesn't like his 17-year-old stepsister or consider her to be family, parents retaliate: 'I accept her presence, but never felt close to her and never bonded with her'

17-year-old tells mother that he doesn't like his 17-year-old stepsister or consider her to be family, parents retaliate: 'I accept her presence, but never felt close to her and never bonded with her'

06
Advertisement