Money vs. Mental Health (Long)

[Bradester]

This doubles as a Morons in Management story, but I do need advice.

I'm a recent college graduate and new to the 'real' jobosphere.

I landed a job right after graduation that I thought would be perfect- fit my degree perfectly, small, local company, introduction to the industry, etc., etc. I've been there a month and I'm utterly miserable.

The interview set off warning bells that I should have heeded- I arrived to find that the owner had just left to do an 'errand' and sat around for about 25 minutes waiting for him to return. During the interview he acted impatient, interrupting me and complaining about the woman whose job I would be replacing. I definitely had my misgivings, but accepted the job offer. My parents are having some financial difficulties, and I'm basically helping to support them. I didn't really have the luxury of a lengthy job search.

As you can guess, my main problem is with the owner, my boss. He's extremely arrogant, impatient, paranoid, and quite honestly rude. My coworker perfectly summed up his attitude with others, both employees and customers, as 'Uh-huh, great, I don't care, what I have to say is more important.' He pulled that attitude with my mother the other day as she was in the store picking up some product for a group she volunteers with- including the bored expression and that irritating 'hurry up' hand gesture. She's so stressed over the impending death of my grandfather that I doubt she noticed. I was livid, but said nothing.

He's constantly taking digs at the woman who held the job previously: she never got this done, I hated how she did this, this design is terrible, you redo it (if the design is so terrible, why did you approve it and send it to the printers in the first place?), and so on.
I think he honestly has a personal vendetta against this girl because she apparently wouldn't stand for his rudeness. There are a lot of meek people working there- I doubt the assertive ones last very long.

There are times when he seems caring, telling me to relax and have fun, don't worry about deadlines. But then he'll pile assignment on top of assignment that needs to be done right now, get me a copy of this this afternoon, this should have gone out yesterday, blah blah blah. I work hard, I do, but please understand that I can't work on this project when I have to finish these three projects by noon.

Then there's the fact that he just assigned cleaning duties to all the 'ladies' of the office. Great, the 45 minutes I spent cleaning the bathroom took away from the work that I was, ya know, actually hired to do.

And to top it all off, I found out that the owner was involved in a lawsuit a few years back in which he was accused of breach of contract and stealing proprietary secrets from a previous job. Yeesh.

On the plus side, the pay is very good for a just-out-of college job. The owner is often out of the office on business trips, which is nice, but he's such a deplorable micromanager that he might as well be in. And I do enjoy my other coworkers. The work itself I could take or leave.

I realize this is important career experience, and that I need to work on keeping a positive, professional attitude, but I'm already feeling sick to my stomach in the mornings, and I'm definitely on the verge of a depressive episode. It's starting to affect my work.

What would you do in this situation? Has anyone experienced something similar?

How long is an appropriate time to stay on a job to (a. give it enough time to make a proper decision and (b. for it to look good on a resume? Three months? Six?

[Crazeyal]

Use it as a learning experience and a placeholder. The Economy SUCKS right now. Any other position will be subject to LOSING THE BUSINESS, underpay, overwork, doing the job of multiple people, because that's the way things are.

Stay as long as you can.

People out of college need real life experience and reliability added onto their resumes.

Being unemployed sucks far worse.

[Shangri-laschild]

My suggestion would be to try to use this time that you're employed to find a better job. That way you don't have to worry about a gap where you don't have a job. Staying in this job for too long will burn you out if it's that hard on you. Getting burned out on a job can really suck. Good luck with everything.

[Pedersen]

What would you do in this situation? Has anyone experienced something similar?

How long is an appropriate time to stay on a job to (a. give it enough time to make a proper decision and (b. for it to look good on a resume? Three months? Six?

I had a job 3 years ago that still negatively affects me. Search for my threads about Dyslexic Schizophrenics to see what I mean. I wish I had gotten away from that company during the probationary period, I really do.

As to how long to put up with his? Less than three months, actually. When you're asked why you're leaving so soon after getting this job, your honest answer is this:

"As with all companies, the initial probationary period is to determine if the employee is a good fit for the company, and if the company is a good fit for the employee. Very shortly after I began the job, I found that this would be a poor fit. As a result, I am looking to move on before leaving that probationary period."

Do your very best not to speak negatively about this employer, as that reflects negatively on you. Maintain an even, neutral, matter of fact type of tone when saying this.

If they ask for more reason, be as vague as possible. Things like "The business practices at <other company> bordered on unethical, and my personal ethics won't allow me to stay there." is a fairly generic answer that makes you look good. Others can come up with better answers, I'm sure.

Basically, get out. As soon as possible. You'll be sorry if you don't.

Being unemployed sucks far worse.

I disagree. Being unemployed sucks horribly. The stress of trying to figure out how you are going to buy food or get to the next interview is atrocious.

You know what? It's still better than waking up each day and realizing that you have to go back to a place that you would just as soon nuke from orbit.

Yes, I have been unemployed, long enough to be going without unemployment benefits, too. It sucked. And I'd still prefer that to some of the hellish jobs I've had.

[wagegoth]

One thing I've said in interviews when they've pressed me as to why I'm leaving a position is "the company has a very high employee turnover rate."* They usually get the point then and drop the matter. If they don't drop the questioning, then I probably would not want to work for that company.

When you interview, you really are interviewing the company, too, and, as the OP found out, you need to pick up on the signals that something isn't right. I actually told an interviewer who was intrusive and out-of-line in her questioning that I couldn't [wouldn't] answer her questions and we were obviously wasting each other's time. At which point, I picked up my things and left.

You also want to be wary of any company that is in a rush to hire you. It's one thing for them to be very interested. It's another for them to be pushing you to start tomorrow, first thing Monday, etc.




* Translator: People keep quitting because it's such a hellish place to work.

[Bradester]

Thanks for the great advice, everyone.

Barring any absolutely intolerable circumstances, I won't quit this job without getting another one. A group I volunteer with would like to hire me on sometime in the future as a grant writer, which is my dream job anyway. I think I'll try and hold out for that if it's within a reasonable time frame. If not, I'll amass some money to hold me for a while. There are other jobs available in my field (which is stable, even growing right now). But I'll give a lot more careful consideration this time as to who I work for.

My grandpa died early this morning. When I informed my boss, he bellowed to the entire office, "Hey, y'all, Bradester's gran'dad passed away last night." :eek: I sat there and cringed in my cubicle. The office manager was horrified and came up later to apologize for the owner's behavior.

I appreciate that he was trying to be sympathetic, but jeez, dude, were you raised by feral hogs? The man literally has no tact. He embodies the stereotype of the loud, brash Texan. Luckily I'm only working half days today and tomorrow and possible Monday on a semi-bereavement leave.

Another thing that struck me as somewhat odd is how my pay is figured. I work 8-5 on weekdays, but my pay is divided into 15 day periods, over 7 days rather than 5 (so, for example, instead of getting paid $100/day for five days, I'm paid $70/day for 7 days). I'm salaried, so it all adds up, but has anyone ever heard of a pay scale figured like that?

[wagegoth]

Bradester, I'm very sorry to hear about your grandfather. At least you'll have this weekend with your family.



Another thing that struck me as somewhat odd is how my pay is figured. I work 8-5 on weekdays, but my pay is divided into 15 day periods, over 7 days rather than 5 (so, for example, instead of getting paid $100/day for five days, I'm paid $70/day for 7 days). I'm salaried, so it all adds up, but has anyone ever heard of a pay scale figured like that?

First, is your job allowed to be exempt? What kind of work do you do? If it is, then it really doesn't matter how it's figured for the pay period, as long as it's consistent.

Second, if it should be a non-exempt position, then there are big issues, especially if you've been working overtime to get all this extra work done.

[Bradester]

Thanks for the condolences, wagegoth.

I work in a marketing position, so I'm assuming it's allowed to be exempt. It's never been discussed, so I'm not positive.

[Bandit]

Bradester - first off, condolences for you and your family - it's always hard losing a loved one.


I disagree. Being unemployed sucks horribly. The stress of trying to figure out how you are going to buy food or get to the next interview is atrocious.

You know what? It's still better than waking up each day and realizing that you have to go back to a place that you would just as soon nuke from orbit.


He's right - but being unemployed both sucks and blows at once. Not a good time, but it's better than trying to drag your arse out of bed to a job where a good day is defined by *not* wanting to kill cow-orkers before 10am. Been there, done that, never gonna again.

B

[wagegoth]

Bradester, it's possible that you do not qualify as an exempt employee, and should be paid on an hourly basis. If you have been working overtime due to your psycho boss' demands, you should be paid for that time.

It's not necessarily the line of work you are in as it is the type of work you do. Make a list of your duties and then contact your local labor board to find out.

[scruff]

How long is an appropriate time to stay on a job to (a. give it enough time to make a proper decision and (b. for it to look good on a resume? Three months? Six?

In my industry (UK Construction), I'm suspicious of anyone with less than 6 months in a job.
Our HR dept has recently ruled that any post graduate position requires 2 years experience.
I once quit a job without another to go to. I then spent the next year and a half looking for work.
I'd strongly advise anyone to stick out a job as long as possible (obviously as long as there's no health & safety/harassement issues happening.)
Even if it is an amasingly shite job, it is staggering how much you can learn from it - even if it is how not to run a business.. :)

[Velfarre2001]

I'd strongly advise anyone to stick out a job as long as possible (obviously as long as there's no health & safety/harassement issues happening.)


I consider being so stressed I can barley stand the thought of getting out of bed as a VERY serious health issue.

[Luna Baby]

On my last 2 positions with the same company, I was a 'salaried employee' but was subject to overtime pay if overtime was required (generally only about twice a year). Sometimes, the employer can stipulate whether it is an exempt or non-exempt position. At that employer, only the managers were subject to working overtime for no additional pay. Also, we were paid twice a month, on the 15th and the last day of the month. Our salaries were set at a certain amount (whatever the annual amount was divided by 26) and then the 'hourly rate' was figured and paid at 86.87 hours per pay period. Sometimes, it worked out that I was getting 'jipped' of an hour or two that pay period and sometimes, I got paid for hours that I didn't really work (think the last pay period of February for example).

HTH.

[Evil Queen]

You also want to be wary of any company that is in a rush to hire you. It's one thing for them to be very interested. It's another for them to be pushing you to start tomorrow, first thing Monday, etc.

...Suck. I was hired practically on the spot and started training the next day (I was fully trained within the week and at the end of the week was running the shift myself).

[SilverOrb]

Yes. I have been there. Let me tell you, if it sucks now... It only gets worse. I have freed myself from the pit of hell, and I can tell you, it rocks. LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB