Tweet
My former job at Target and my new job at an upscale grocery store have introduced me to something I never really experienced in any of my previous jobs. At Target, English is the second language of at least 60% of the staff; Spanish being the first. (I live in California.) English is a distant second for a few and those are the folks whose jobs don't require them to interact with the public. It's similar at my new job, though more balanced; and every person that's bilingual can at least carry on a basic conversation in English if they have to which is certainly a relief from trying to complete time-sensitive, multi-step, patio furniture-related job tasks via pantomime in the back room/warehouse of Target.
One challenge between the two jobs that's consistent and to be expected I suppose with a majority Hispanic workforce are conversations during work between employees in Spanish. This is where it gets a bit awkward because you want to at least try to socialize a little and maybe even make friends with your workmates so you can have a happier day, right? So far at the grocery store I’ve noticed that (most) of the time I’m the only cashier who doesn’t speak Spanish – which is pretty isolating when the rest spend the lulls talking amongst themselves and the other Hispanic members of staff while I quietly stare into space.
Now obviously no one goes to work just to socialize but I’m certain most people reading this understand the importance of not feeling totally excluded from the group of people you work with because you can’t understand what they’re saying. I’ll be learning Spanish at some point but until then this is going to make the new job a little more difficult. So really what I’m curious about is if anyone has or has had similar experiences at work? How did it make you feel? How did you deal with it? Any responses are appreciated.
One challenge between the two jobs that's consistent and to be expected I suppose with a majority Hispanic workforce are conversations during work between employees in Spanish. This is where it gets a bit awkward because you want to at least try to socialize a little and maybe even make friends with your workmates so you can have a happier day, right? So far at the grocery store I’ve noticed that (most) of the time I’m the only cashier who doesn’t speak Spanish – which is pretty isolating when the rest spend the lulls talking amongst themselves and the other Hispanic members of staff while I quietly stare into space.
Now obviously no one goes to work just to socialize but I’m certain most people reading this understand the importance of not feeling totally excluded from the group of people you work with because you can’t understand what they’re saying. I’ll be learning Spanish at some point but until then this is going to make the new job a little more difficult. So really what I’m curious about is if anyone has or has had similar experiences at work? How did it make you feel? How did you deal with it? Any responses are appreciated.
Comment