After observing my work community and searching for answers, I learned a lot about the place I work at and the people I work with. I work at a gym in the child care facility about 15 to 20 hours a week. I work with about 20 people who have very different circumstances, despite their similar demographics. One of the main concerns of the people I work with is also a very obvious one. Many of them are either parents with young kids, or students about to attend college, so their concerns are normally with how much they are getting paid and how it is stretching for their families and futures. Recently we had to cope with budget cuts, which translated into raises being put on hold. This was especially upsetting for those who were employees for a long time, and were due for a raise. At first we were told that the raises might be coming in the summer, but now we know that that won't be happening This frustrates many people in the community that I work in. The people that work at the child care do a really good job, and rarely get complaints. They work hard to make sure all the kids are safe and happy, and engage the children at the same time in activities. Many of the employees feel bitter toward the company for not getting their raises, but they don’t let it affect their work. Many of my fellow employees have taken on second jobs to make up the difference. Many of them still worry that the job at the gym will not be enough. Despite these concerns, employees remain optimistic and friendly with members and their kids. I don’t think that the people I work with have very much respect or loyalty to our place of work, but they are very loyal to the members who bring in their kids every week.
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As with some other posts (see, for example, Laura Courtney's blog) this is an up-close look at a number of issues that are usually dealt with only on a larger scale -- the hardship and pressure ordinary people are experiencing owning to an economic collapse precipitated by the incompetence, greed, and even outright criminal behavior of Wall Street and investment bank types who are now walking off with huge bonuses they decided to award themselves using money taxpayers ponied up to bail the financial system out, the determination of those same ordinary people to do their best despite deprivation, the desperate need to fix a dysfunctional economic system.
ReplyDeleteBe mindful of paragraph breaks. Other than that -- great post.
This is a really good blog because it has alot of your own feelings in it as well as how other people feel in the same situation as your self. It has really good voice to it.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting post. I work at a really nice golf course, so I rarely hear customers or my fellow employees talk about financial hardships. I would feel awkward being the only one talking about these things, so instead I just pretend like paying $750 for a golf club is no big deal, just to fit in ;)
ReplyDeleteLoyalty comes with respect and it is hard to respect ones that do not honor their word. It is toward your communities credit that you are kind and not resentful to your clients,
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