Let's share the worst things we've had to endure as employees. I'll go first:

Teenage, food service, pizza. The AC breaks in the middle of a California summer, easily 110°f outside, 115°f inside the store (verified), with 500°f open-ended ovens running nonstop. Then the makeline which holds ingredients breaks. The cheese melts into clumps. We stay open, business as usual. Also, no breaks, ever. Pay: $8.50/hr.

Adult, teaching, high school. No in-class heat for four years. School provides one basic 11" fan heater used to warm small bedrooms. My class ceilings are at least 12ft with tons of windows. I developed a routine of showing up an hour early, turning on the collection of heaters I'd acquired (including several from home), and get the room up to a sweltering 62°f by first period. I also figured out which electrical items can be plugged into which outlets and how to reset the fuse panel on a moments notice. I have photos of my students huddled around an oil-radiator with their hands out, eager for even a semblance of heat.

Your turn:

  • JackalopeEnthusiast [she/her]
    ·
    3 years ago

    I was a delivery driver, delivering boxes of produce to houses on a weekly route. There was always something wrong with the vans. Mechanical issues abound, and the refrigerator in the back almost never worked.

    One day I was driving my Friday route, through a rural part of the state, driving one of the backup vans while my usual one was in the shop. I stopped along a relatively busy road, and went to the back of the van to go grab the customer's box. As I step into the back of the van and reach for the box, I hear the door behind me shut.

    "No biggie" I thought, and turned to open the door back up. There was no handle. I went to the side door to open it from the other side. No handle there either. I was trapped in the back of a dark van with boxes of produce. I reached for my cell phone, only to realize I left it up front. I try banging on the doors and reaching in for a handle, disassembling it, whatever I can do. No luck.

    I start screaming for help. I can hear that cars are driving by me, so I hope that by screaming and kicking the door someone will notice. Insulation breaks off the back door as I brace myself against the food pallets and kick with all my might.

    It's getting hot in the van. There's no cooling and I am sweating from the exertion. I strip down to my underwear and keep going, hoping I will somehow break the latch open.

    I have no idea how long I did this. I was tired and sore and sweaty, covered in cuts and scratches from bracing myself on the pallet. My throat is sore from screaming.

    The door opens. The old man looks like he's walked in on a murder scene. I try to explain what happened - why I'm naked and bloody, trapped in the back of a van.

    I take some time to cry in the front of the van, put my clothes back on. I call the office to tell them what happened, and that I'm leaving for the weekend. My boss tells me to finish the route or not come back.

    I gather myself and grab the next delivery box, the one I was going for before I got into this mess. I bring it to the door. It's the old man that saved me. I give him his box and leave, neither of us says anything more.

    I was making $10/hour and barely making rent. I had no work history to speak of, and no real qualifications. I was so beaten down by that job that I finished my route and came back the next Monday. I should have reported the state of those vehicles to someone, but instead I worked there for another couple months before I decided to pack my life up and move to another state.

    I've worked a lot of shitty jobs, but this definitely takes the cake. Still sometimes have nightmares about this.