Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Working The Night Shift

I sit up here at work writing, it's 2:13 a.m. and I've been up since 8 yesterday morning.  Each minute wearing on me a little more.  I'm about to suck down my 3rd extra large coffee of the night, it can't possibly be healthy.  Not much in this place is.  It's a cross between the military, prison and high school.  It doesn't make sense for a bunch of well paid adults, I know.  But this is the place I call work.  I'm a crane operator/stocker which means I run a crane about 1/10 of what I used to and I spend the rest of the time on the floor making sure everything is running when in reality I'm just sitting on my ass.  It took me 9 years to get here. I don't complain much about the work I do or how I'm compensated but almost every other aspect of this place is insane.  It's a constant battle between union employees such as myself and management.  I just want to put in my 8 or 16 hours and get the hell out of here.  Management wants everything to run at all costs and figures the way to do it is keep everyone close to termination so they toe the line.  And the union employees want to bitch about how they're getting screwed and look for a way out of doing everything.  It's a cycle that never stops.  I come here to do a job which I am paid well for and as long as they aren't telling me to do something unsafe I don't have much of a choice.  Granted I'll put up an argument when they want to do shit ass backward and stand up for people when someone is trying to pull one over on em.  Once in a while I'll do something to get my bosses riled up but I swear it's only because they let me. 

The only way I've found how to survive out here is by just doing my own thing.  I run the crane and I'm very good at it.  I stock and I'm pretty good at it.  Not saying they wouldn't try to fire me, but I'm an asset to this place.  There are only a few of us here anymore that know what the hell is going on, its just fallen apart.  So I go about my business and do my job and try to keep my ass out of trouble.  Trouble seems to find me once in a while though, I can't imagine why. 

People gossip around here like a bunch of kids.  I'd imagine it's this way in most workplaces, not only this one.  I try my hardest to stay out of it, but I can honestly say I don't say anything about anyone behind their back that I wouldn't say to them.  I've found this is the best way of not letting my mouth get me in trouble.  But you have your cliques and your outcasts just like any other societal interactions.  I get along with almost everyone as long as they're real.  If you're full of shit then I'm probably not gonna talk to you...controlling my mouth, again.  A lot of people take my quiet nature the wrong way, they're almost offended by it.  I'm always an observer, never the center of attention.  It just doesn't suit me.  At the end of the day, though, you may call me an asshole but you can't say I haven't done my job.  Although people probably do say that too, but I know what I've done.

It's dirty and hot and cold and loud and everything is big.  It's a hostile environment through and through.  I don't think anyone would stay here if it weren't for the money and that's a damn shame.  The dollar is the only thing people are after, and that includes me.  It has been nice while it lasted but it's not worth my peace of mind.  The cons definitely outweigh the pros anymore.  I only know of one way to change, and that's just to change it.

How about you?  What do you do for a living and how do you feel about it?

9 comments:

  1. i feel ya sunn.. i think workplace highschoolism is just the way it is. i work in the back room warehouse for one of the world's largest corporations [not unionized] as a supervisor. i too get to stock and operate the big machines [no crane, though..] and more or less do what i'm told.

    one thing i have to say is, since i moved to the new location with new people, i am a lot happier doing what i'm doing. fresh faces, and less old hens to bicker up the place. and getting off the night shift is the best thing that happened to me, i couldn't take another year of that crap so kudos to you that you can survive it.. all in all it's not so bad. you know what they say, if you can't do what you love, then love what you do. sometimes it aint easy, but it helps.

    otherwise the freelancing with a camera seems to be working out for me, i have jobs lined up for the entire year already, booked solid. and building gardens too, the two work well together :)

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  2. I used to work nightshift during my restaurant years. I kind of liked it. I now work mostly dayshift at my job as a college admissions counselor. I truly love it.

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  3. sounds like you do the best with what youve got. i feel similar, my job is a job, a good job. i actually have a knack for numbers so being an accountant has worked out well so far. i dont mind what i do. i actually really like my co-workers a lot, my boss can get a little needy here and there but nothing that bad. i dont have passion for my job, but like sadie said up there- i do like it so its worked out fairly well. i tend to look at this time as almost a waiting a period. getting all my shit together, learning TONS, saving money and then hopefully figuring out what im meant to do- moving on to bigger and better things or using what ive learned to more advantage of my own. :)

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  4. I don't do anything for my living because I don't have to. It's a blessing and curse, maybe I should find something meaningful to do.

    / Avy
    http://MyMotherFuckedMickJagger.blogspot.com



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  5. I used to work 14 hour night shifts. In fact, I was better at that than day walking. I wouldn't mind going back to it, either. And I'm here to tell you that jobs requiring any level of education do not limit the cliques or the gossip.

    xx
    Lulu
    Breakfast After 10

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    Replies
    1. What was it that you did working 14 hour shifts? And yea, people are people everywhere.

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    2. it was an overnight and weekend emergency hospital

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  6. Unions....I could say a few things about them.
    Yeah - work is work. But you have to like what you do. I work in HR so what people do for a living and how they approach their jobs is kinda what makes me tick.
    Hang in there. Good money is hard to walk away from. I hear ya. And you're supporting a family.

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