I'm on Day 4 of an 8 day Starbucks run, and they're all opening shifts, a real overload of a reasonably good thing. I'm putting this up so that hopefully some people will understand the light, erratic posting.
Almost any worker, certainly almost every Starbuckian, will tell you 8 days with no break is too much. Life as a Starbucks server, never mind a Shift Supervisor,is a real energy drain, and most people need thge time to rest and recover. Hence the reason why so many like Starbucks work as a part time option - even when the economic result isn't necessarily all you'd want it to be.
These "be grateful you have a job" times really do put the remaining workers to the test - what we can put up with, what we're willing to endure, and what's beyond our limits. I'm working in two stores, both with generous, sensitive managers who are willing to be especially creative and flexible in solving staffing challenges. As with so much, I'm pretty lucky... and I can't imagine having to put up with the impossible trade-offs others have to make, choices that - for a woman with children, for instance - can seem pretty bad, all the way around.
I've been surprised, over and over, to discover that I realy do like what I'm doing, that I'm enjoying life at the moment, and that, at times, the balancing act really does work properly and I can write as I like, while fulfilling my basic earning needs at a job that satisfies me. I like (most of) my customers, and I've learned a lot about good coffee. At 4:30 in the morning on the fourth day, though, all of that can be hard to see. And mostly... I'd like a chance to nap. And hopefully, some time this afternoon... I'll get that, and a chance to write some more.
Comments