well some background to the title: I've been working as a waiter in a chinese buffet restaurant and as a postman part-time for the past a week or two...and just wanna share some thoughts.
anyways, I guess working a manual labour orientated job usually means you're at the bottom of the socio-economic level, you work like a horse and get paid pennies, while people in the higher levels sit in their offices and get paid a whole lot more, such is the paradox of life. actually this is the second buffet restaurant i am working in, the first one was, let's just say didn't have the employees' welfare at the top of their agenda :) I only worked there for two saturdays, and it was pretty grueling stuff. I mean it was okay at that time because I was only working once a week, but everyday? I think I wouldn't survive. But the thing that made me leave was the fact that they were not paying the minimum wage (I only knew that after working two days, my bad, I assumed). and I didn't want to work for an employer that is not in line with the law, and probably good for my physical health too.
To tell you how "grueling" it was, the first time I worked for 7 hours with only 15 mins break, it was non-stop work, literally. And the second time I worked for 8 hours with also 15 mins break, but this time I only got the break at the last hour because the restaurant was so busy. What really angers me, now on the part of not paying minimum wage, is that the employer is treating his own kind, cuz most of the staff are chinese, exploitation wouldn't be an unfair judgement. Shouldn't we take care of our own kind in a foreign land? or maybe he/she went through the same process so it's always a vicious cycle? anyways...
the two days was a real experience for me, I felt like a robot, at some point, and it is quite tragic because u are only needed for your labour, nothing else, not as a person. Hmm, I am not a boss yet, but when I become someone else's employer next time, I believe I will certainly use a different approach :)
But the work's been okay, just that with these more manually challenging jobs I just feel like I have worked more hours than I actually have done. Just this week, I've feel "knackered" (as they say here in scotland), but I've only done about 20 hours at the restaurant, and the postman job is only on saturdays.
It's all good experience I'm sure. I can go on and on, but I shall not yield to the temptation. Hopefully these experiences will help me with my understanding and how I view and see things, and what some less fortunate people are going through on a day to day basis just to make ends meet. May God be the glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment