(no subject)

[hannibalv]

Hey, someone help me decide what the best part of my job is:

1. The fact that I get to be back here at work tomorrow at 6AM¹ to do inventory?
2. The fact that they fucked up my first² paycheck so now I get to be penniless until probably Wednesday, at the soonest?
3. The fact that it looks very likely that I will also have to be back here Sunday^3,4 morning, again at 6AM?³
4. The literally toxic work environment, consisting as it does of forklift exhaust, microscopic bits of forklift tires flung into the air, oxygen-replacing gases⁵ (a form of propane) used to power the forklifts and the generally prisony vibe of the place?

Vote now!

¹Instead of the usual 8AM.
²My first check as a full-time staff member here (I was hired on after working July-November as a temp).
³(!)
⁴I know I've worked thirteen days in a row before, but that was doing something I loved. That's not the case here.
⁵The guy at the desk next to me was one of many who needed to be evacuated and given oxygen after a spill about a month ago, and he's a MARATHON RUNNER.

Comments

[meggyn.livejournal.com]

ugh! that sounds awful!

can i ask you something? why do you work there?

[hannibalv.livejournal.com]

can i ask you something? why do you work there?

The glamour, of course.

More seriously: because after my comics gig ended, I went to a temp agency I'd worked for previously and they sent me here. As it turns out, despite having little but unalloyed hate for every aspect of this job, I'm really, really good at it. Additionally, with being brought on full-time here, I'm now making 65% more than I was when I was slingin' comics...which almost makes up for the fact that I'm not slingin' comics any more (plus I'm getting health insurance for the first time since March of 2003).

And because I don't think I deserve any better.

[meggyn.livejournal.com]

ahhh. understood. but...OF COURSE you deserve better. no one deserves to be breathing in carcinogenic gases day in and day out, even if it is a reality or condition of the job. i'm sorry that it sucks so much for you. but i'm glad to hear that at least there is a small positive side to it, such as finding out that the job itself is something well suited for you. my hope for you is that you might one day be able to find a similar position somewhere else, sans the toxic environment.

oh, and health insurance rocks. most of the time.

:)

[two-wugs.livejournal.com]

I'd say #4 is the best. There's big settlement bucks in toxic work environments, if you manage to get the right diseases.

(I'm allowed to make fun of this because during my factory years I worked with an industrial adhesive that later turned out to be carcinogenic)

[jrstraus.livejournal.com]

I vote number 4, assuming that the vote is sarcastic in the first place. Ask them for all of their MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets), which you have a legal right to be presented with immediately upon asking. My pessimist side believes that many/most workplaces don't have this and perhaps don't know what it means. You may have some right-to-know options to pursue.

[hannibalv.livejournal.com]

I actually was presented with an exposure packet when I was brought on full-time. I might even read it.

[jrstraus.livejournal.com]

No kidding. Good for them. And also - yikes.

[fractalbase.livejournal.com]

staplerfahrer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R23qxPUJviI)
some humor to perhaps brighten your day