Figure This One Out

I haven't been able to.

Before I present you with the problem, I want to first be sure you know that, as I have worked at my present job, I have continually counted my blessings for having this job. ( I have worked there for nine years and NOT MISSED ONE DAY that I was scheduled to work. I've never even taken a day of personal leave.) But one of the factors I have NOT included as part of the package of my "blessings" was that I was making a lot of money.

I had intended to go back to school, update my teaching certificate and get a better paying job, but after one summer of working at HL, I made the decision that it would be crazy for me to leave a job I loved to go find one just to make more money when I had never in all of my life had more money than to cover my basic needs.

I would be spending most of my time at my job and be tired afterwards. Why try to find something that would pay more when I could "make it" on what I was getting if I'd just be content to live like I'd always lived -- not letting myself think about things I might like to have?

There is MUCH about this job that makes me HAPPY to have it.

I enjoy my work. I really LIKE WHAT I DO. Sorting and putting stuff away was what I'd volunteered to do for others before I went to work.

I like it that I have "tons" to do. And that I have a huge area of responsibility-- that I have to take care of by myself for the most part. At this point in time, scrapbooking is the largest "orderable" department in the store. (Some other areas have more merchandise but in those areas the merchandise is just "sent out".) By "orderable" I mean, I have to go through every week and check every item to be sure I have on hand what the store has determined we need to have there as our basic inventory. If it's not there, I have to decide the amount to order and WRITE IT in my order book.

I like the beauty of the place I work.

I like the music. (What other retail store can you go into and listen to Christian instrumental or easy listening music all day? Many of my fellow workers think it sounds like "funeral home music". When the topic comes up, I laugh and say, "Well, it's obvious to me that the music is here for me because I'm the only one who likes it." I'm not really. I hear a whole lot of customers singing along with the music.)

I like the hours. CLOSED on Sundays. Closed at 8P.M. every night except the two days after Thanksgiving. Closed at 5:30 on the holidays that we are not closed all day long.

I like my boss. And I like it that he is very considerate of my wishes when it comes to being off on Wednesday nights. I probably have not worked even half a dozen Wednesday nights in the nine years I've been working there. He has allowed me to juggle my schedule to be available to sit with grandkids while their mom went to appointments. (I work hard to be sure I am there when he needs me to be and don't ask him to "juggle" my schedule then.)

I like our clientele. As much as I lament having to pick up after "100 kids", I still believe that the people on the whole who shop in a "creative center" are a cut above those who are shopping for groceries or some retail outlets geared to general needs, instead of creative "needs".

There are other things I could say, but I'll stop with that and get to the problem I'm trying to solve.

First read this article from KTEN.com
It explains where "the problem" begins.

I had googled to see if our store had made the news because Tesia said she heard Dave Ramsey talking to the top guy on his radio program about the raises.

I found that along with the news items there were numerous comments being made by employees. These comments get across some of the reasons why it is hard for me to "Figure This One Out". Here are a few of the comments I found:

One

"So what if they gave me a $1.oo raise up to $10.00!!

....there is a certain amount of money to be spent [ on payroll]…..
So instead of working 40 hours a week making $360.00 I will now be scheduled 35 hours (minimum allowed for a full time employee) and bring home $350.00. And I will be expected to do the same amount of work in those 35 hours.

Yes it does make for GREAT press though!!!"

Two

"Some part time employees' hours have been cut because the stores still have the same amount of payroll dollars to use and it now has to go to the full time employees raises. It is frustrating."

Three

"Not only have part time hours been cut but also full time hours. Full time employees were working an average of 38-40 hrs per week - the next week's schedule came out after the raise was announced and most all full time employees were cut to 35 hrs and part timer's were also cut back. What's the point of a raise if you are cutting hours?"

Four

"I went in to work as usual this week & was given my walking papers. I had been part-time with our HL store for 4-1/2 years. I have a health condition & don't have normal energy levels, but I worked hard & as much as I could. I gave it 110% always, really was trying hard to make every customer happy. For quite a long a time early in my career I had to act as fabric dept. manager when we were between *official* dept. mgrs. I had a big part in training our current fabric dept. mgr., & then willingly stepped down out of the mgr. role to let her take the lead. I thought I was a valuable employee.

But this is how the big raise for everyone else affected me. I will be applying for unemployment because I don't know what else to do right now. I got 1 hour of sleep last night & am an emotional wreck, but I will be ok eventually. I really am trying to take this as an opportunity to move forward, but right now it is hard to see my way. I am a pastor's wife & I do believe God will lead me to the next adventure. And I hope it will be even better than my adventure with HL."

These comments sum up what puzzled me about it all. I guess I "just don't get it". I know in the scriptures that the person who agreed to be paid a penny was given no more at the end of the day than those who came later and were paid a penny, but they griped about it too.

I keep telling myself, "Somebody thought this was a good idea and convinced those who had the power to implement it that it was."

I may not have all the details, but it seems that the most important ones are these:

1. Every full time person will make $10 an hour giving no consideration to how long they have worked there nor what they are now making. (If you are hired in today, you'll make $10 an hour. If you were hired in 2000, you make $10 an hour.)
2. Payroll has to be kept within a certain percentage of sales. The percentage was increased but not enough to cover the actual expense of the raises.
3. Therefore, hours have to be cut and some people have to go. This has created an atmosphere of "will-it-be-me?" and employees being picky about how well other employees are doing their job. Tattling. "So-and-so talks too much instead of working." "So-and-so is not doing her job and I'm not doing it because she's getting paid $10 and I'm only paid $7," a part time worker speaking.
4. Those who remain will have fewer hours to do more work -- because they will have to do what the people who are no longer there had to do.
5. Part time people were not included in the raises. Some part time people -- and we have some really good ones-- work harder and get more done in the hours they are there than those who are full time.

The overall effect seems to be that those who got significant raises are VERY HAPPY. Some of those who were already close to $10 and had worked many years to get to that place, feel like they have not been respected for the good job they have done and for the loyalty they have shown in staying with a company a long time with very little increase in pay over the years.

But someone important enough to put it through, thought this was a good idea.

Can YOU figure it out?


As for me, I fall into the same category as one of those who commented above. I won't be making more. As I figured it, I might even be making less because of the cut in hours. BUT, since I'm not working this job just for the money, that does not bother me. I still am very happy to have this job for all the reasons stated above and more...


At this point in time, the main way this change is affecting me is that it has put my boss under a lot of pressure. He has to make the plan work. He has to figure out how to stay within his payroll budget. He is having to play "watch dog" to try and figure out who he needs to "chop" so he can have their money to give to someone else. And he is having to be really picky about our comings and goings.

Right now I do not feel at all free to ask him to juggle my schedule because he has too much else to work through and he really doesn't have time to deal with my personal desires like he was willing to before.

Strangely, it has taken some pressure off me. I always do my job "as unto the Lord and not to men knowing that of the Lord I will receive my reward...." so I will not be able to do less, but I no longer feel like I'm "under the gun."

Before I felt like my work was more closely critiqued than others would be because of what they were paying me. It wasn't much but it was more than they paid most of the others because I'd been there so long. When the supervisor or District Manager or Regional Manager or anyone came in, I felt like I really needed to be "up to snuff" or they'd get rid of me to make it easier on their payroll. Now, I don't make anymore than anyone else so I don't have to feel like I'm being watched any more than anyone else.

Note: This entry was long enough that it will take you a week to read it so you shouldn't miss my posts for awhile.

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