Dear Employers, Dear Employees...

Dear Employers,

You need to be more like the company I work for.

I am not as versed in the ways of the world as some, but I've held those lower-level jobs and have a pretty good idea.

I did the retail thing. I've done food service. I have enough supervisory experience under my belt that I was qualified for an assistant manager's position in a couple places.

And in most of my experiences, you as employers all sucked.

Just because it's menial labor and you have a bunch of different stores doesn't give you an excuse to treat your employees badly. Positive reinforcement goes a long way in the work force, and your managers should know this!

Where I work now, everyone helps each other. And if a mistake is made, no one is afraid to admit it because you're not berated. In fact, you can ask questions without feeling like and idiot. And if you do make a mistake, you're kindly told how it should have been done, and there are no hard feelings.

But what's most important, is when you do something right, or come up with a good idea, they tell you as much. It's not just passed over and smiled about, they tell you a good job.

You just don't see that very often anymore. These days, the only time you hear from your superiors is when you're doing something wrong. And it's always anger that you seem to get. And the managers have crazy amounts of responsibility heaped on them, too, so they're also victims of the system.

The whole thing is broken. And it needs to start from the top, and work its way down.

Where I work now does not have as much of a turnover as where I used to work, either. In fact, we're such a good team that the company is growing by leaps and bounds instead of struggling through this troubled economy. And the employees, get this, are happy.

Morale is a big thing in the workplace.

So employers, time to step up to the plate and start treating your employees well. They will in turn be better workers for you.

No more screwing with their hours.
No more screaming and never complimenting.
No more playing favorites.
No more poor working conditions.
No more bad scheduling that pushes the legality limits of hours employees work.
No more being jerks.



Dear Employees,

You are not God's gift to a company (probably), so don't act like it.

Face it, there are ten people, probably more in this economy, at any given time who are ready to replace you should you decide to leave a job. You quitting will not cripple the company, and you're not that important. Sure, in some cases maybe you are, but you've usually worked with the company a long time to get to that point.

So don't act like a pompous jerk because you think they need you. They don't.

Value your job and make them want to keep you--to promote you.

And I'm tired of hearing about how you're "too good for a job." This is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard. When you need money to put some food in your belly, that job probably will be just right.

Remember, you have to start somewhere, and it's normally the bottom. Want a better job? Give them a reason to promote you!

Especially all you kids my age! Since when is food service and retail too good for us? We are untrained workers in a world where training is everything because an employer can demand it, unemployment is so high. If you hate your job that much, quit and give it to someone who'd be grateful just to have a paycheck.

Nothing says you have to stay with that job, but it's a good stopping point until you can find a career. That's what I did.

You also need to stop expecting a job and perks to just be handed to you. I know "No Child Left Behind" has given us this expectation that everything will be handed to us, but that's not how the world works. If you really want something, you better be prepared to work for it.

And I'm tired of the excuses, too, as to why you can't do better. Once you stop complaining, you'll probably see that you can! This goes for anyone of any age out there. I've heard it from young and old alike.

Remember, it's just a job. And it's going to keep you off the streets and fed.