Experts say people quit people, not jobs. Our duties and obligations in life can be stressful and downright frustrating. The last thing we need is a difficult and unreasonable boss to make our lives that much
more hectic.
Our demeanor and attitude outside of our day-to-day job can definitely be attributed to our work environment and those who we work for.
A lot of UTEP students have had pleasant experiences with their employers. Some went as far as saying that they “love” their boss.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for all employees.
Work-related stress can lead to deteriorations in health and a person’s well being.
According to betterhealth.vic.gov.au, the physical repercussions of stress from our jobs range from headaches, fatigues, sleeping difficulties and heart palpitations.
Mental effects include depression, discouragement, pessimism and even the feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to cope.
For Derick Moreno, senior mechanical engineering major, he dealt with an unreasonable and at times “awkward” boss. As a barista at Abundant Living Faith Center, Moreno was in charge of making drinks and maintenance of the café and bookstore.
Moreno said there were situations in which his boss made questionable management choices.
“If you didn’t do something quite right, he would just kind of hover over you and just stare at the problem and wouldn’t actually point it out,” he said. “He’d make a situation awkward.”
Constant complaints from the staff and the lack of a profit being made under his management led to the termination of said manager.
In even worse instances, some employees have experienced offensive language and yelling from
their bosses.
Brown, a junior studying cellular and molecular biochemistry, asked that her full name not be used
in this story.
While working at El Taco Tote from March through July of 2013, Brown faced tremendous hardship at her work. Brown has scoliosis, a condition that leaves her spine curved at 15 degrees. Management at El Taco Tote knew about her condition and that it meant she could not do a lot of manual labor.
One month into the job, she was moved from running the register to cleaning the lobby area, where she was responsible for sweeping, mopping, cleaning tables and putting chairs up on the tables. She worked late into the night.
“Obviously, I was in a lot of pain because of that,” Brown said. “I used to take a lot of pills to sleep.”
She said she was still willing to work there and put up with the pain, until one day.
“My manager called me into his office, and right after I closed the door he started yelling at me,” Brown said. “He was very rude, by the way, asking me what my problem was.”
Brown said he used very derogatory language.
“He said stuff like ‘what is your fucking problem? I’m your boss, you’re like my slave, you should obey me. I don’t give a shit about any of you,’” she said.
Brown confronted her boss to ask why she couldn’t work the register, considering her condition. She said he replied saying that profit was low and they simply did not need cashiers. Brown said that two days after their confrontation, a new girl was hired as cashier.
“I told them I wasn’t feeling good and left,” Brown said.
While working at El Taco Tote, Brown noticed changes in her life.
“I started to miss classes; I didn’t have enough time to do homework. I missed some exams,” Brown said. “My professors knew about my situation so they gave me some extra homework to help my grade.”
She has learned from her experience.
“It taught me to put myself before my job,” Brown said.
Luis Barrio may be reached at TheProspectorDaily.news.gmail.com.
