What's the worst job experience you ever endured, and how did you handle it?

Question

Mine always seemed to involve extreme over-tasking, impossible demands, contradictions between established policy and actual practice, having far too many bosses (all with conflicting agendas and full of bull---!), ridiculous and nerve-wracking deadlines, and have left me with the belief that in the workplace, it's usually something other than the cream which floats to the top!!!

If you've worked long, chances are you've endured and suffered overlong, well -- here's your chance to vent!

Bring it on!

damn, ogrendle! please tell me you weren't "fragged" ... no, seriously, that is one bad day on the job.. i hope it was only serious enough to be your ticket home!

oh my god, chuckler! lmao! I've done that, but not with a bus! Kudos to you bud!

>Maid - that had to be a toughie.
>Jen - sayin it goes with the territory doesn't change the fact that it's difficult on a good day in that job, based on friends' experiences
>Ski -- I've about 30 years in F&B, been there/done that -- and then some!
>Icy - i saw that on "Dirty Jobs" (TV).. tell me, do you still enjoy eggs and poultry meats?
>Stars- that's not just underhanded, that's lowlife mean! Someone once tried to get at me by a harassment charge -- it backfired on them after human resources investigated -- that person was fired!
>John G!!! -- only 4 years!?
>Buzzard -- had to be hard typing that thesis with double RSI.

Oh my god, what can I say but ...

the horror... the horror...

Question inspired by and dedicated to my love who is enduring such a god-awful work
experience that she does not even have time to answer this the way she'd really like to..

14+ hour days, merger mayhem, clueless co-managers & dept heads brought in by merger co., useless HR, and so much more... ... they're killing her..

.. it's a classic merger clusterfark and a ton of crap heaped on top of her already very demanding position of trust and mega corporate responsibilities.. ... .

she writes me re this Q: "i really can't bring myself to answer that Q, not at this point when everything is you know.."

so, the one who inspired this Q is so submerged in a total work clusterfark that she can't answer

this is for you baby... hang in there... and when the time comes, shred 'em baby!!!

Answer 1

Shot in a firefight in Viet Nam. Handled it by passing out and going into schock. It messed up my whole afternoon.

Answer 2

Cook. Left school in 1972 and took on the job because my girlfriends' mum at the time was the manager of the restaurant. The first 18 months wasn't too bad, and had taken my City & Guilds in catering, and shone - until the pot-washers didn't turn up. Terri's mum by this time had left, and some snarly bastard took her place, and when the pot-washers didn't turn up (usually at weekends), Tom - the new guv'nor ordered me to go to the sink. For the first week, decided to say nothing, then was told that Tom hated me preparing the food (as I was a 'darkie'). I wrote to the organisation, telling them that I have my C & G award, and washing the dishes was not what I came here to do. Tom was sent to a branch in Cambridge, after complaints from others, and a 'mature' old boy took his place (with the worst attitude - he hated anyone under 20), and as it goes in the UK, they try to get rid of the complainers as well, and in the next few months, was accused of stealing deliveries, pestering waitresses - and even smoking weed in the toilets...they expected me to kick off and supposedly do what 'darkies' do - and bite the bait, but left without ill-will in summer '74 after reading up on teaching courses at university. Decided to take it easy, and help da with his business about until I was 20. Maybe the reason why it was my worst experience was because it was my first job, and perhaps many people see their first as their worst.

Answer 3

I was once a cleaner in a pub and i can tell ya there's nothing worse than cleaning up someones vomit in a urinal, cleaning vomit isn't the best of tasks at any time i know but ... yuck ...some guy shat all over the loo seat once as well .. the worst tho was going into work with a hangover and cleaning up some other buggers fun !!

worst job i ever did i lasted a year and thankfully have moved on to bigger and better things!!

Answer 4

I have just finished an MA degree, and as such am a bit of a stranger to having a job... but I worked in a factory one summer- it was a pork pie factory, and I worked in the cooked meats room, stirring great copper pots full of pig skins and boiling water, using an iron rod- and I walked an hour and a half every morning for the privilege of the work too. Actually, I loved the job, but I worked at it so hard that I got RSI in my left hand... and I handled it by sticking at it, and I got RSI in my right hand, and I went to the doctor, but I wouldn't listen to him, and I kept working until I was sincerely messed up in both arms... an instance when knowing when to quit would have been valuable...

Answer 5

I worked for the boss from hell. After I hot hired I met and started dating the guy I'm now married to. When my boss found out I was in a serious relationship she told everyone in the office that they needed to get me single again so I'd stay there. (my hubby's in the Army) The weekend of my birthday she wouldn't let me have off to spend with him, I thought he was going to prepose (he did). She got the feeling I was going to quit, so she told the owner that I wasn't doing my work and that I was writing emails all day long (not true, she lied). So I just flat out quit. Walked out that day and never went back. That's the only time I haven't given advanced notice.

Answer 6

I was hanging some pictures for a very posh lady in London, I had a heavy picture in my hands holding it up to reach the hook when she came up behind me and put her hands in my trouser pockets and said "can I borrow a tool to screw the kitchen unit doors on"? This is absolutely true, I was so surprised because she had seemed as correct as Her Majesty until then. I indicated my tool box on the floor and said "help yourself" She gave me £120 for hanging about five pictures in half an hour. Was I a bit slow on the uptake?

Answer 7

I was asked to work in a care home for the elderly....That i didn't mind as care is where i wanted to be. It was all arranged etc...On my first day i witnessed multiple cases of neglect and disregard for the residents by the staff. Needless to say i wasn't going to stay in that environment! i told the 'sister' in charge of running the place exactly what i thought of the care home she was running and the staff she was employing and i left. I reported the Care home standards and staff to the relevant authorities, as did my tutor, not 6 months later after investigations the place was closed!

Answer 8

Huh, it sounds like you work at sears too, lol. My worst experience was working as a tool consultant for this horrible company. Anyways, some guy brought in a torque wrench to trade in under the craftsman hand tool warranty, but it doesn't apply to torque wrenches, it even states it right on the package. Anyways, he didn't want to accept that, so he told me, take the f***ing thing back, and threw it at me. I smiled and told him to have a great day. I had the worst bruise on my thigh shaped like the tool for weeks. Ouucchhh.

Answer 9

In my old job I was a first aider. Generally it was easy, just dishing out plasters to kids, fetching water for people who'd had too many cans, etc. One day I got a call out and arrived to discover one of my dearest friends was spark out. He had brain trauma after being hit by a fairground ride. He took ages to come to and when he did come round he was vomiting blood. He was so poorly and would keep having fits and forgetting things after the accident. Not long after he went mad. He jumped off a building and died in hospital. I would clean any amount of piss, puke and poo, or put up with any amount of abuse from a megalomaniac manager over going through that again.

Answer 10

O i have a good one. I work at a big fancy restaurant on a lake. I am a busser, and I set up weddings. After working their for about a year, this one busy day, my boss told me to set up this table for 21 people. This waitress helped me, but the boss wasnt specific at all as to how to set it up. We tried setting it up to his likings and 5 minutes went by and he came to seat the 21. As he is walking with the 21 behind him. He looks at me setting it up and says "What the "**ck" are you doing as load and obnoxious as you could be. He stated it in front of other tables, and that embarresseed me more then any other time. After that i came up to him and said that I wasnt sure exactly how to set it and he did'nt say anything back but looked apologetic. He never came back in that room that night, and other waitresses stuck up for me and told me its alright and how bad on his part that was.