What's the worst job you ever had?

[Cartman]

Please, not lobsters and Jayne Mansfield!

Mine was this legal expenses claims place in Cheadle Hulme. You couldn't have your phone on you, in case you took photos of files, seriously, mines an old Nokia! They had to be handed in, signed for and locked away.

You weren't allowed to have paper and pens, in case you wrote stuff down, like taking a phone message etc, you had to use a kind of mini white board and narker, then rub it out immediately afterwards. 

You couldn't use the photocopier unless essential, they had a mania about paper, I once got moaned at for being TWO minutes late back from lunch.

I walked out after 6 weeks, surprised I lasted as long as that.

[Three Litre]

Had a summer job after leaving school working in a newly opened large Tesco store in '77, think they called it provisions assistant, basically restocking shelves.

The junior manager in charge was the absolute definition of a complete a******e, I think he thought we were all in the army and we would do anything at his command. The whole management team was deeply unpleasant, I remember forgetting my locker key once and asking for help and getting snide comments from another manager as he got a duplicate key out. In the end I thought stuff this and got a job for the rest of the summer driving a Bedford CF van around time delivering fruit and veg for a local family owned wholesale business. Lovely job.

When I left Tesco the bloke couldn't understand why I was leaving, he was making threats till the day I left. I remember they gave me my last pay packet in the morning and me then working out that I was paid up till 3 pm so would leave then, telling the bloke and him then threatening to withhold my pay, he hadn't twigged I got it. I should have just walked out then but was a respectful young man so stayed until 3.

Still it had a purpose, that's one reason I'm a nice guy to work for, who wants to be in an environment like that.

Still like to go back in time and stick one on him though ........................!

[Sam Tyler]

Oct 29, 2021 12:11:41 GMT Cartman said:

Please, not lobsters and Jayne Mansfield!

No unseaworthy bogies either! 

The worst job I ever had was when I worked for an engineering consultancy on a railway project. Due to the size of the project we were "co-located" with the client's engineers in the same offices. I was only there for nine months and in that time had three different managers. One of the client's engineers was particularly difficult so would slate every design package that me or my engineers completed. My first manager complained that the guy was unreasonable so ended up being replaced and moved to another project. The second manager complained that the guy was unreasonable so also got replaced and moved onto another project. My third manager was an invertebrate because he clearly had no backbone. It ended up that the client's engineer and I had a blazing row in the middle of an open office when he started to have a go at me saying that me and my engineers didn't have a clue. I argued back that he was the one without a clue because what he wanted us to do contravened various acts and regulations. He told me that "I am the client here and what I say goes!" whereas I responded with saying that if what he wanted went into our design then I as signatory would refuse to put my name to it or sign it off.
His response was a simple "Oh you're just being a c**t!" so I replied in a similar vein "No! You're the one being the c**t, I am not going to contravene the Electricity At Work Regulations and leave myself open to prosecution in the event that someone gets electrocuted!"

Needless to say it was only a matter of days before myself and three of my design engineers were given a paid week's notice but instant out of the door because my manager would rather lose four engineers than face up to the other bloke.

The upshot is now that I work for that very same client in the client role and the obnoxious engineer works for one of the consultancies so fingers crossed that we meet again.... soon!

Sam

[Nightfly]

At a large mail order firm. Lunchtimes and clocking off times were announced over a tannoy by the receptionist - "The time is now 5 O'clock", but you rarely heard the announcement as it was drowned out by the rumbling of feet from all floors heading for the door as soon as the tannoy microphone clicked on.

You could be switched around departments at a moments notice so you could go from replying to orders/letters to opening letters. The "best" part - replying as there were a number of companies under the same banner, each with a fictional head and you had to sign as if you were the head dependent on which company you were representing. One venture was a sexy lingerie company with a fictional exotic female head and I would get perverts writing in thinking I was the alluring female, the authors being unaware that a scruffy 18 year old male was having a good laugh at the eye opening things they wanted to do.  The worst part - letter opening, the worst thing I encountered being a discarded condom with a note attached that read "Compliments of the Halifax Building Society" !

I lasted 6 months.

[Deleted]

Back in the early 90s I once worked in a chemical factory that made liquid hand soap! I used to have to sit on a little box in front of a huge container drum full of soap. I then had to fill 5 litre plastic containers up, then stick labels on each one, then put so many in a box, then put so many boxes on a pallet! The problem ya had here was the silly 5 litre containers were white plastic, and not clear see through, so when filling one up using a tap on the big container drum, ( like pulling a pint lol) ya could not always see when ya reached the top, and so it would leak all over the floor before ya had chance to knock the tap off. The only thing that this was reliant on was, if ya could see the darker shadow of the hand soap behind the white plastic container rising, as the container was being filled! The chances of this happening I found to be quite slim and were also very much dependent on the surrounding light, and so in the summer time or the afternoon of the day when it was lighter this would enable one to see the shadow of the hand soap through the container when it was rising,  much more easily, instead of trying to guess a lot. Anyway after having a bad morning one day, after messing a few up and getting soap on the floor, I’d literally had enough, and said to my mates I’m OFF! I’m jacking!! and so I always remember just literally walking straight out, up the hill and straight to the pub lol! argh the relief!!!!  It was like a Andy Dufresne’ moment from The Shawshank Redemption haha!

GC

[Del Boy]

Least your mitts were super clean GC 

[Deleted]

Nov 1, 2021 20:29:40 GMT Del Boy said:

Least your mitts were super clean GC 

Haha! Sic!! 

[Del Boy]

I had a summer job in a printers after leaving school and it was awful.
The work was monotonous, it involved breaking semi perforated birthday cards from the larger printed sheets for 8 hours a day ! The paper cuts were annoying, the pay shite and worst of all the cow of a supervisor had a no talking on the shop floor rule ! 
I used it to fund a holiday then left the day before I went.  Was grateful to join the dole queue.

[Three Litre]

Nov 1, 2021 20:46:52 GMT Del Boy said:

I had a summer job in a printers after leaving school and it was awful.
The work was monotonous, it involved breaking semi perforated birthday cards from the larger printed sheets for 8 hours a day ! The paper cuts were annoying, the pay shite and worst of all the cow of a supervisor had a no talking on the shop floor rule ! 
I used it to fund a holiday then left the day before I went.  Was grateful to join the dole queue.

I never understand why junior management make places horrible to work in, who then wants to work there?

You get much better cooperation if you make it a decent and rewarding place to work in.

I know, I've done it!

[Del Boy]

You can't do enough for a good guvnor as they say.