Entering the workforce again has given me a whole new insight that I didn’t really have before. I am looking at the place I work in an entirely different way that I used to.
2 1/2 years being self employed has exposed me to a lot of different things. There are many hats that I have to wear, not only on a daily basis but, sometimes simultaneously. Whatever hat I am wearing I am always wearing the owner hat. I guess it is more like a base hat that the others get put on to. This owner mindset never goes away. if I am sending off multiple orders, making a sales call or designing marketing, it is always there.
Even now working for someone else, I see the big picture. I am not the owner of that business but I cannot help but, to see it from an owner perspective. Now, being that I am in the warehouse I see the very mechanical and manual side of this operation. I would like to try and explain something that I see daily. It may come off as a rant of just another wage argument but, I have a very unique perspective.
Where I am working, the general warehouse employee makes $12.50 an hour. I am guessing that that is pretty average for the type of work that is done here. Order pickers for example get an order and take a cart around the large warehouse filling the particular order. The stock is actually made in China and stock arrives daily. The type of stock and the amount are always changing so an item that you found in one place today may not be in the same spot 3 days from now. This is a very large operation. It is not just a few orders. There is what seems to be a never ending supply of orders and there are almost 100 people in the warehouse picking, shipping, and restocking.
What I see on a daily basis is what I would have to call general laziness. Besides how generally slow half of the people are (they literally walk like they are setting slowest person alive record) Most have an attitude of “someone else will take care of it”. I have watched and order picker cut a plastic band off of a master case and just leave it on the floor. Not just once but, it is like that is an acceptable practice. They leave trash in the aisles from the labels they are putting on boxes and there is literally trash cans at both ends of every aisle. I watch minutes getting added onto the beginning and the ends of breaks. Seriously if you want peace and quiet in the bathroom, just go during a break. I guess you are supposed to go to the bathroom before or after your break. Who knew? These are just a few examples and I have kind of been watching over the last few days and I heard an interesting comment yesterday. Something to the effect of, “Well I am only making $12 and hour.”
My problem is that they knew this before taking the job. It was no surprise to them. They were told about the job and agreed to the pay. Now that they are there they are trying to change the deal through low productivity, inefficiency and stealing time. From my owner perspective that is not okay. What if the shoe was on the other foot? What if after they started the job changed, breaks were shortened and money was shaved off of their paychecks? I think it would be all over the nightly news and there would be a national boycott movement by some group of people.
There are people that are just the opposite for sure at work. Wouldn’t you know it, they are the ones that have been there a while and started out picking orders and now are in manager and leader roles. As an employer, that is what we look for. If you want more than your $12 per hour wage than earn more. do well at the task that was given you and you will get more responsibility and more pay. It is a really simple formula but, one that escapes most people. You will NEVER get ahead under-performing and stealing time from your employer.
365 Days To My First Million. 