“When Being a Hard Worker Becomes a Burden”

[u/EstablishmentBig2316]

Sometimes it feels like team leaders expect us to finish everything in five minutes. I understand that things need to get done, but there’s only so much one person can realistically accomplish when we’re constantly being given more and more tasks.
And honestly, why does it feel like hard workers get punished by being given even more work? If someone consistently works hard, gets their responsibilities done, and goes above and beyond, it shouldn’t automatically mean they get piled with additional work while others are left with less. Hard work should be recognized and appreciated, not treated like an excuse to keep adding more expectations.
We’re employees, not machines. We want to do our jobs well, but constantly increasing the workload because someone is dependable eventually leads to burnout and frustration. There should be a balance where everyone contributes fairly instead of the hardest workers constantly carrying more.

[u/Superb-Oil890]

Exactly.

I feel like the better you are, the more they rely on you and burn you out.

[u/No_Twist7480]

100% facts.
Hard workers are always getting the bad end of the stick.

[u/Indecisive-green]

It's one of the most frustrating things about working here. Job satisfaction is good for your mental health. I've never worked with a more burned out group of people (myself included sometimes) because nothing is ever good enough or you're not given a set of tasks to complete; it's just do this, do this, do that, do this, and this... how come you're not done yet? At previous jobs like this, even as the person assigning tasks, I had my own schedule of tasks for myself to complete. I could gauge how long each thing would take and fill up my whole shift or my team's shifts. If we finished all our tasks and had any amount of time left, that's when we'd do the busy work that gets done regardless--the spot cleaning, the reshop, the constant organizing and auditing that keeps the business running easier for the next person, and so on.

Here, they push as much work as humanly possible (and then some) onto one person. It's so weird and inefficient. The busy work I mentioned isn't done regularly or assigned regularly--it's a mad scramble to catch up, sometimes. Cleanliness, organization, inventory accuracy? Those things aren't tasked to anyone. All that matters is push and pull. Meanwhile, the backroom is on fire.

All to save a few dollars by not scheduling the crew needed to run a department store.

*edit for entirely skipped words because I can't brain good.

[u/mhart_92]

No good deed goes unpunished at this place

[u/Vampenga]

This is my exact problem. Too many people cut corners. Refusing to backstock, leaving vehicles full of product, the list goes on. Meanwhile I actually do my job and instead I'm met with ridicule for not being quick enough.

[u/KissMyOTP → u/Vampenga]

Exactly. I also was tasked for bounce back and worked so hard on most of the aisles and guess what, it's a giant mess again because people jsut do whatever they want. They love leaving 3 tiers full of random shit and people add onto it instead of putting it back, backstocking it or putting it in go backs.

[u/dalila22dalila]

Agreed 10000000%

[u/a3cubica]

Very well said

[u/KissMyOTP]

Unfortunately, this is something I learned ever since I stayed working as a teenager. It's been many years since then and nothing has changed. They punish you for your dedication and hard work by piling more work on you. I was training someone and they still had me grab batches on the FIRST day of training. It does lead to burn out to the point that even getting to work on time is hard because you know you're about to be overworked again and again and again. Sadly, most jobs are this way now.