Privilege - Having the Choice To Quit Your Job
Caught a glimpse of the retail store I used to work for, back in the university days. It looked exactly like how it was 6 years ago, when I did the morning shift. I momentarily recalled my stint there for a couple of months, and I slightly winced at the thought of that.
I remembered counting my spending back then by hours. This plate of chicken rice? It costs 0.5h of my pay. That new facial cleanser? 3h of my pay. I remember watching the time pass during the lull period, thinking to myself: wow time CAN indeed come to a standstill lol. Money was indeed hard earned. You’re literally trading your time for $7/h, selling off time you could have spent hanging out with family and friends, doing something you like, or just be a happy couch potato.
You look at your friends going on long holidays and have gorgeous photos online. Instead, you spend these hours packing up the mess that customers made. You spend it facing people who look past you, as though you are 5 levels below them. You spend it wondering why (some) humans are just rude and inconsiderate towards strangers who serve them with a smile. You would feel mentally and emotionally trampled on, but you also live for moments when customers greet you with the widest smiles, when parents allow their little kids to sneak a little play with you. When customers are extra appreciative and polite when you assist them with their queries. It’s like you see this bad side of people, and you get comforted by the good side too.
I also started noticing things that I didn’t as a regular shopper. Now I think about the hard work of these employees before and after store hours. The back-breaking work to get the store ready, and also the clean-up after everyone leaves. It’s amazing how terrible being a retail assistant could feel sometimes, yet how it taught me to be more understanding and tolerant towards people.
Okay, back to the main stream of my thoughts.
Recalling how I used to feel from my retail job, I compared it to how I feel towards my current office job. I'm currently at my third year mark of my first job after graduation - at this point, your peers around you start asking you: when are you switching jobs? The culture of 'job-hopping' is prevalent and unlike the past, it is now widely accepted. Job switches are currently seen as gaining of experiences, instead of being disloyal or career-ruining. Instead of comfortably settling in a job4life, millennials are taught that stagnancy in a company is baaaad.
When this memory of my part-time stint flashed across my mind, idk whether it sounds strange, but I had this sudden immense gratitude. Look at people around us, slogging their lives out and clocking 12h shifts, or even juggling two jobs. Quitting a job was never a choice, at least not for reasons that we now think of. For personal development, for a refreshing change. It is such a privilege to be in my shoes to have such 'worries', to ponder over things I would think would govern the next five years of my life, yet in a macroscopic perspective, seems so...... insignificant.
I don't have to worry about quitting without fearing the inability to purchase groceries or my next meal. I don't have to worry about quitting because I can't pay my bills. Even though I love to save $ and am a cheapo in certain ways, I have the luxury of spending a few hundred dollars on a musical/concert ticket, or buy a new wallet without any second thoughts. It is... a privilege to be able to live like that.
May I always remember this privilege, especially during difficult times at work. Albeit some not-too-pleasant encounters here and there, I no longer have to face unexpected nasty strangers (I can just ignore irritating colleagues hahaha). I no longer have to brave through shifts just to ensure I have pocket money next week. :-)
Such random thoughts I have even just by crossing a mall. Goodness haha.
You look at your friends going on long holidays and have gorgeous photos online. Instead, you spend these hours packing up the mess that customers made. You spend it facing people who look past you, as though you are 5 levels below them. You spend it wondering why (some) humans are just rude and inconsiderate towards strangers who serve them with a smile. You would feel mentally and emotionally trampled on, but you also live for moments when customers greet you with the widest smiles, when parents allow their little kids to sneak a little play with you. When customers are extra appreciative and polite when you assist them with their queries. It’s like you see this bad side of people, and you get comforted by the good side too.
I also started noticing things that I didn’t as a regular shopper. Now I think about the hard work of these employees before and after store hours. The back-breaking work to get the store ready, and also the clean-up after everyone leaves. It’s amazing how terrible being a retail assistant could feel sometimes, yet how it taught me to be more understanding and tolerant towards people.
Okay, back to the main stream of my thoughts.
Recalling how I used to feel from my retail job, I compared it to how I feel towards my current office job. I'm currently at my third year mark of my first job after graduation - at this point, your peers around you start asking you: when are you switching jobs? The culture of 'job-hopping' is prevalent and unlike the past, it is now widely accepted. Job switches are currently seen as gaining of experiences, instead of being disloyal or career-ruining. Instead of comfortably settling in a job4life, millennials are taught that stagnancy in a company is baaaad.
When this memory of my part-time stint flashed across my mind, idk whether it sounds strange, but I had this sudden immense gratitude. Look at people around us, slogging their lives out and clocking 12h shifts, or even juggling two jobs. Quitting a job was never a choice, at least not for reasons that we now think of. For personal development, for a refreshing change. It is such a privilege to be in my shoes to have such 'worries', to ponder over things I would think would govern the next five years of my life, yet in a macroscopic perspective, seems so...... insignificant.
I don't have to worry about quitting without fearing the inability to purchase groceries or my next meal. I don't have to worry about quitting because I can't pay my bills. Even though I love to save $ and am a cheapo in certain ways, I have the luxury of spending a few hundred dollars on a musical/concert ticket, or buy a new wallet without any second thoughts. It is... a privilege to be able to live like that.
May I always remember this privilege, especially during difficult times at work. Albeit some not-too-pleasant encounters here and there, I no longer have to face unexpected nasty strangers (I can just ignore irritating colleagues hahaha). I no longer have to brave through shifts just to ensure I have pocket money next week. :-)
Such random thoughts I have even just by crossing a mall. Goodness haha.
Love your writing by the way. Reminded me a lot of my past.
ReplyDeletePolo @ Takashimaya was where I worked at during university days. The GSS sale meant they always need people during the mid-yr holidays.
Fun and eye-opening days for sure. Stood for the whole day till legs were sore. Folded hundreds of pieces of clothings. The customers were the best and worst part of the job ;)
First bitter, then the sweet!
ReplyDeleteKeep writing