Worst job you've ever had?

[AVFCRoss]

Let's hear them.

[Dragontao]

Anything where I've been stuck in one place or in an office doing clerical type work, there have been a few over the years in between other jobs.

Current job isn't great. Having to do too much finance stuff in it. I'm supposed to be doing statistical analyisis. Still stuck in an office but there are some hot women there). Plus I'm only working three days a week while studying.

Worst probably has to be the 4 months I spent as a trainee bank clerk in the 80's. Hated it. I'm very much a jeans and t-shirt person. I've been able to get away with that in every other job (even if it has taken a bit of work to adapt my employer to my way of thinking). The bank's attidudes were archaic. Plus they were trying to force me into selling products at the counter too. If an old person came in and they had loads of money in their accounts I had to send them down to an interview bay where someone would try and sell them stuff. I refused to do it. I used to go in wearing various t-shirts under a white shirt so they could be seen through the shirt. The Sex Pistols "Never Mind the B******s one upset them the most. It could be baking hot and if one person wanted to keepo their jacket on everyone had to, except I just ignored them. When I joined they said "new boy makes the tea". I just said "not any more".

Bizarrely, it's the only place I've ever worked where the manager actually praised me for being a stubborn, stroppy, argumentative and generally rebellious git. Apparently it meant I'd be good at dealing with difficult customers.

I had my first probationary appraisal with the manager after 3 months. I couldn't believe it was so glowing. He said "if you keep this up and take your banking exams you could be an assistant manager within two years". My reply was "that would be my worst nightmare, here's my resignation". What a relief that was to get out of there. Yep, that was definitely my most hated.

My problem hasn't been with jobs., it's generally the employer I have problems with. We're slowly heading back to the 1920's and 1930's and our current govrnment are helping make that happen. Wages and standards of living falling. All power slowly being shifted back to employers and employee rights eroded (like these latest Government proposals). I'm just waiting for dodgy Dave to re-introduce workhouses. There has to be a balance, yes employers need to be able to get rid of crap staff but to have no fault dismissals which mean that you can be fired because the company wants to bring somebody in on a cheaper wage or because you get a new manager and he doesn't like you. Then the right of appeal and availability to employment tribunals is being slowly reduced as well, meaning anyone unfairly dismissed is up poop creek without a paddle.

I have found though that if people genuinely believe you are a psychopath with mental issues they leave you alone. Especially when you let it be known that you keep a list of people who have seriously peed you off and that you wouldn't want to be on that list. I did once tell one of my bosses, who was a complete dick, that he could sack me if he wanted after we'd had a stand up row and I'd punched a hole in his office door. I then casually asked him what the company payout and pension is like for medical retirement. I did get a written warning lol.

I've only had to play that game at a couple of places I've worked though, as most of my employers have been reasonable and I am actually a good worker and do a good job I am.

I don't know why, but in most of my jobs I have been allowed to just get on with it without interference 

[jman]

I did a few manual labour jobs when I was younger, mainly just student jobs so they werent long term but they were all horrendous for me.. I dont particularly like the majority of people who work in these type of jobs...

Two particularly crappy jobs..
one working in a pallet factory.. suffered quite a few injuries there including a splinter in my eye
the other working for Wickes which only lasted a month..

I've found in most manual labour jobs there always seems to be a cocky "oh look at me I can drive a forklift" twat who thinks he's the dogs bollocks though.

[bealec]

Going door to door trying to get people to sign up to donate to the RSPCA. We only got paid commission and it was just when the recession had hit so you can guess how giving people were.

Out from like 10am to 10pm walking all day. Yeh not fun.

[AVFCRoss]

Going door to door trying to get people to sign up to donate to the RSPCA. We only got paid commission and it was just when the recession had hit so you can guess how giving people were.

Out from like 10am to 10pm walking all day. Yeh not fun.

I'm glad someone mentioned this, it's the exact reason I made this thread.

In the process of looking for a new job and I went on a sample day last week with a marketing company. I was meant to be working on events and promotions (thats what the interview was for anyone), but they mentioned they operate on a pyramid scheme and everyone has to start at the bottom. Always seems to be the case these days.

The bottom involves door 2 door sales...Had to walk around all day from 11 to 8 with this lad knocking on doors in Handsworth trying to sell Scope charity membership to people. The lad was a full time employee of the company and said it gets quite depressing working on commission when you can't sell anything to anyone (It didn't help we were in a part of Birmingham where everyone is either unemployed, ignorant or can't speak a word of English.....)

We went the entire day and didn't even get as much as a sniff of a sale, so the lad went home empty handed and it completely turned me off the job and I politely declined. He did assure me that if you're more passionate about what you're selling you can make a killing off it...He made 600 quid in 1 week off selling LoveFilm subscriptions once apparently, but I'd just rather work with a guarentee of a fixed payment and not have to deal with the inevitably of going home empty handed after walking around for 8-10 hours in vein.

Dealing with awful people, walking around in work shoes for 8 hours, horrible weather, mind numbingly boring...At least in other lines of work you'd be guarenteed some form of pay at the end of a days work.

[Dragontao]

Bealec and Ross, I can't say I've ever done that but then I never would for every reason you've both put.

I think that and answering a telphone all day in a call centre would me my worst job.

Whihc reminds me. About 4 years ago I worked for the Department of Works and Pensions for three days. It was a temporary job. I applied for it after I started looking for work again and it was to tide me over until I got a better job.

It wasn't until after the interview for what I thought was a paper shuffling job that they told me that I'd actually be answering the phone to new claimants for job seeker's allowance. I was horrified but thought I'd better take it.

It was supposed to be for a maximum of 8 months, with the possibility of going permanent at the end.

Now there are plenty of people who ring up as claimants who are complete idiots and totally abusive. but a lot you can have sympathy for. Those who have lost jobs, want to work but get bugger all by way of benefits because we give it all to asylum seekers, unmarried mums, immigrants and those shirkers who have 20 kids by umpteen different mothers. So it was my worst nightmare as I don't agree with their system at all (I didn't realise quite how much until those three days). Fortunatley I never got to the point of having to answer the phones.

Anyway. We sat down first morning, the group of new inmates ... erm, I mean recruits, and the senior manager came in and gave us a pep talk. Telling us how pleased they were to have us and what a great place it was to work, but they had a high turnover of staff. Now I was sat there quietly shaking my head as we'd been on a tour of the building and everyone looked as miserable as sin. One of the security guards (the only smiling face I saw in the whole 3 days) told me that if people get on they move them so they don't talk to each other.

Anyway, she obviously saw me and said "why are you shaking your head". So I told her that everyone there was as miserable as sin and that a happy work place doesn't have a high turnover of staff. Now that went down like a lead balloon.

The place was an utter shambles. So poorly run you wouldn't believe it. We were supposed to be training, but they came in in the afternoon and told us they didn't actually have a trainer for us until the next week, there had been a mix up. So they just gave us some crap to read. First thing I did when I got home was start looking for other jobs. I'd taken voluntary redundancy from my job as a network manager because I wanted to get out of I.T, but all of a sudden I.T seemed to be a good place to work. Plenty of temp jobs and contract jobs out there at the time. My CV went off to a few of them.

On the third day I went in and said I needed time off for an interview. Next thing I'm called down to this senior manager's office. She says I can't have time off for interviews while I'm training (training was supposed to last 8 weeks). I pointed out that the job was temporary, they were paying a pittance and I was obviously going to be looking at something more fitting for my experience and qualifications.

So she says "well if you;re looking for other jobs you can either leave or we'll sack you".

So I pointed out the sheer hypocirisy of what she had said and the whole DWP organisation. They are quite happy to force people going to job centres to apply for any job, knowing full well that people don't want those jobs and will be looking around from the minute they get them, but when it happens to them they don't like it (that wasn't the only point I made about their organisation).

She didn't really try to put up much of an argument and that was that.

Anyway, I got my three days pay from them. Some months later I got a cheque through the post for £1.03 because they had me down on the wrong salary and would have been paying me below the national minimum wage - which was illegal. And that's the department that set the damn rules on it. And they wondered why I had been looking for another job. I earn more than they were paying me in three days a week at the moment.

[bealec]

Going door to door trying to get people to sign up to donate to the RSPCA. We only got paid commission and it was just when the recession had hit so you can guess how giving people were.

Out from like 10am to 10pm walking all day. Yeh not fun.

Yeh essentially that's the type of company I worked for. Start at the bottom sell 3 contracts for 3 days in a row you get promoted to team leader. Get 3 people in your team to each sell 3 contracts for three consecutive days get promoted again. Eventually you get to start your own franchise somewhere else. They suck you in by telling you how quickly they got promoted but it just doesn't work like that.
 

I'm glad someone mentioned this, it's the exact reason I made this thread.

In the process of looking for a new job and I went on a sample day last week with a marketing company. I was meant to be working on events and promotions (thats what the interview was for anyone), but they mentioned they operate on a pyramid scheme and everyone has to start at the bottom. Always seems to be the case these days.

The bottom involves door 2 door sales...Had to walk around all day from 11 to 8 with this lad knocking on doors in Handsworth trying to sell Scope charity membership to people. The lad was a full time employee of the company and said it gets quite depressing working on commission when you can't sell anything to anyone (It didn't help we were in a part of Birmingham where everyone is either unemployed, ignorant or can't speak a word of English.....)

We went the entire day and didn't even get as much as a sniff of a sale, so the lad went home empty handed and it completely turned me off the job and I politely declined. He did assure me that if you're more passionate about what you're selling you can make a killing off it...He made 600 quid in 1 week off selling LoveFilm subscriptions once apparently, but I'd just rather work with a guarentee of a fixed payment and not have to deal with the inevitably of going home empty handed after walking around for 8-10 hours in vein.

Dealing with awful people, walking around in work shoes for 8 hours, horrible weather, mind numbingly boring...At least in other lines of work you'd be guarenteed some form of pay at the end of a days work.

[shellyboy100]

Warehouse work for me...although I just came out another crappy job as a Barman at Butlins...I'd recommend NEVER ever work on a holiday resort, if the customer is drunk or sober they'll always think there right over the pure fact there on holiday. Obviously its alot worse when they are drunk, as they more offensive etc, which is one of the reasons I quit, I don't really react to well to lip or attitude.

After this I was unemployed, and I joined a agency which found me warehouse work the day after...I'm flat footed and I can't wear Steel Cap shoes, as they'll virtually cripple me which is what the warehouse asked. After 4 hours in the shoes, my feet we're in too much pain, and I went back to my normal trainers, and within half an hour, a supervisor pulled me a side saying, I can't work in a warehouse with steel cap shoes...I quit there and then...no jobs worth crippling yourself over.

I now work on check-outs, on the self-scan, in a super market, as I look for Full-time work...I'm sure you can all work out how fun them machines are...