What Was the Worst Job That You Ever Had? - Page 3

rrpell · ‎11-01-2010

Since it is primary time in the US, I am remembering when I counted absentee ballots, for the presidential election, at my local polling place.

It went on for hours! There was no escape from the monotony.

I believe all votes are important but the process of counting those ballots goes down as one of the most boring jobs I have ever done.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela

FastDogWalker2 · ‎03-10-2010

I worked for one day at Bath-tique...yes you guessed it, decorations, etc, for the bathroom! It was right after college and I needed a job, but this was not it thankfully! I hated being stuck in a windowless store buried in a mall. I was fortunate to get a newspaper job and took that instead.

violann · ‎03-10-2010

@deja vu wrote:
This is a fun one and easy for me to answer...I worked in a candy packaging factory when I was a teenager..every time I watched the "I love Lucy" episodes of Lucy and Ethel trying to keep up with that candy rolling off the conveyor belt, it brought back bitter memories.

It was standing on concrete all day long and for some reason extremely hot in their...only pro to the job was sneaking piece's of candy once in a while.

When I worked retail I was hired to sell candy, outrageously GOOD candy, in a kiosk on the ground floor of a very beautiful and busy department store.

After having worked for the phone company the disastrous summer before, I had developed a fairly serious eating disorder from the stress.

Working for the candy company was much better for my morale but far worse for the eating disorder, since we watched the dates of freshness SCRUPULOUSLY, and candy that was over dates was "zeroed out" and thrown away.

Except if we were responsible for taking it to the basement and disposing of it. A lot of what started on the main floor never made it to the basement.

kelsey17 · ‎04-10-2012

When my kids were young and during school hours i got a retail job which allowed me to work around the hours my children were in school or when my husband could be home to watch them. The hours were long, always on your feet, and the expectations of you working as many hours as possible and holidays too. Also the pay wasn't very good. As the children got older i was able to return to the office where i was employed before their birth for 14 years. I was lucky there was an opening and i appreciated it so much more after retail!!

violann · ‎03-10-2010

@deepwaterdotter wrote:
Assembly plant. The money and benefits were good, but I was left with physical challenges that will last a lifetime.

My LAST job disaster! I was hired in an electronics assembly plant to put teeny tiny brass

insulators on the prongs of resistors.

I have no idea what any of these were for, or even what the names of them meant.

All I knew was that you didn't DARE bend the prongs, (which were about 1/32" tall), and if you did, you were supposed to put them in a reject tray, and if you had too many rejects in your reject tray, your pay would be adjusted accordingly.

Naturally, all of us "temps" would bend the prongs, straighten them out (FORBIDDEN) and shove brass insulators on them so you couldn't see the bent posts.

All of us left before we were arrested, but for this particular summer job I blame my delay of the US space program for at LEAST several years.

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

The one I just retired from, admin assist/secy in busy hospital dept.

Over the years, due to changes in the health care industry, my job, which was once highly valued, is now almost valueless to employers. But beyond that, co-workers who made the job a snarling snake pit as far as any interaction or "teamwork" - the only job I've ever had that was everyone for themselves and the daily aim was to make everyone else look bad so you could look best. CYA was the order of the day for self-preservation.

Very few qualified co-workers, so out of 7 people, 3 people did all the work and 4 coasted doing minimal work with minimal effort. Management was very aware and totally unsupportive. There were different rules and different standards expected for "equal" co-workers.

But I know this is now the norm for most jobs, not just that one. There is no work ethic or sense of responsibility any more on the part of employees, and there is no loyalty or reward whatever from companies for being a productive, conscientious employee; it's all about how cheaply the bare minimum can be accomplished.

You would think this would not be the case in healthcare - and you'd be wrong.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

lulu2 · ‎03-09-2010

@chickenbutt wrote:
@lulu2 wrote:
I worked as a security detective in a large (11 floors) city department store. The part of the job I hated the most was sitting behind a 2-way mirror in the dressing room, watching people try on clothes. I felt it was an invasion of privacy. What's worse was we were teams, 1 male and 1 female, so when I was in the ladies' dressing room, there was a male with me.

Oh dear! The Security Detective part would be so interesting and I love that. But the part with the dressing rooms had to be - I don't know...I don't think I have a word for that. That they had a guy watching the women with you is pretty creepy, eh? That had to be profoundly uncomfortable for any person with any sense of privacy.

Thankfully 2-way mirrors are no longer used.

There were aspects that were interesting. You cannot not believe what some professional thieves do. There was a man with a "seeing eye" dog. He'd carry a shopping bag then place it on the floor, near a ledge. He'd pick up a shirt and feel it, then place it on the ledge and take a few steps away. He'd whistle and dog would knock the shirt into the bag. The man would come back, pick up the bag and walk away. Turns out he wasn't blind and the dog was just a trained dog.

Then there were the ladies who would steal full length fur coats by rolling them up on a hanger, then placing them between their legs. This was back in the early 1970's before they chain locked fur and leather coats

StylishLady · ‎03-11-2010

Lots of experiences here for sure. Mine was having to work a couple summers at night for a laundry that cleaned items for summer camps in the area. DH was going to college for his Master's and he'd be gone during the day. It was "hi--goodbye" as I left for a night's work. Tag team child rearing with two small boys at the time. You do what you need to do to pay bills and keep food on the table. People who say American's won't do hard work are full of IT.

qualitygal · ‎10-04-2010

We had a big old apple tree out in our back yard when I was a kid. The worst job I had was with my sister, and we had to go pick up the over-ripe mushy apples and get rid of them in some pile. It was disgusting, we had to use our bare hands. My sister would probably agree.

SaRina · ‎04-17-2015

I also have had a number of experiences and a few worst jobs, but this is near the top of my list, also due to my boss. It was a business office and the boss was a young, arrogant snot. He kept large bottles of mouthwash scattered all over the office and would walk around all day taking swigs of mouthwash, then spitting it into employees' garbage pails. Everyone was afraid of this guy. I was there for about 4 days and had had enough. I asked a long-time employee, a lovely woman, how she could tolerate such disgusting and rude behavior. She said she needed the job. Thankfully, I didn't need that job.