Archived Does working at Target drain you?

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Do you ever feel like working at wonderful Target drains you physically, emotionally, and psychologically? Do you ever feel like a piece of you is gone?
It's widely known on here and at my store that I hate working at Target and am miserable there. Anyways, I don't know if it's just fatigue, allergies, or maybe because the store is getting out of the 1st quarter which is basically the least busiest quarter of the year or what but I've just felt drained a lot lately.
When I end my shift usually at Target, I am so exhausted that I just want to sit down and rest for a little bit.
It's sad that something so simple such as working in retail can be so stressful and physically demanding. I mean working in retail should be stress free and a piece of cake because it's only about trying to get people to buy crap that they usually don't need or want. It's not like you're working at a hospital, school, fire station, or military base.
 
Of course I've felt drained after a day at Target. Especially this morning after yesterdays shift, due to call offs I had to cover Guest Service, Carts, and Close as GSA. (A 12 hour day). But, it's a job. I do offer my 2 cents on some practices I don't see eye to eye with at times. If you are so unhappy/miserable, you can always quit. It's not like somebody has a gun to your head forcing you to stay with spot. Just know that every job is stressful in some way shape or form and has it's challenges. You aren't going to get along with everybody you work with necessarily either.
 
I have been so totally drained after a day of work due to the stress and pressure they've been putting on us lately. And the option to quit isn't there but don't think I haven't thought about it. I have been looking for something else but at my age (almost 63 - gosh when did that happen:confused:?) there aren't really a lot of options. But, boy, do I understand where you're coming from, Jack.
 
I used to work as a flow team member & one time, I did a walking chat with one of the ETLs & told them I felt physically & mentally exhausted. So I don't think that way of thinking is very uncommon for Target TMs or even retail workers. My current store was even worse than my old store. The ETLs at my new store were incompetent & didn't seem like they were trained properly. My stress level is at its highest when I have to deal with them. Good thing I work overnight so I don't deal with them too often.
 
I'm usually drained before I even get into the store anymore, things have been so tense (almost toxic) lately that I walk in wondering who is going take the first shot at me? A couple weeks ago I got fussed at because there was still freight left from the CAF's to be pushed - I had been there exactly 11 minutes......not my fault!
 
I leave physically and mentally exhausted but that just means I gave my work all I had that day.

If I worked directly for Target I'd probably want to die and have felt that way at other jobs.
 
Good thread.

Yes, I've been mostly physically drained, from working 5-7 trucks a week (random flow/logistics positions) for five months. In fact, it exacerbated some leg/back problems I was developing. Was lucky enough to find an affordable LMT and have been trying to get back to normal/not-too-much-pain. At the same time, I lost the extra 15-20 pounds I had been carrying since my unemployment, so I've got that going for me, which is nice. And what The Dude said upthread, about having a job being good.

Psychically and emotionally, the job only has what power you give it to fuck with you... Wait, no, that's not true. There are the late and inconsistent hours, the absurd overexpectations. That's messed up, but probably has to do more with capitalism than Target. Still, it affects your sleep and your psyche, and isolates you (latenight/early am teams) from others in your life. You learn a new language, at first approached with ridicule and distrust, but eventually embraced as inevitable. When it's hot, the store is boiling. When it's cold, it's freezing, so you're never quite comfortable. There is a system of discipline that few understand and seems randomly enforced. We wear matching uniforms, engage in team-building execises, are aware of constant cameras and radio calls, and are told we're building something great together, even as we're discouraged from learning each others' last names or fraternizing. We're one strong leader away from being a cult. All the other hallmarks are there.

So, yeah. I guess it is draining all around. Being that we're in a cult.

But if you realize that, and take it for a bunch of silliness, like you're Jimmy Livingston on a busful of Bright And Shiny Todd and Lorraines, in can be something closer to absurd and innocuous.

/putsdownbeer

What was the question?

edit: three letters
 
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Unload truck, push product, backstock product, then all the additional tasks I am given. Backing up cashier, doing almost all carry-outs/item pulls for guests. THEN 1 hour after work, go to the gym. I am physically exhausted every day. I come home and complain about how stupid my superiors are and how they think i just started yesterday asking me thinks like "do you remember how to use the compactor?" when I do trash nearly everyday. I am 20 years old, father left family for his second family when I was 9, from 9-17 every single one of my mothers was blamed on me till i was kicked out on to the streets right after highschool. But if you saw me, one would never think that. I have a studio apartment, just got accepted into a community college already paid for by money that I saved for the last 2 years. I am also one of the funniest, most sincere person one will meet. SO whats the moral of this story? I hate working for Target, it is a waste of my time. But I have goals. And those goals keep me from being mentally beaten down and why working at target will never take piece of me away. Just keep your head up and remember why you go to work everyday. Do that and at the end of the day ull be fine.
 
Oh yes. I'm also pretty sure the stress of the job is putting my health at serious risk. We're all dealing with a bunch of ridiculous expectations but it's good to have a job. At least that's what I used to tell myself. It doesn't work so well anymore.
 
IhaveaDream said:
Unload truck, push product, backstock product, then all the additional tasks I am given. Backing up cashier, doing almost all carry-outs/item pulls for guests. THEN 1 hour after work, go to the gym. I am physically exhausted every day. I come home and complain about how stupid my superiors are and how they think i just started yesterday asking me thinks like "do you remember how to use the compactor?" when I do trash nearly everyday. I am 20 years old, father left family for his second family when I was 9, from 9-17 every single one of my mothers was blamed on me till i was kicked out on to the streets right after highschool. But if you saw me, one would never think that. I have a studio apartment, just got accepted into a community college already paid for by money that I saved for the last 2 years. I am also one of the funniest, most sincere person one will meet. SO whats the moral of this story? I hate working for Target, it is a waste of my time. But I have goals. And those goals keep me from being mentally beaten down and why working at target will never take piece of me away. Just keep your head up and remember why you go to work everyday. Do that and at the end of the day ull be fine.
Click to expand...

You have a great deal of sensibility and wisdom that will take you far. Honestly, not sure why you go to a gym after a truck though. I'll assume the redundancy calms you.
 
brobley said:
IhaveaDream said:
Unload truck, push product, backstock product, then all the additional tasks I am given. Backing up cashier, doing almost all carry-outs/item pulls for guests. THEN 1 hour after work, go to the gym. I am physically exhausted every day. I come home and complain about how stupid my superiors are and how they think i just started yesterday asking me thinks like "do you remember how to use the compactor?" when I do trash nearly everyday. I am 20 years old, father left family for his second family when I was 9, from 9-17 every single one of my mothers was blamed on me till i was kicked out on to the streets right after highschool. But if you saw me, one would never think that. I have a studio apartment, just got accepted into a community college already paid for by money that I saved for the last 2 years. I am also one of the funniest, most sincere person one will meet. SO whats the moral of this story? I hate working for Target, it is a waste of my time. But I have goals. And those goals keep me from being mentally beaten down and why working at target will never take piece of me away. Just keep your head up and remember why you go to work everyday. Do that and at the end of the day ull be fine.
Click to expand...

You have a great deal of sensibility and wisdom that will take you far. Honestly, not sure why you go to a gym after a truck though. I'll assume the redundancy calms you.
Click to expand...
Nah I just like to lift, you know the old saying "without big arms, you will live a small arm life"
 
I believe, corporation's goal is to methodically drain the soul out of people so they will leave & they can replace them with newcomers who are starting at a beginning pay scale.

And the people that refuse to be broken.... they'll find creative ways to fire them legally.
 
[QUOTE="IhaveaDream, post: 117288, member: 7700"
Nah I just like to lift, you know the old saying "without big arms, you will live a small arm life"[/QUOTE]

Just don't skip leg day.
 
i had to take a 3 month break from target because i literally thought i was going f**king nuts.... its was making my anxiety problem more crazy and it began to make me have physical side effects... it was not pretty at all... if you are in a store that runs smoothly then its not as bad obviously (thats how my store was when i first came there) but if your in a store where your down 10-12 team members everyday... new etls and tls every month.. different people doing different things everyday.. never getting anything done.. (like my store is now) and you actually care about your job.... then it can cause you to go crazy like me... lol.. seriously though....
 
I don't usually feel this way, but on bad days, I do. If there's one or more call outs that can't be filled, you get slammed, there's a constant stream of screaming kids, you can't get any Red Cards no matter what you do, your back and feet are killing you, there's obnoxious guests and extreme couponers, then that's going to be a living Hell shift.
 
I was when I was taking every shift they called me for, I had no break, home life was suffering. Since I stopped saying yes so much, it's gotten better.

I was talking to someone else and she was feeling the same way.... And I worked in they pharmacy for a bit yesterday and they are feeling that way.

I need to find something I can do at home for a variety of other reasons, things will be lots better then.
 
My first Christmas season working at target really took a toll on me because I agreed to too many things (coming in early, staying late, being the "toy captain" etc) and I worked way too much and became physically and emotionally drained. Since then I have learned to say no and I'll have an occasional stressful week where I work 6-7 days straight but other than that its not too bad.
 
Usually it doesn't, but these past few weeks since the mytime transition I have been stretched to the limit. I am getting demolished every time I work.
 
Working at Target physically and mentally exhausted me to a whole new level. I would start out the day with 3 or 4 planos assigned to me, around 8 hours of work after the aisle is set, batches are pulled, product is worked and everything is cleaned up. The kicker is, by the end of the day I was pulled away for 10+ other tasks... 1.5 hours to help work food truck, 30 minutes for smart huddle in seasonal, 45 minutes to cover electronics breaks and lunches, backup cashier calls that nobody else answered, call buttons that nobody else got to... And I was still expected to finish my plano assignments.... I usually did but not without sacrificing every bit of energy I had..... I have since quit and started working a sales position with another company... I get paid more to do 1/10th of the work I had to do at Target and I end my days with enough energy to run a 5k. Best decision I have made in years!
 
Think of the physical exhaustion as a reason to skip the gym ;) hahah.

But yeah, it can get very exhausting.
 
Since hrs are still crappy, I've been pulling 6- and 7-day weeks to get enough to cover bills. I'm jumping between FA, SB, salesfloor & front end dealing with rude guests.
At my FA counter, a lady had watched me speed thru a line of orders saying that she was exhausted from watching me. I told her my week had been pretty much like that & yeh, it's exhausting.
She replied "Oh well, at least it's Friday."
I looked at her blankly.
She said "You'll have the weekend to recover....?"
I said "I work EVERY weekend."
Her eyes got big & she quietly walked away.
 
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