Archived Why do people care so much about what they do at work?

[Burlseveryday]

I don't mind working hard. But when people are allowed to just "coast buy" and nothing be done, it makes it hard to actually care.

We can all talk about how we were raise to work hard, and shun those who don't, but when they are able to have an easier and less stressful time at work, and make the same pay, who's the real winner?

When i got promoted to foreman at Kroger, I went back to my old store and told everyone with a strong work ethic to apply there and that I would personally vouch for them. The ones that slacked off are still at spot, except now there aren't a bunch of hard working people to counter balance their laziness so they're finally being performanced out. Yeah, flow at Kroger is a hard job, but it's just as hard busting your ass at Target. You might as well at least get paid close to double for your effort.

 

[Barcode]

I don't mind working hard. But when people are allowed to just "coast buy" and nothing be done, it makes it hard to actually care.

We can all talk about how we were raise to work hard, and shun those who don't, but when they are able to have an easier and less stressful time at work, and make the same pay, who's the real winner?

When i got promoted to foreman at Kroger, I went back to my old store and told everyone with a strong work ethic to apply there and that I would personally vouch for them. The ones that slacked off are still at spot, except now there aren't a bunch of hard working people to counter balance their laziness so they're finally being performanced out. Yeah, flow at Kroger is a hard job, but it's just as hard busting your ass at Target. You might as well at least get paid close to double for your effort.

No better way to give spot the middle finger! Bravo

 

[GSslAve]

I always try to do the best job I can. But if target is getting to the point it's stressing me out I usually take a step back and evaluate the situation. Sometimes for the sake of sanity I tell my self just to get though the task quickly and move on. I would rather get the task completed with a few area's that need attention the not get the area or task done. Just go with your comfort level and remember that target still is signing your check, even if they suck sometimes they are still paying you to do a job, and lazy employees are easy to spot and will eventually get figured out.

 

[spikegrouchy]

Until I find something better, I will always give Target my best effort. Yeah, in real life all of the zoning, the guest service, the extra effort that you do really means very little. They can replace you tomorrow with someone else who does half of what you can do.

I stepped down from a team lead three years ago, and have gotten promoted to a pfresh assistant, gotten two excellent reviews and every ETL likes it when I close with them. So, it may not be much, but I know that I have given everything I can to make my store the best it can be. I am close to 60 years old and I can out-work team members 1/3 of my age and I am proud of it. Yeah, I have been royally "screwed" by some ETLs over the past 15 years, but I was able to hang on and virtually every ETL, STL, DTL, etc., that tried to "performance me out" over ridiculous issues have either been fired or forced to quit.

So no matter whatever comes down, I always give my best effort at Target.

 

[anathema]

You aren't changing the world or making a difference? Oh my god you did all the scans that really matters You got 30 red cards like seriously who cares? Why do you care so much that you got a perfect zone did what you do really matter? No offense to those who for some weird reason care about their crappy target job but what you doesn't matter if it only more of you realized this

This sounds like the first step to nihilism.

 

[Aurora]

Please come back and tell is how smoothly your life is going when people like us (cashiers, hardlines, soft lines etc) in all stores stop doing our jobs.
You might notice us then....

 

[3LetterDevil]

And let's see....if I DON'T, I could potentially KILL someone??? Seems like a good enough reason to me....

 

[commiecorvus]

[Mod]Let's avoid personal attacks on the OP. [/Mod]

 

[redeye58]

Switching the coffee to decaf.....

 

[Bored Food Aver]

While I don't feel like knocking people who take pride in their work, I associate most closely with this speech from the movie Office Space (thus putting me in the minority in this thread):

Peter Gibbons: The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
PG: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's something else, Bob: I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Slydell: I beg your pardon?
PG: Eight bosses.
BS: Eight?
PG: Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.

I don't put my 100% in when I work because (and I know people will disagree with me, and that's okay, because I know we all feel differently on this topic) when you get NO recognition (except for complaints, from at least 5 people that are over you), NO raise, NO improvement, NO ANYTHING, it's discouraging, and there simply comes to a point where there is absolutely NO incentive to work harder, it just comes to a point where you work just hard enough not to get fired.

 

[konk]

Can't argue with that. I still try to show my bosses that I'm the best and that when I'm there, things get done. That way they know I'm right when I complain about the slackers.

 

[see spot save]

I care about my work as a flow TM to show the TLs and ETLs that I am capable of handling more than bowling and waving market. The level of care and quality that I put into my work has gotten me cross trained in most areas, designated the team trainer, moved into electronics and now working backroom on non truck days.

"So what? You're working harder than everyone else for the same wage. What you do doesn't really matter."

Yeah, I guess you can look at it that way. I look at it this way - I've doubled my hours, started a 401K, and am watching my checks increase week by week. This might change once I hit the ceiling, but for now I'm content.

 

[konk]

Yeah you can't impress Mytime, but Mytime doesn't call us in to work when people call out... yet.

 

[BigEyedPhish]

Yeah you can't impress Mytime, but Mytime doesn't call us in to work when people call out... yet.

haha, I can hear it now.. the Robot from the Callboxes will call us..

"Additional Team Members to Target, will you respond?

 

[Kompa]

Yeah you can't impress Mytime, but Mytime doesn't call us in to work when people call out... yet.

"Additional Team Members to Target, will you respond?

*Hangs up phone*

 

[Guest]

I think most people do the amount of work that keeps them employed. Why are people going to bust their butts for crappy wages?

 

[redeye58]

Every time I get my review, I'd swear I wasn't going to put out as much effort as before but my work ethic would get the best of me.
Even this year, after getting capped & no raise, I just slipped back into my groove of doing the best I could without going postal on anyone.

 

[antivibe]

This sounds like the first step to nihilism.

I'm convinced OP is having an existential crisis.

 

[Guest]

As the STL says at my store(if you are capped), "you can get a raise if you get an O on your review".

 

[PullMeBackIn]

I think most people do the amount of work that keeps them employed. Why are people going to bust their butts for crappy wages?

"It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care. . .

Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation. . .

So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired."

People say Office Space only applies to office jobs.

The first quote especially resonates with me. See, I have the capacity for working really hard, I did it for a number of years at Target and I'm currently working around 30 hours a week at a non-profit volunteer job for which I pour myself into. With Target, I have so much apathy (bordering on animosity at this point) for Target at this point that I don't see any reason why I should exert myself any harder than I have to in order to not get yelled at or fired. Particularly in light of getting an E on my review and not getting a raise (I'm beginning to think I actually am capped but if $10.80 is the cap rate then that's another discussion about how pathetic Target is).

I got into a "discussion" with another team member yesterday because I got called a "ditcher" for not staying late on Saturday past the time I was scheduled (11 PM). I had to be back the next morning at 8 and I had no intentions of staying late to correct their mistake of not having enough people scheduled. Fact of the matter is, even if I didn't have to work the next morning I wouldn't stay late because I never stay late. Why should I have to suffer because Target can't run their business properly? There's this ridiculous expectation that closing sales floor has to stay as late as it takes to finish everything. Why is that? We don't get paid any more than any other work area and yet every other work area gets to leave at the end of their shift with no guilt-trips or judgments.

See, Target thrives on paying us peons nothing and hoping we'll be guilted into working harder than that because of our own work ethic. The way I see it, in a time when our former CEO can get over $20 million for being fired, why should I work hard increasing the value of a company that's actively being run into the ground. I take no pride in Target and while I do take pride in my own work when I feel there's something behind it to take pride in, I won't work any harder than I have to at Target trying to impress anyone or make this company successful. Exceeding expectations at Target is no longer my mantra.

 

[The Celtic]

Like everyone else is saying I don't care if you flip burgers wait tables or are a cashier no we're not saving the world from evil villains and Godzilla but I believe what you do at work speaks to who you are as a person yes a lot of things are silly and stupid but if it's your job you try and do it we'll then there's no reason you shouldn't be proud of yourself

How would you feel if suddenly your doctor doing your heart surgery suddenly felt that way? Ya know I'm not saving the world by saving this guys life I don't care I'll do it the lazy way...

 

[PullMeBackIn]

Like everyone else is saying I don't care if you flip burgers wait tables or are a cashier no we're not saving the world from evil villains and Godzilla but I believe what you do at work speaks to who you are as a person yes a lot of things are silly and stupid but if it's your job you try and do it we'll then there's no reason you shouldn't be proud of yourself

How would you feel if suddenly your doctor doing your heart surgery suddenly felt that way? Ya know I'm not saving the world by saving this guys life I don't care I'll do it the lazy way...

False equivalency using the heart surgeon, for a couple reasons. First, a heart surgeon is a career someone works a lifetime to obtain. If working sales floor at target is your life goal and you take pride in it then it would be an equal comparison.

Secondly, heart surgeons typically work for hospitals which are typically non-profit and therefore their work isn't enriching some shareholder but rather the value of the quality of their work goes directly to their "customer" the patient.

 

[The Celtic]

Like everyone else is saying I don't care if you flip burgers wait tables or are a cashier no we're not saving the world from evil villains and Godzilla but I believe what you do at work speaks to who you are as a person yes a lot of things are silly and stupid but if it's your job you try and do it we'll then there's no reason you shouldn't be proud of yourself

How would you feel if suddenly your doctor doing your heart surgery suddenly felt that way? Ya know I'm not saving the world by saving this guys life I don't care I'll do it the lazy way...

Like everyone else is saying I don't care if you flip burgers wait tables or are a cashier no we're not saving the world from evil villains and Godzilla but I believe what you do at work speaks to who you are as a person yes a lot of things are silly and stupid but if it's your job you try and do it we'll then there's no reason you shouldn't be proud of yourself

How would you feel if suddenly your doctor doing your heart surgery suddenly felt that way? Ya know I'm not saving the world by saving this guys life I don't care I'll do it the lazy way...

False equivalency using the heart surgeon, for a couple reasons. First, a heart surgeon is a career someone works a lifetime to obtain. If working sales floor at target is your life goal and you take pride in it then it would be an equal comparison.

Secondly, heart surgeons typically work for hospitals which are typically non-profit and therefore their work isn't enriching some shareholder but rather the value of the quality of their work goes directly to their "customer" the patient.

ok ok touché it was a bad example when you put it that way lol but was just trying to put a point across not everybody's dream is to save the world

 

[Backroom81]

In contrast to my previous post, I don't give Target my full abilities anymore. Last year, I was asked several times by the STL and various ETLs if I would be interested in picking up TL again and filling various vacancies in the store. I politely declined all of them as Target is a second job for me and quitting my main job for a TL position would be a HUGE cut in my pay (almost 40%). While retail actually suits me more than my main job does, the pay difference is too much to overcome. Not to mention, Target is no longer the company I enjoyed working for 15 years ago.

This year, I only got an "E" on my review. I know I'm not "O" material but I would think that being asked to promote would rate at least an "Ex". It's not even the difference in pay raise that bugs me about it as it's not very noticeable anyways, just the principal of it. I'm good enough to promote but only good enough to get the same score as the guy who has been here 6 months? That's basically insulting me.

I'll still be a great backroom TM but everything beyond that stops. No more running the team when our TL is absent, no more stepping up and helping the floor when they can't handle their crap again. Oh, the TWT shows some salesplanners still need built? Sorry, I have CAFs to do. Your grocery person called in? You won't see me stepping in to handle it with my 10 years of grocery store experience. You will need to ask, and very nicely at that.

 

[Guest]

Doctors aren't going to be lazy and suck butt at their job because of lawsuits. Lawsuits will lose them money and possibly their license. They have more to lose than minions working at fast food and retail. ETLs making working at Target feel like it's life or death makes the experience even worse than it is. It's retail. People are coming into a store to buy crap. That's it. The only place in the store where I could see that lives depend on your job is probably the pharmacy because the wrong pill or dose can kill someone.
No one is going to die if they can't get a gallon of milk, a thong, or a Justin Bieber CD at Target. And you shouldn't kill yourself to make sure that an ungrateful snobby customer gets their way.

Personally, I think I'm torn. A part of me wants to do a good job because I feel it's the right thing to do while the other half of me wants to just to the bare minimum to avoid getting fired. I know some people especially ETLs hate this excuse but sometimes I'm physically drained and running on fumes when I'm at Target. That place can suck the life out of you in every way.