I have a friend who works for an organization that's supposed to help migrants but due to a change of management, they now end up sending most of these vulnerable individuals back to their country of origin.
My friend has reached the end of her tether and feels like she can no longer work for the group. She feels demoralized by the new managers who actually think they are doing a good job.
A woman wrote a piece for Jezebel about working for an organization that's supposed to help people living in poverty. Her bosses have embraced this idea that the poor need to be more resilient.
They go to expensive conferences where guest speakers make a hefty paycheck by spreading the gospel of resilience. Her coworkers sit in a warm office comfortably snacking on bagels and brainstorming of ways to blame the very people they are trying to help.
Their attitude towards the poor is that they just aren't working hard enough or pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps.
This is a philosophy embraced by white, empathetically-challenged male politicians who claim that everyone in life starts out with the same opportunities and if someone doesn't escape poverty, it's their own fault.
When I left grad school with a degree in International Policy Studies I wanted to go out into the world and make a difference.
I'm now wary of organizations that claim to be empowering or helping disadvantaged people. I think many of them are only helping themselves.
Their leaders make appeals to concerned governments and individuals to raise money only to turn around and spend it on their own salary, overhead costs and meetings where they discuss the problem without doing anything about it.
I read another story from a former employee of Lulumon. The image the company puts forward to customers vs. how they treat their own workers is appalling. The managers use all these new age platitudes but in the worst way.
If you are having problems at work it's because you didn't put good vibes out into the universe or some shite, not because you work in a hell hole with a bunch of shallow fuckwits selling overpriced yoga wear.
I worked for Express clothing for a time and they would hire a bunch of girls and then give us about 15-20 hrs a week so we didn't earn any decent money and none of use qualified for benefits.
They made us buy and wear their clothing which meant our meager paychecks were even smaller.
When someone came in we were supposed to flatter them and push them to buy at least three things. I sucked at this so I was put in the stockroom and tasked with putting security tags on the clothes.
Another piece I read on Salon was about how hard Americans work for their corporate jobs and how little they expect in return.
Gone are the days of the social contract between boss and employee.
Now people turn themselves inside out for their company while having no job security and being viewed as a unit of production instead of a human being.
The management doesn't care about you. You become abstract and any unfair treatment or cruel practices become "necessary measures" for the survival of the company.
The worst corporate hierarchy-led stronghold of tyranny and backward thinking that I ever worked for was the United States Coast Guard.
I've got a book's worth of writing to do on them so I'll just say that I survived four years of a waking nightmare and wouldn't wish the same treatment on my worst enemy (if I had one.)
I'm truly surprised at how happy I am working part time at a gift shop.
The job is close to my home and my son's preschool and the people who come in are lovely to talk to.
I really like the woman I work for. She treats me like a human being and lets me do creative displays in the store.
I would very much like to go to law school in a few years when the baby is older. I want to help people find justice without some corporate policy getting in the way.
For now though, it's really nice to be in the comfortable world of home decor and scented candles.
My friend has reached the end of her tether and feels like she can no longer work for the group. She feels demoralized by the new managers who actually think they are doing a good job.
A woman wrote a piece for Jezebel about working for an organization that's supposed to help people living in poverty. Her bosses have embraced this idea that the poor need to be more resilient.
They go to expensive conferences where guest speakers make a hefty paycheck by spreading the gospel of resilience. Her coworkers sit in a warm office comfortably snacking on bagels and brainstorming of ways to blame the very people they are trying to help.
Their attitude towards the poor is that they just aren't working hard enough or pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps.
This is a philosophy embraced by white, empathetically-challenged male politicians who claim that everyone in life starts out with the same opportunities and if someone doesn't escape poverty, it's their own fault.
When I left grad school with a degree in International Policy Studies I wanted to go out into the world and make a difference.
I'm now wary of organizations that claim to be empowering or helping disadvantaged people. I think many of them are only helping themselves.
Their leaders make appeals to concerned governments and individuals to raise money only to turn around and spend it on their own salary, overhead costs and meetings where they discuss the problem without doing anything about it.
I read another story from a former employee of Lulumon. The image the company puts forward to customers vs. how they treat their own workers is appalling. The managers use all these new age platitudes but in the worst way.
If you are having problems at work it's because you didn't put good vibes out into the universe or some shite, not because you work in a hell hole with a bunch of shallow fuckwits selling overpriced yoga wear.
I worked for Express clothing for a time and they would hire a bunch of girls and then give us about 15-20 hrs a week so we didn't earn any decent money and none of use qualified for benefits.
They made us buy and wear their clothing which meant our meager paychecks were even smaller.
When someone came in we were supposed to flatter them and push them to buy at least three things. I sucked at this so I was put in the stockroom and tasked with putting security tags on the clothes.
Another piece I read on Salon was about how hard Americans work for their corporate jobs and how little they expect in return.
Gone are the days of the social contract between boss and employee.
Now people turn themselves inside out for their company while having no job security and being viewed as a unit of production instead of a human being.
The management doesn't care about you. You become abstract and any unfair treatment or cruel practices become "necessary measures" for the survival of the company.
The worst corporate hierarchy-led stronghold of tyranny and backward thinking that I ever worked for was the United States Coast Guard.
I've got a book's worth of writing to do on them so I'll just say that I survived four years of a waking nightmare and wouldn't wish the same treatment on my worst enemy (if I had one.)
I'm truly surprised at how happy I am working part time at a gift shop.
The job is close to my home and my son's preschool and the people who come in are lovely to talk to.
I really like the woman I work for. She treats me like a human being and lets me do creative displays in the store.
I would very much like to go to law school in a few years when the baby is older. I want to help people find justice without some corporate policy getting in the way.
For now though, it's really nice to be in the comfortable world of home decor and scented candles.
huff huff!
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