I still don't understand how they figure that a computer can generate a schedule when a human manager would really be the only one who can tell you when they need employees there, when they need extra, etc etc. Also, what genius decided 4-hour shifts made sense for anyone? I suppose it's nice to have a short shift, but how can anyone live on those kind of hours, and what's the point?

Idiocy.

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Guess it's the "Wal-Mart Way"... although Wal-Mart's "way" sucks moldy lemons!

If there were better opportunities for work in this area, I'd leap to them. No "loyalty" to them, it's just a paycheck, and any paycheck is better than none in this economy. Luckily, that 4 hour shift is just on that one day.

/does most shopping at other retailers and grocery stores

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the funny thing is, this economy won't last forever.

I hardly know anyone who has any loyalty to their employer. It seems like they forgot the late 1990s, when there were more job openings than people looking and the average person had the power. I made the same salary then that I do now, and I was still in college.

I got an offer the other day for a product/project manager position. They wanted someone with my level of experience and background (writer, editor, management, design, etc) and they wanted to pay $25,000 per year. I know in some places that's kind of reasonable, but up here? You can not live on it, unless you have 10 roommates -- and even then it wouldn't be easy if you needed a car or had bills outside of say, food.

They're trying to find someone who will take something over nothing, hoping to find someone against a wall whose unemployment has run out. In the long run, that will hurt them, since that employee will not be loyal, will not care, and ultimately, they'll be looking for someone else and have a less dedicated employee. Just to save a few thousand dollars.

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$25,000 would be above average for most residents here in northeast Louisiana... but then again, the whole state is a bit of a "poverty pocket"!

Course here, you can buy a three bedroom home on a half acre of land for around $140,000.

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Heh, yeah, see... a studio condo here is around $250,000, plus an average of $500 (per month) in common fees. A three-bedroom tends to go for around $750,000-$1,000,000+. For half an acre, you'd be looking at multiple millions, most likely.

It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. To do the kind of work I do, you really need to be in an area like this. But to be in this area, you need decent money. These companies have gotten greedy in the bad economy, unfortunately.

I mean, I told my fiance about the $25,000 job and he smirked and said, "why don't you just work at Starbucks, then? You'd make about the same money."


Edited at 2009-07-08 03:58 pm (UTC)

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