My Teenage Son’s Job Experiences Help Me Understand Why There Are So Many Help Wanted Signs Out There
Businesses need to change the way they treat their employees
My son was sixteen when he got himself a job. He networked through friends and found out about a fast food business that needed employees. We found out why later.
Since he didn’t have a driver’s license, I took him to his interview. I carefully parked a good distance away because I didn’t want the manager to see a mother hovering around.
There was no danger of the manager seeing me because he never showed up even though he had set up the appointment. My son was disappointed. It was his first interview for his first job, and the manager didn’t even bother to come to work.
Later, the manager hired him over the phone, and my son began the job. He was the cook for this small hamburger establishment that did take-out and drive-in services only. It won’t take much imagination to figure out which one it was.
He often would not be allowed to leave when his shift ended because no one had shown up to replace him. He was allowed to work too many hours for a high school student. I would tell my son that it was illegal, and he would laugh and ask why he was allowed to do it then.
Well, the answer was because no one at this business cared about the law or their employees.
Then there was the night my son came home, and his face was burned from having hot grease splash up into his face. I wanted to demand that he quit the job, but I was trying to stay calm and let him decide for himself.
Not only was his face burned, but no one at his job site cared. There was no concern shown by his manager or paperwork filled out to document the incident.
A few days later, he quit. I was secretly glad. Then the manager talked my son into working there again because my son was doing a good job. This lasted for a few weeks until one day; my son walked off the job.
My husband and I were unhappy with him walking off the job, but we were glad that he didn’t work there anymore.
My son is a resourceful young man, and he has worked several jobs since that memorable first experience.
He got a job at a bar and grill. I wasn’t happy about him working in a bar, but it paid more than minimum wage. Things seemed to be going ok, but later I found out that he was expected to do the dirtiest of work while the other employees stood around talking. Then he told me that his boss was dealing drugs out the back door.
That job didn’t end well either, but I’m glad that he is gone from there. He also experienced the phenomenon of his teacher sitting there at the bar and drinking. It was an eye-opener for him.
Since then, he’s worked as a busboy. You may not be surprised to know that that gig didn’t last long. After that, he warned us not to eat at that establishment because of the roaches.
He worked at a convenience store cooking. Unfortunately, that job only lasted a couple of weeks and wasn’t a good experience at all. I never wanted him to work at a place that might be in danger of a robbery. Once again, I’m secretly glad it didn’t work out.
Currently, my son is working as a painter. He seems to like this job for now, but school will make it challenging to work regular hours.
When I was in high school, students were lucky to get a job at all, and when we got one, we stuck with it. At least, that’s the way that I remember things. Maybe it wasn’t that way at all and I’m like those “old people” who reminisce about how we did things better back in “the day.”
I want my son to work, but I don’t want him to be exposed to drug dealers or unsanitary conditions or be in danger of being hurt. The minimum wage being offered by most businesses isn’t worth it.
Hopefully, employers will take note and make some changes.