In the US, the amount of people with student debt is the highest it has ever been. Those in their twenties come out of university equipped with a degree, or a diploma, but little opportunity to pay it off. This is why so many have to take up work while they are studying, which could jeopardize their education. One barista, who works at Starbucks, has uploaded a video of themselves crying in the backroom after being scheduled to work an eight-hour shift over a weekend. This has left the internet divided in opinion.
Overworked at Starbucks
Everyone has a different idea of a productive schedule, which often leads to disagreements. This is reflected in a recently posted video by a barista at a Starbucks branch. He was scheduled to work an eight-hour shift over the weekend after a 25-hour work week.
In some cases, this wouldn’t seem abnormal, and they would leap at the chance to get as many hours in. But, in this employee’s case, it is too much to handle and he is calling for Starbucks to unionize. “People wonder why we need a union at Starbucks. I am literally about to quit. I’m crying in the back room right now,” he said in the now-viral video.
Not only was he expected to work these long hours, but his manager did not consider that he is a full-time student on top of it all. Most students in today’s age are left with no choice but to work. Otherwise, they will be unable to make their monthly installments on their student loans. If they want to graduate, this is the norm.
However, this barista is not coping with the amount of work on top of their studies. “I am a full-time student. I get scheduled for 25 hours a week. then, on weekends they schedule me for the entire day, open to close. That one’s scheduled for eight and half hours, both Saturday and Sunday.”
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Never present manager and misgendered by rude customers
As if the hours were not enough, the barista went on to talk about their manager’s work ethic and the rudeness of the customers they have to serve every day. Being trans, he may or may not be used to being misgendered. But, this employee is working at a high level of exhaustion, which is easily overwhelming when they pair that with rude customers who call him “her.”
A customer was getting impatient when the overworked Starbucks barista did not have their order ready. They said, “She’s clearly incompetent.” This infuriated the barista even more, and he pointed out the fact that he has facial hair.
In the video, the upset employee spoke about how understaffed they are. The manager only has 13 employees. However, on that particular weekend shift, they only scheduled five to come in, and one pulled out last minute, so there were four employees manning the store. To top it all off, the manager had originally been scheduled too.
But they changed it thinking no one would notice – or so the barista says. He said, “Our manager was supposed to come in this weekend, he took himself off the schedule so he wouldn’t be held accountable for calling out. He just tore out the schedule he was scheduled on, and put up a new one.”
Starbucks needs a union
The overwhelmed barista concluded her recording by saying they need a union to ensure fair scheduling. “We need a union because this can’t happen,” said the barista. “This can’t happen. We need fair scheduling and we need managers who hold themselves accountable for helping. They refuse to turn mobile orders off, and we need the liberty to be able to do that because there are so many orders, and I can’t get through them all of them. And then, people are yelling at me when I don’t have the orders ready. I don’t know what to do.“
Internet divided in opinion
A lot of the comments from older generations compared their youth to this overwhelmed barista at Starbucks. One person commented saying: “Do I have any sympathy for this young spoiled kid? No. At 17 I was overseas with an M-16. 12 days or around the clock. Bad food, bad weather, dangerous conditions. Some of the best times I can remember, and friendships that last a lifetime. Grow up kid.”
Then, there were other comments showing their mutual agreement and support. One person said: “People in the comments like ‘I’m a nurse and I work 16-hour shifts, suck it up.’ Yeah, maybe ya’ll should stop being so f*****g tortured. you do not get a brownie point for s******g on someone who is clearly exhausted, underpaid, overwhelmed, and expressing that.”
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Sources
- “Starbucks Employee Breaks Down In Tears After They’re Scheduled To Work 8 Hours.” Bored Panda. Rokas Laurinavičius and Austėja Akavickaitė. December 1, 2022.
- “Starbucks Employee Mocked For Complaining About Working 8 Hours” Rare.us. December 1, 2022.