Friends who say they "easy" jobs

[sheworkshardforthemoney]

3 separate friends have said to me this week that they want b and m/ supermarket jobs.

I have never worked in retail but do work as (low paid) manager in a position to hire staff at minimum wage positions (skills needed)

AIBU to think these friends are disrespectful to think that they could easily do these jobs/ be hired?

I think tbh they were just saying it in a half hearted way. But I've heard it before from friends with careers in management/ finance/ HR.
They think minimum wage jobs are easy work/ easy to get and stress free!

If they applied for a vacancy with me they wouldn't get hired! I look for CV's with job history where I know they've had to 'graft' turn in everyday and perform. It's bloody hard work!!

Stick to your office jobs! Minimum wage=maximum effort! Worked to the bone! No spare minutes in the day! True for my site anyway!

I've worked in retail, and I found dealing with rude/drunk/high/scary customers very unpleasant.

I've worked in an office role, and I found the office politics and bitching very unpleasant.

I like my job driving buses, but I get anxiety about accidently killing someone. People step out in the road in front of my bus every day, and I have to react quickly on the brakes.

"Easiest" job I had was cleaning. Just left to it, no shitty customers, no shitty work colleagues, and not much chance of accidentally killing a human being.

As a student, I worked in a factory, in retail and as a waitress. Compared to the professional jobs I’ve had, those jobs were easy and low stress. Mostly repetitive, straightforward and could be very well done after a big night out and 4h of sleep.

Retail can be really rewarding too. Plenty of people I used to work with just went through the motions every shift but I always found that if I engaged with the challenge of making sure as many customers left the shop with exactly what they came in for, ideally plus something else then I enjoyed it a lot more.

Utter snobbery. It is bloody hard work in retail. I work in an office now and it is a million times easier.

I'd encourage them to go for it so they can see for themselves.

I think they probably mean easy as in you don’t take them hime with you.

And I tend to agree a bit. I like my minimum wage job precisely because I can turn up, do my shift, leave and forget about it. And part time too! It’s the dream!

The pay off of course is that pretty much every single one of my friends earns more than me.

It depends how you define easy.

Supermarket work is generally physically demanding but it's the kind of job you can switch off from as soon as you clock out. Management is more mentally stressful as you tend to have to deal with everyone's worries (and your own) and you often have to work late, start early and take work home with you as well, but there's rarely a physical aspect to it.

Given the choice between supermarket work and management, I'd go for supermarket work every time. There's a lot to be said for a job where you just clock in, work, clock out and forget about it until the next day.

Well when I worked for the the min wage, I worked very hard and it was highly depressing and difficult, I worked for a charity.I don't know why you would imagine such jobs would be undemanding .Dealing with the public is never easy.
I find it insulting to say that people in minimum wages jobs don't have to use their brains.For heaven''s sakes!
I am now a lecturer in education. Also very difficult and still dealing with the public.

What do they mean by easy? If they mean there's no hard graft they are sorely mistaken. I've worked in multiple retail roles on my feet all day, with large workload and up against the clock. I very much expect that is harder graft (especially shelf stacking and stockroom/delivery work even more so than tills) than most office jobs. However, those roles have been the easiest by far intellectually than my current role or, to be fair, any I have had to date across different industries. I can see the draw of not having as much responsibility and being able to leave work at work too. Unlikely so in management but for sales assistant type roles very much so. You do your hours and get paid for them - sometimes work over a bit and don't - but then that is that. No major decisions being made. Not likely to cause someone to lose their home, their kids, take a massive financial hit or lose their life. Not making the sorts of decisions you spend nights agonising over on reflection. Not spending holiday after holiday working while the family are enjoying the first few days, taking calls and finishing up emails/pieces of work. That all could arguably make such a role easier. But those sorts of high level responsibility positions are worthwhile in other ways - yes little sleep, alot of stress and interference in social life but usually better pay and more of a scale for progression.

The key behind a minimum wage retail job is you get to walk away at the end of the day... every day... The peace of mind that gives you should not be underestimated.

@Isthisannoying

Also not only do you get paid fuck all fro grafting your arse off you often are treated like shit. Think rude managers and customers crappy rules and working conditions.

Yep

It depends on what kind of retail job. I had one in a fancy clothes shop that was generally quite quiet - it was my easiest job ever, whereas my housemate worked incredibly hard in a fast food outlet.

I also think people don’t realise the difference between someone who just does the actions of their MW job, and the person who is actually bloody good at it.

Though I find they’re quick to criticise if a person isn’t as good as they think they should be.

I don't so much think its about stress as much as naybe responsibility. Some jobs come with alot of responsibility which leads to stress which is a different stress that a supermarket worker would have.
I dont think its necessarily about skill or income

What does easy mean? I've never really had a job that was HARD. I guess my current job is MORE work because I have tight deadlines, but the work itself is still fairly easy, because I'm trained in it and have many years of experience.

When I was younger I worked in retail and on the checkout at a supermarket. Both were pretty easy tbf, and at least I had no deadlines to work to, but they were also both mind-numbingly boring, so in that sense, they weren't easy. Scanning items and taking payment is a piece of piss. But the time used to pass so bloody slowly.

You’re being quite judgmental of your friends, too.

Different jobs are taxing/difficult in different ways.

They might mean intellectually easy which is fair enough.

Expecting people to ‘graft’ as much as you’re implying for minimum wage is a pretty poor show anyway.

You sound quite jealous of their office jobs!

@Tiredforfive45

How do you work your arse off in a supermarket job?

Ok, some roles might be quite physical but they’re hardly emotionally or intellectually draining, are they? (I have worked in Tesco on the photo developing and kiosk and customer service desk for 4 years through uni).

I think your attitude of it being ok for minimum wage jobs to work people to the bone is the wrong one tbh.

To be fair it is possible to work arse off in supermarkets. I have done it. Its always what you make of it. Im not sure in hindsight why I did as so many did the minimum but if you take pride in your work you push yourself. You can work your arse off without something being intellectually draining btw. It's quite condescending to suggest that you can't.

Surely most people in those professional roles have also done retail/pub/waiting staff jobs too, though. I know very few people who haven't done a minimum wage job.

I'm with @happylittlechick sorry 😐
I have worked in retail and it wasn't exactly challenging nor rocket science. Yeah I was tired,but there's different types of tiredness to be honest. The job I have now isn't physically tiring but it is mentally tiring, it's stressful at times (audits, deadlines,performance based pay etc etc) and ultimately my job plays with peoples lives. Everything around me in my workplace represents A LOT of money! We're talking millions! So yeah...in comparison B&M would be a walk in the park.

The only easy retail job I've had is when I worked in a cinema on box office.

Pretty sure out of an 8 hour shift I only actually worked for 2 at a push. The rest was standing around and chatting.

Loved it though. Would do it again part time if I didn't have my DD (used to do it part time alongside a full time job).

I've done both.

Currently I work in an office. I hate it. I've gone from crappy office job to crappy office job always hoping that the next one will be better. They never are.

I really enjoyed my jobs in M&S and in bars. I'd love to go back to doing them and thinking once everything is over I might try, but after reading the original OP I might not as well now.

Oh well only another 30 or so years till retirement. I fucking hate office work, but its all I can do now.

I've done both and it's a different kind of 'hard work'.

Minimum wage retail and hospitality you're dealing with the general public and how fucking rude and awful they can be. You're often working zero hours contracts with little job security. Often on your feet all day with some awful manager yelling at you. No breaks, no perks, no expenses, no thanks, no recognition.

In a well paid office job you can take half an hour out to do whatever you want without asking permission, you can work different hours or often remotely and manage your own time. Usually have sick pay, free parking and other perks. But often you're responsible for a lot of people and decisions you make can directly affect the business and whether people have jobs or not. Large salaries are often paid for risk management and that's a huge mental load. Easy to think god I wish I had a job I could just clock off and not think about it.

@nestisflown

They’re are rude to call them easy but I’ve worked both- min wage jobs from 14 and through uni as had to support myself to pay rent. The responsibility was definitely less. When my shift ended my mental load for the job ended.

I think the hardest phase of work for me was training to be a solicitor and as a junior lawyer. Lots of responsibility but not enough for flexibility, long hours (9-8pm was a good day), glued to your work phone outside of work, called into the office at weekends, holidays, cancelled social engagements, constant pressure to perform, belittling, being shouted at to the point of tears, little respect, sexism and sexual harassment on multiple occasions. They pay was decent though. So sometimes I would wish to have my retail jobs again as they definitely felt “easier” - at least emotionally and in terms of work life balance.

I have heard this from friends.

Before and during uni I have done retail, waiting and bar work and also factory work. They are easy mind wise but still work physically. Retail, waiting and bar work was very busy and you had to be "on" for the customers. Factory work was physically busy but not mentally. All those roles though you did finish your shift and that was it.

Perhaps your friends are saying they want mentally easier work as when you have a mentally challenging job with lots of responsibility, problem solving, stakeholder management, project management etc etc you can finish the day feeling totally zonked, but it may stay in your mind well beyond the end of the day. I doubt they are actually suggesting that those roles are of less importance,.just want something you can turn off at the end of the day, less weight on their shoulders.

An ex colleague took early retirement from teaching And used to do odd days supply. Last year she got a Retail job instead and loved it. Significantly easier.

I did it the other way round. Worked Behind bars, waitressing, newsagent, bakery, toy shop, clothes shops whilst studying, even had a low-level managing role in retail on my year out between degree and post grad. Since then, worked in a couple of different sectors, but mostly teaching. Retail is most certainly easier.

Ive never had a job where I get to sit down though.

Th y might be ignorant of the ways in which retail / supermarket jobs are hard, bit you sound quite condescending and dismissive yourself op of "office jobs*