Random Thoughts, strictly Text

What would be your response in the case where the necessities of survival were the driving force of the peasants taking such an unfair situation in their work lives? How would you respond if they rather not lose their job instead of standing up for a more just system?

Well the waitresses have been complaining about it to me and a guy who works in the kitchen wants a contract because he has a kid and wants the security, all I would have to do is suggest they talk to management together.

I can’t be so involved I get upset and try to control people,I would end up being seen as a trouble maker. But I would definitely suggest they go as a group to talk to management.

About the 30 minutes break being docked from receptionists wages without getting one, it’s probably the company franchise policy and not the management. I would say management are responsible for having favouritism towards the older receptionist because he’s good friends with the manager, but the manager lady is actually really nice, so I’m guessing most of this dysfunction comes from the corporation.

I don’t want to take it personally but I hate inequality, favouritism and dysfunction. It’s made me decide I’m only going to stay a few months to get the relevant experience before applying for another job. (And before leaving I’ll tell them the reason why and possibly write to the holiday inn as well).

Ukpoohbear said:

Thank you David, that really helped clarify what is happening and now I can see more clearly the kind of characters people are playing in response to that.

Of course, I am on the side of the peasants. I have a contract and the restaurant people are on the dreaded ‘zero hour contract’ and have been complaining about it. There’s even a fellow receptionist who is an older man in his 50s on a salary and not a contract and even requested a pay rise, even though he already gets paid more than us other receptionists, and he doesn’t get his wages docked for a 30 minute break like we do.

Basically I’m going to encourage the ‘peasants’ to stand up as a group, and the male receptionist, I can see through him now. Can you believe he wouldn’t look me in the eye because he was told I didn’t like his racist jokes! Talk about not seeing passed your own nose.

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So... the guy asked for a pay increase and got it. Are you sure your antagonism towards him was because of his decision to ask for more money, or is it because of "personal" reasons (like not liking his jokes)?

Does him getting payed more somehow affect you?

Dirius said:

So... the guy asked for a pay increase and got it. Are you sure your antagonism towards him was because of his decision to ask for more money, or is it because of "personal" reasons (like not liking his jokes)?

Does him getting payed more somehow affect you?

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He didn’t actually get the pay rise, he didn’t want to take a management role because you don’t get paid for over time but he still requested a pay rise. My antagonism is that he is doing the exact same job as us other receptionist except he’s on a salary and gets paid more and we are on a contract. The antagonism started because I found out from the receptionist my wages gets half an hour taken off for a break we don’t get, then finding out he’s on a higher wage as well. He’s also not been overly friendly with me because he’s very black and white and stupid.

david starling said:

It's rooted in Feudalism, so the bosses are in a "royal" hierarchy and the people doing the actual work are the "peasants".

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Bosses are also peasants but most of them don't realize that, being blinded by small privileges.

Ukpoohbear said:

He didn’t actually get the pay rise, he didn’t want to take a management role because you don’t get paid for over time but he still requested a pay rise. My antagonism is that he is doing the exact same job as us other receptionist except he’s on a salary and gets paid more and we are on a contract. The antagonism started because I found out from the receptionist my wages gets half an hour taken off for a break we don’t get, then finding out he’s on a higher wage as well. He’s also not been overly friendly with me because he’s very black and white and stupid.

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But why shouldn't he get paid more? Contracts are usually negotiated individually, at least in my country they are. If he was able to secure a higher salary and better benefits, why the antagonism towards him?

I mean, the personal stuff I get it. But there is nothign wrong with him having secured better payment.

Ukpoohbear said:

Thank you David, that really helped clarify what is happening and now I can see more clearly the kind of characters people are playing in response to that.

Of course, I am on the side of the peasants. I have a contract and the restaurant people are on the dreaded ‘zero hour contract’ and have been complaining about it. There’s even a fellow receptionist who is an older man in his 50s on a salary and not a contract and even requested a pay rise, even though he already gets paid more than us other receptionists, and he doesn’t get his wages docked for a 30 minute break like we do.

Basically I’m going to encourage the ‘peasants’ to stand up as a group, and the male receptionist, I can see through him now. Can you believe he wouldn’t look me in the eye because he was told I didn’t like his racist jokes! Talk about not seeing passed your own nose.

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A lot of my business professors are researchers and have mentioned to me that some of their peer-reviewed research has indicated the gender pay gap has to do with different communication styles between the genders. For instance, males are more likely to ask for a raise and articulate a forthright argument, approaching salary offers as negotiable. Women often don't. Just a thought, as a woman entering the corporate world.

Ukpoohbear said:

He didn’t actually get the pay rise, he didn’t want to take a management role because you don’t get paid for over time but he still requested a pay rise. My antagonism is that he is doing the exact same job as us other receptionist except he’s on a salary and gets paid more and we are on a contract. The antagonism started because I found out from the receptionist my wages gets half an hour taken off for a break we don’t get, then finding out he’s on a higher wage as well. He’s also not been overly friendly with me because he’s very black and white and stupid.

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Further, in my employment law class in the US, we learned that it is illegal not to compensate employees for time spent within the scope of the job duties. In other words, in the US, the organization would be liable for failure to compensate employees who work through their breaks. Further, full-time is considered 40 hours a week and the law generally requires benefits to be given at that mark. There are some exceptions, but that is the general rule. Maybe you should look into the federal law over there.

I should mention that instigating a collective 'fight against injustice' can have a lot of ugly consequences. For instance, even though there are protection laws for whistle blowers, most lose their job or are forced out of their organizations, black-listed into never getting a job in that field again. Unless it's a huge issue where you can go to the press and garner public support outside of your organization, chances are nothing good will come of it for you personally. That's my assessment. In the corporate world, everyone is replaceable. At least that's what I see.

Dirius said:

But why shouldn't he get paid more? Contracts are usually negotiated individually, at least in my country they are. If he was able to secure a higher salary and better benefits, why the antagonism towards him?

I mean, the personal stuff I get it. But there is nothign wrong with him having secured better payment.

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Ok yes I see your point. So the antagonism started when I realised I do 8 hour shifts but only get paid for 7.5 hours. But yeah, I don’t want to start acting jealous or bitter towards anyone.

moonkat235 said:

A lot of my business professors are researchers and have mentioned to me that some of their peer-reviewed research has indicated the gender pay gap has to do with different communication styles between the genders. For instance, males are more likely to ask for a raise and articulate a forthright argument, approaching salary offers as negotiable. Women often don't. Just a thought, as a woman entering the corporate world.

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What are you aiming to do in the corporate world?

I definitely see that point that it’s not necessarily sexism but being more assertive that gets you the differences. Although I think is women are still programmed to be ‘nice’ and man are programmed to be assertive. There will be exceptions too obviously.

passiflora said:

That’s weird Ukpoohbear - I thought UK labor law had more protections than US law? Hospitality is a notoriously tough industry.
There’s definitely nothing wrong with someone who has seniority making more or being treated a little differently than someone who just started working! I would want the same.

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Hm well I’ve noticed since the recession that everything has got a lot more unstable and businesses are taking shortcuts, especially with these zero hour contracts. It’s illegal for us to work more than 4 hours without a break which is why our wages are cut for it, so really the business is just profiting from the law and we are losing out, without getting a break.

I get the male receptionist is older but he’s not in any other seniority than us, he turned down a managers role and apparently is only on a salary because he’s good friends with the manager. He’s only worked here for four years which isn’t overly long but if I stay for two years, I would be start requesting a salary for myself.

But Moonkat is right about there being repercussions for causing or antagonising an uprising lol it was good to talk about this and get some perspective and just be mindful of how I come across.

Im finding this hotel a lot more pleasant than the last one I was at. Less toxic and the people are friendlier. I’ve had some tough jobs so I think it’s a welcome relief, but it’s only the beginning.

Actually, the ups and downs I’ve been involved in from this forum have helped show me that situations change and you should stick at it, one week I could have a thread named after me and the week before be persona non grata

Ukpoohbear said:

I don’t actually do anything creative besides the writing for my core and I attended a creative writing group for my town for a few weeks. I would really wanna start painting though, like James Brown style, basically I always say my hobby is thinking or day dreaming and I love dreams in general. I would love to create a fantasy Piscean world on paint. And normally my writing is whimsical or romantic, and sad too. I like tragedy and fairies and mermaid and trees.

Did you teach yourself how to draw?

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Your last poem was rather dark and philosophical to me. I don't know if that's an exception to your style, but the poem was only whimsical at the first part


And yeah, a lot of people ask me if I came from some sort of art school. You are the first one to ask if I self-taught. I did self-taught. The idea came during those boring lectures at college when I just wanted to keep myself from sleeping. Then I got serious and voila

david starling said:

Females of the Sign can be very disruptive on a psychic level. But it's not their fault.
I thrive on Cancerian energy during that Solar month.

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The reason I asked is because I feel that beside the emotional capacity, Pisces and Cancer don't seem to have much in common. Cancer is more grounded in the material world while Pisces is more spiritual. Cancer can be very kind thanks to their connection to the real world, while Pisces can become really cruel if they think the real world is not worth their time.


How about Scorpio? Do you feel anything during a Scorpio transit?

conspiracy theorist said:

What do you know about autism?

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My knowledge is more restricted to the realm of high-function autism or Asperger's. The key feature that distinguish a HFA and a normal person is the inability to "connect". Say you are in a social setting and you are among people you don't know. You know how to keep a conversation going like choosing an appropriate topic based on the context of your setting. A HFA will just jump into the topic of their "special interest" like their fixation for race cars, regardless of whether the person likes it or not. This inability to connect prevent them from performing social tasks and "read between the line", i.e. taking jokes literally. And much of the time because HFA can't connect to people (and due to bullying), they are more interested in their own inner world, prefer to take time to develop their talent and live their own world than socializing. I can see a lot of Capricorn and Pisces elements here.


There could be more to autism that I don't know. I heard stories of severe autistic children who couldn't use the toilet at the age of 6. Is that really autism or some severe mental retardation being confused with autism? Idk

Ukpoohbear said:

I definitely see that point that it’s not necessarily sexism but being more assertive that gets you the differences. Although I think is women are still programmed to be ‘nice’ and man are programmed to be assertive. There will be exceptions too obviously.

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Are you the "nice" one or the exception? I guess in countries like the UK or US it would be less jarring to see a woman being assertive than in Asia. I'm a rebellious person at heart, but it's still pretty hard for me to have some real talk to my boss, especially when it's about some suggestions. It also depends a lot on your boss too, whether they are willing to hear you out or stuck in some superiority complex.

Gemini888 said:

My knowledge is more restricted to the realm of high-function autism or Asperger's. The key feature that distinguish a HFA and a normal person is the inability to "connect". Say you are in a social setting and you are among people you don't know. You know how to keep a conversation going like choosing an appropriate topic based on the context of your setting. A HFA will just jump into the topic of their "special interest" like their fixation for race cars, regardless of whether the person likes it or not. This inability to connect prevent them from performing social tasks and "read between the line", i.e. taking jokes literally. And much of the time because HFA can't connect to people (and due to bullying), they are more interested in their own inner world, prefer to take time to develop their talent and live their own world than socializing. I can see a lot of Capricorn and Pisces elements here.


There could be more to autism that I don't know. I heard stories of severe autistic children who couldn't use the toilet at the age of 6. Is that really autism or some severe mental retardation being confused with autism? Idk

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I asked because it is not possible to set aside autism when looking at an individual who has it, since it is such an integral part of who they are. Autism is a developmental disorder that starts to show itself in the toddler years of an individual. HFA and more severe forms of autism show differences in terms of speech and intellectual ability, and then even the differences aren't settled since research is still ongoing on the matter https://otsimo.com/en/understanding-difference-asperger-autism/

I have experience with autistic people with my brother being one as well as others who I have had contact with as a result of him (he has no Capricorn or Pisces in his chart). The outcomes are variable, but yes, some aren't toilet trained well into their adult years.

There have been studies done linking gastrointestinal issues with Autism.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321566.php

Gemini888 said:

Your last poem was rather dark and philosophical to me. I don't know if that's an exception to your style, but the poem was only whimsical at the first part


And yeah, a lot of people ask me if I came from some sort of art school. You are the first one to ask if I self-taught. I did self-taught. The idea came during those boring lectures at college when I just wanted to keep myself from sleeping. Then I got serious and voila

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Thanks for the feedback on my poem, I’m glad it came across more dark Han whimsical, I guess I’m growing up I wrote a short story about Marilyn Monroe that’s pretty dark too, it needs polishing but I’ll post it on the forum once I’ve done it!

I guessed you were self taught just because I know you’ve studied English and not art. But you’re a natural, I couldn’t just go and do that. It must be all that yummy Taurus in you! Plus the music on your video is amazing, I could listen to that all evening.

I was actually hoping to catch a glimpse of you in your video but alas it was not to be

Gemini888 said:

Are you the "nice" one or the exception? I guess in countries like the UK or US it would be less jarring to see a woman being assertive than in Asia. I'm a rebellious person at heart, but it's still pretty hard for me to have some real talk to my boss, especially when it's about some suggestions. It also depends a lot on your boss too, whether they are willing to hear you out or stuck in some superiority complex.

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I’m both lol. I come across nice which makes people shocked when they see my fiery side, but I don’t play games and I’m not vindictive, so I’m not really dark at all, just expressive.

I’m still at work and about an hour ago I had too many things buzzing in my head and two waitresses spouting information at me that was going no where. I didn’t snap but I said ‘I can’t take anymore information’ but the 2nd waitress carried on explaining and I just said ‘bleh bleh bleh that’s all I’m hearing’and walked away and she was pretty a-taken back, although I apologised 5 mins later and made an effort with her, but she’s still a bit sensitive about it lol. That was nothing to be fair but I feel shameful and guilty easily about my outbursts.