In-depth: Understaffed, overworked

“We are definitely understaffed. It stresses me out, especially as a dishwasher, because there’s usually two dishwashers per day. But if we don’t have one to open, it makes my job incredibly difficult. Sometimes I have to stay later to finish all of my dishes. I work five days a week, but [balancing school and work] doesn’t really hurt. I actually don’t like school very much, but I do like...

“We’ve got four managers and they’re all working 55 hours a week… we’re understaffed and other people have to make up for it. During the summer, [I worked] 45 [hours a week], sometimes a little more. Now, I work around 30 [hours a week]. It doesn’t really stress me out, because if I were at home, I wouldn’t be doing anything anyway; I’d just be watching Netflix or something. It’s on...

“I would say [my workplace is understaffed]. It’s almost entirely made up of KHS students. It’s frustrating because you don’t always leave at the time you were scheduled, [and sometimes] I request off but don’t get scheduled off. I told them I couldn’t work Sundays, and they scheduled me anyway. My Sundays used to be packed because I had church in the morning and then I would have a [double...

“I quit [my job] because they were scheduling me for really long days. It just kind of felt like my whole day was taken from me [when I worked], so I didn’t have time to work on homework or [play golf]. They always wanted you to be doing something, even when there was nothing to do, so you could never really take a break. In the summer, we had plenty of [employees], but most of the people that are...

“I don’t mind working, which is something I didn’t expect, because I thought I was going to hate it. I think we’re in a good place, and we’re hiring a lot of people. Sometimes when I’m there, there’s a lot more [employees] there than there are supposed to be, so people get sent home. Being 15, I’m not allowed to work past nine. [But, my workplace] stays open later— I’ve definitely...

“[This year,] I’d been contemplating quitting [my job] because I was balancing [KHS] Poms, being editor-in-chief of Pioneer, and taking four AP classes. But I was going to tough it out. November is a busy time for Poms, so I had to request off a decent amount of specific dates. Then, I got a text from my manager. He said, ‘Nobody is allowed to take off from November to December because we need all...

“[My workplace is] very much [understaffed]. There was a day when there were three of us serving 140 people and we were all running around— it probably looked funny. My job starts at 4 [p.m.] so I get home [from school] and have to change and be out the door by 3:45 [p.m.], and in a meeting within ten minutes. [I get home] around 8:30-9 [p.m.]. It’s a little bit [stressful], especially because...

“There was one day over the summer that I had to work an 11-hour shift, and it was really stressful because it was super rushed and we were understaffed. At the beginning of the school year, I was working around 35 hours a week. It wasn’t exactly by choice, but I didn’t say anything. I probably should’ve asked for less time. It caused me a lot of stress because I felt like I couldn’t handle...