There can be nothing worse than being unemployed, or at least that's what I thought until I experienced what was undoubtedly one of the worst jobs I've ever had and one that I hope never happens again. It's one of those experiences that leaves a mark on you and shows you the uncomfortable and difficult side of doing a specific job, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that this was something that marked a turning point in my working life. How did it all start?
It was a time when the economic crisis was at its peak, and job opportunities were few and far between. I spent a couple of months without finding anything decent that would allow me to cover my personal expenses, until a relative told me about a company that was looking for first-hand assistants. It was a company that manufactured car brakes, and when I got there, they told me that there were vacancies and that to apply for the job I had to bring my papers along with some medical exams. So far, so good, and then I went to sign my contract with them.
The arrangement was simple: a one-month contract that, depending on my performance, could lead to an even longer contract. I admit that at the time I felt I deserved more time to learn, but then the work itself and the time I spent there proved me right in not demanding more. My first day started off a bit strangely because, inexplicably, they didn't send me my personal safety equipment and then at noon they told me they had to deduct it from my first paycheck. The next thing was that the job itself was a whole process that could easily be done by more than one person, but according to company policies and guidelines, all that work could be done by a single worker.
Something they didn't specify at the beginning was the payment method, but I clearly remember that there was a blank space in my work schedule on Friday. I had practically the whole afternoon off, which I found quite strange. On the second day, human resources called me to give me some news: payment would be by check, which I would have to cash myself. When? On Friday afternoon, which meant leaving work on Friday to stand in line at the bank to collect the money for the week.
Within a couple of weeks, I was already feeling very stressed and overwhelmed with work, and to make matters worse, my supervisor was absent for a whole week, until one day the police came to the company looking for him for an alleged theft from a private entity. I barely knew his name and had only been working with him for a few days, yet they questioned me as if I were an accomplice or suspect. Needless to say, I spent the next two weeks working practically alone, with only the little guidance that person had given me.
Finally, the month that felt like a year to me came to an end, and with just a couple of days to go, I got a call from human resources. "We want to extend your contract," they said, but all I wanted was to get out of there as soon as possible. The most ironic thing was that they asked me why I didn't want to continue working with them, which I found a little funny, but I managed to hide it. I think it was the only time I've ever been happy to lose my job, and despite the difficult economic situation in the country, I didn't hesitate to leave and look for other options, feeling that it was better to be unemployed than to continue prolonging what had been my worst experience working for a company.
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