Woman lauded for standing up for herself at work, quitting her minimum wage job on day 1

A toxic workplace is the last place you ever want to be. It causes stress and anxiety, decreasing productivity and morale. It also stunts an employee's career development. Therefore, it is essential to recognize some of these red flags at work that could potentially hamper your well-being. It can be exhausting to work back-to-back without breaks or have additional work for the same pay. It can make a person question their worth and feel self-conflicted. TikTok user Croissantwoman recognized the red flags on the first day at a job. She suspected that her new workplace was going to be toxic.

“Today I quit my job the same day that I started it”, she begins the video. “I started off this job, I’m a sales associate, I get paid minimum wage, which is really not a lot of money. But it’s minimum wage, and it’s a job. So I go in. This lady who was training me was very nice, she goes to open the door for me. And she talks, she starts explaining how to open up the store, how to turn off the alarm, she starts counting the till, telling me that this is my job - to count the till, check emails, send packages online, do a bunch of things, be able to like, work an entire system as a sales associate, return exchanges, all of it, which, unlike if you have worked as a sales associate before, you know, that’s not your job.”

She was confused after being assigned her tasks because those tasks are more suitable for a keyholder. Not to mention, the notoriously average pay for this amount of work including the no-break drill. She said, “Um, are you sure I’m just being a sales associate? ...I’m like, keyholder is the name, you’re giving me a set of keys for like, five of the stores in this area. So I can open the store, count the till. And be alone, taking care of the store. That is a keyholder position. It’s part of management. If you want me to do these things, it’s really not a problem. But you’re paying me minimum wage when I should be getting paid like at least one or dollar two more per hour for doing this.”

“So even with all of this, I’m still like, you know what, it’s a job, a job is a job”, the Tiktoker said, trying to somewhat comfort herself. “And I already know how to do all these things. So it’s not a big deal. But like, if they’re trying to rip me off, I know that what got me was no breaks. That means I work eight-hour shifts. And because I’m the only one in the store, the entire shift, I get no breaks. And it’s not just today, it’s for everybody. We don’t get breaks. I didn’t eat lunch today. Because then you need to warm up the food and eat it at the till, on the floor.” She was thinking of giving it a week but things didn't go as planned. 

“So I was like, you know what, it’s okay. It’s okay. And I’m just going through my day, and I get in the car. And I told myself like, give it a week because give it a week. You can’t just quit on the first day. I hate quitting. I’m not a quitter, okay? I just got in the car and I was like, I never want to come back. And it’s- no hate for this company. The company is nice. I guess. Everybody I met today was very nice. But how can you expect this out of me? Come on. It was just- how do these things even happen? ...They keep paying minimum wage. Minimum wage.”

It's important to ensure fair pay and a healthy work environment that recognizes employees' efforts. Only then can we pave the way for more equitable workplaces and societies and live more fulfilling lives.