Working in a restaurant, I am continually faced with people brandishing huge amounts of money. First, I wonder why on Earth they carry so much on them in cash! Secondly, I wonder how long it took them to earn it.
When I think about the amount of effort I put in each hour at work, it's so incredibly disproportionate to the £6.08 of minimum wage I receive in return. It's a bit of a sore topic actually! I mean what's the cut off point? Would we be happy working for £3 an hour? What about the outrageous £2.60 an hour for an apprentice?
I normally start work very early. A typical shift for me is 5am - 2pm. When this was first suggested to me, I was shocked! I was a typical student – get up late and go to bed VERY late! Now I'm used to the shift pattern I actually much prefer it. I have most of the day left to get stuff done! Another type of shift pattern at work is 11am-7pm. I've worked this a few times, but I find the pay even less of a compensation than normal, simply because you're wasting an entire day at work, not just a morning!
The customers at work are happy blowing £5 on a meal, so how long did it take them to earn it? It's dangerous to my budget, because I start following the consumerist ideas of “I deserve it” and begin spending more erratically again! I find myself wanting meals out, cinema trips, nights on the town, just because I've “earned it”! I need to remember what I'm earning is financial stability for my future!
My time is worth a lot more to me than £6.08 an hour. Unfortunately this year, that's just the way it's gotta be!
What about you? How much do you think you're worth? ;)
4 comments:
You are also young and youthful.
You need to make sure you also have play/fun money in your budget so you can treat yourself and act your age and make/hang with friends :-)
Don't be too stingy in your youth. Those early years are fun and need to be used for god times.
I myself partied too hard and NEVER saved anything. If I'd saved just a little each day I would have had a tidy sum now. But I don't regret the FUN one bit. They are some of my best memories!
What is my time worth !? All the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, what else is there?
I would love to work from 5-2. That would be awesome. I'd get used to getting up that early and I could get things done in the afternoon. WIN.
I was in a similar situation last year, but with the difference that it looked like I would be losing my job and felt completely helpless and incapable of action. Finally after 6mths of a 3 day week I found myself on the dole.
In between, I found out what I should be earning as the average industrial wage and when I went for interviews, I asked for that as my starting pay. Sometimes it was declined, once with a well-versed list of reasons why "I wasn't actually worth that amount of money" and another where I was offered more than what I asked for. (bizzarely, both companies offered me a position...but you can guess which one I accepted!)
To come to the point, when you actively seek out better working conditions you will find that yes, some will try to pay you as little as they can get away with (you will begin to recognise them mid-interview) and that conversely there are the opposite who will pay a respectful wage. They do exist!
Post a Comment