I had a job this summer. For 30 days, I was an English-speaking waitress who worked in a buffet restaurant on the island of Sardinia, Italy. Here are the reasons I quit my job.
Top 13 Reasons I Quit the Italian Job
by
13. Being belittled by an angry co-worker in front of 10 other co-workers because I forgot a cappuccino, on my second shift.
12. Being docked €5.00 a day to eat prepared meals in the staff dining-lounge, even if you choose not to eat with your angry co-worker(s).
11. The corns and calluses were growing on my feet faster than a speeding jet.
10. Working for 5 hours then sleeping for 5 hours – rinse and repeat twice a day, is no easy lifestyle.
9. Losing 12 pounds off my bones in 21 days is a sickly sight. And I ate like a horse – which is pretty usual for me.
8. Finding out that my co-workers’ rent is paid for the 5-6 six months of employment was utterly shocking! No one offered to pay my mortgage – why?
7. Seeing co-workers bringing in their laundry to be laundered by the hotel – for free. (My laundry basket runneth over.)
6. Button down shirts with a fancy necktie and long black pants should be banned, anywhere where the temperature rests on boiling.
5. Working 4.5 hours on a scheduled day off – is not a day off.
4. No over-time pay – say what?!
3. Management asking for English translations on all menus – without pay!
2. Being told to speak only in English when conversing with co-workers. Wait a minute – I thought I was in Italy, the only Italian speaking country in the world. Hey Dorothy – can I borrow your sparkly red shoes?
1. Working 4.5 hours in the morning + 4.5 hours in the evening = does not equal the 6.4 hours which is clearly stated in my contract.
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Oh my goodness, that’s awful! I can’t even imagine! Glad you quit!
I suppose there are no official avenues to invite to look into management’s little staff exploitation practices? If there are, an invitation is overdue.
Sure there is. But I haven’t the need to be tied up with Italian bureaucracy for years to come.
Always a tricky one. Management have a great need to be tied up with it, or they will simply continue their merry exploitive ways …
They can continue on their merry exploitive ways, for I have no interest in tying up my time with this.
I am convinced….. This is definitely not easy…
It’s not easy, but I alone cannot change a system which has been in place for centuries. I can only do what’s best for me morally and mentally.
Trust me i know exactly what you mean….. At the end, our mental health is the most important…..!
#1 and # 5 are intolerable, #3, #4 and #10 are unacceptable. The remaining points are very irritating.
Hang in there, Jennifer. Better things are coming your way. 🙂
Thank you Richert.
Not easy to mix in with the locals…;-)
Oh, after 5 years that’s the easy part. Just finding a respectful job is not that easy.
Love the comment by Joseph Murru…anyway, you only needed one of those reasons to quit. I am sure you will create work for yourself, so much injustice here and as usual it’s more important who you know than wht your level of competence is…best of luck.
Number 13 I just brushed it off, I’ve been in this line of work too long to care about my co-workers rants. Number 12 kinda rubbed me the wrong way – until I brought home take-away for my husband! snap! 5,4 and 1 should all be number 1. Thank you for the continued support! 🙂
…perhaps next time round you should let them know that you are Canadian by birth but your grandparents are from the Central Sardinia mountainous area (i.e. Orgosolo) catch phrase: “…. like my grandpa has a collection of sawn-off shotguns and he’s giving me lessons over the week-ends” 🙂
LOL! I’m often mistaken for an Italian … until I open my mouth to speak! 🙂
I think #13, #12, #5, #4 AND #1 could all be a number 1!!! Hang in there and hopefully you’ll find a nice job… 🙂