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Hamsternoir t1_j92pyf2 wrote

Reply to comment by SpasmFingers in Judge rules family of Kroger employee who took his own life can proceed with lawsuit by lovingverbosity

Stand on? Don't they have chairs?

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butterfly_burps t1_j92qrjt wrote

There's this absurd, unfounded belief in the US that sitting down puts off the impression that you're lazy, and some retail businesses will fire you for taking a seat, no matter how long or short that seat is.

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TwoFrontHitters t1_j92t0ah wrote

I remember working in the oilfield in the US back in the early 90s. If you were seen sitting down you were fired. Must be in your feet all day, no matter what. When lunch time came it was more about resting your body than getting some calories. They'd call you "magnet ass" if you complained and wanted to sit.

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immalittlepiggy t1_j9408ik wrote

I stock shelves at a supermarket and have seen people get questioned for sitting on the floor to fix something on a bottom shelf. Still working, just doing it comfortably instead of kneeling on a concrete floor.

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Hamsternoir t1_j92sapv wrote

Is this a recent thing or has it always been this way?

I don't think I've ever seen it at larger supermarkets in the UK

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AvianLord t1_j92svil wrote

As far as I'm aware it's always been that way in the US

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Jd771 t1_j92u06s wrote

The only grocery store I've ever seen cashiers sitting down in the US is Aldi.

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FuzzyBacon t1_j92sfm5 wrote

That's how it was 15 years ago when I was bagging at one of their competitors.

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BeautifulType t1_j9461wd wrote

Doesn’t help that everything is designed at standing height but a high chair solves that

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Quarryman58 t1_j974fbm wrote

The managers at the warehouse I sometimes work at have this belief. We sometimes go there (we have three warehouses around the city) to help produce our products which literally has us standing in one position not moving unless to grab a small box a few feet away…and when we complained about no chairs (which the main warehouse we work at has), they said it would slow down production. I’m literally putting a product in a box and handing it down a line to get batched and put in master cases. I don’t move most of the time and they still want us to stand for the entirety of the day. Oh, but the managers can sit down just fine

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Junimo15 t1_j9phbk1 wrote

Yep, this is what gave me chronic plantar fasciitis that required me to have surgery in both feet 🙃

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PatacusX t1_j92sg1x wrote

As far as I know Aldi is one of the only chains in the US that let's cashiers sit. Makes sense since it's not a US company

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FCHansaRostock t1_j92w4vr wrote

In Germany, cashiers usually sit.. there are only very few exceptions and those have a reason for the cashier to be on his feet other than "look busy pal".

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docmedic t1_j92u754 wrote

I think Winco does as well, but it's been a while since I've shopped there.

Ethnic grocers don't have chairs, even if it’s the ethnic owner running the checkout, so it's not necessarily just a US thing.

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Cindexxx t1_j93swzv wrote

Some of them do. My local tiny place has a chair. They hardly speak English and they stand while checking you out, but then they just sit down and chill.

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CinemaAudioNovice t1_j933gth wrote

My mom worked for a grocery store for over 40 years, it wasn’t until major damage and doctors orders was she allowed to have a chair (which she had to provide) for the last 5 years. Not only that, but she was harassed for those 5 years by management, her chair was often lost, stolen, or mysteriously broken.

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Trance354 t1_j94c5o3 wrote

A woman in her late 60s was trying for the golden ratio of years worked in the union(Kroger subsidiary). There's a point where we were finding her things to do, other than check people out. She was so ... damn ... slow. She required a walker to get to her spot, and was the single slowest checker we had. I mean, I get trying to get to retirement with the most work credit so your union stipend is liveable, but killing yourself to get there defeats the purpose.

We had another, a cart wrangler, who also was hitting retirement age. She was running her body ragged to complete her 20 years. Yes, you get less if you are not in that "golden ratio," but you also are less likely to be found half-eaten by your cats when the firefighters do a wellness check, after you miss 2 days' work. Her attendance record was spotless before that, so something was wrong.

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evanwilliams44 t1_j95bp2h wrote

We had an employee like that. When I started she was 72 and a machine, but 10 years later was really struggling and would not quit. It got dangerous because we work with hot food and her knee would give out randomly. I was afraid she would fall or spill something on herself. She did eventually quit but is now struggling financially. She really needed the money I guess.

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ComplaintExcellent89 t1_j93kskw wrote

Most grocery stores do not allow employees to sit. Some employees like assistant managers work 10 plus hours

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