At some point before students graduate high school, they will likely get a job. Whether they are encouraged by parents, looking to connect with new people, trying to gain experience or simply working in the summer to fund their spending habits, no matter the circumstances, students can be unlucky when it comes to finding a job with an understanding boss.
You would think that bosses understand that their employees are students with school, sports and hobbies already on their plate and not everything will run smoothly, but you would be overwhelmingly wrong. Junior Joy Nadda said she had a boss who explicitly mentioned in their interview that her goal was to talk and treat her employees like adults. “My boss was very manipulative and would always gaslight her employees. She had the worst communication skills and then when something wasn’t done exactly the way she wanted it to be done, she would blame it on you and make you think that it was her fault. To me it seemed like she expected us to already know what she was thinking without having explained it and I was blamed many times for things that could have been avoided had she taken her time and used her words,” Nadda said.
Senior Leila Castro had a similar experience working for a boss who was consistently passive-aggressive, rude, unapproachable, degrading and controlling. “She paid us way below minimum wage and never paid us on time. There was one time when a customer was trying to shop for his daughter and so he asked my coworker to try on some clothes. Being 15, she wasn’t sure what to do so she decided to help the man and try on the clothes. I was on the other side of the store checking other customers out and didn’t know what was happening. When my boss found out what happened she got mad, not because of the way the customer acted but because I wasn’t aware of what happened and wasn’t able to help. She blamed me and then also my coworker for not trying on the clothes,” Castro said.
Bosses have businesses to run that they put their full effort into but when they decide to accept applications from teenagers, they have to understand that they require more flexibility. “My boss was incredibly cheap. She wouldn’t hire anyone over the age of 18 so she didn’t have to pay us minimum wage. She also paid different employees different wages and gave longer hours to those who earned less. She always discouraged talks about pay but everyone knew what she was doing,” a student who wishes to remain anonymous said.
Students may get lucky with their work experiences. “I worked there just for the summer and my boss was super great and friendly. One time, I was really upset and he pulled me aside to talk about how I feel and made me feel so much better,” Schwartz said.
While there are rare cases where students get lucky and work a job with a wonderful environment and boss, it is unlikely. This introduces a toxic expectation that will only lower excitement as students graduate and work to go into the fields that interest them.
