15 dolla make u holla (in despair)

[flow4areasonuno]

The good news is that I'm falling into a decent evening routine. The turnover is good for those of us remaining, I'm getting more hours than I have in months. Reshop, remaining push, more reshop, then auditing at the end.

I'm pretty much alone all day (regarding coworkers/managers, until breaktime anyway) unless I need help with something.

 

[GozerZuul]

The frustrating thing about that is there are a lot of people especially people with disabilities who want full time jobs but who can only get jobs in places like Target.
They need to make a living but are under employed and not being paid jack.
They need that $15.00 an hour.
We have people who are high functioning autism, who have gone to college but can't get past the interview stage and wind up with jobs well below what they have the skills for.
The unemployment rate for people with autism and a college education is 80%, so the idea of 'bettering yourself to move up is just mouth music.
And of those who are employed at least half are underemployed.

Paying a living wage is the least a company can do.
Giving decent hours is another.
Being aware of people who are neurodiverse and making the appropriate changes to your hiring practices would be the best thing.

truth man, truth. i have aspergers which is considered "high functioning" but isnt really. interviews are the worst. from what i seen, working construction jobs, warehouse, and recently another retail job at a blue competitor-target is actually the worst for neurodivergent people. too much pressure and then the ADA and even FMLA is hooped all to hell.also the 80% is only those looking for work, many of our band tend to give up after a few years and either aim for government assistance or just "reside to their fate" and get under someone's care-whether they help them or not is a issue.

 

[flow4areasonuno]

target is actually the worst for neurodivergent people.

That's why I'm so glad I'm basically by myself all night. I just know I'd say something wrong in front of a coworker eventually. I'm at my worst when I have no formula to abide by in conversation (guests are relatively easy to deal with because of that)--unless you're interested in my hobbies. Then I can talk your ear off.

Not sure what's wrong with me, but I sure as hell ain't normal.

I just assume I'm doing fine unless someone says something to me.

 

[Mikuhl]

- A new rule will come down from corporate to all HR teams: ABSOLUTELY NO REPLACING CALLOUTS EVER! You’re in HR and you call someone in anyway...guess what happens! Also, R.I.P. the swap board.

This is already in effect. And this is why group chats exist 🙂 I will not let them waste hours when someone else could be working.

 

[SprooseMoose]

truth man, truth. i have aspergers which is considered "high functioning" but isnt really. interviews are the worst. from what i seen, working construction jobs, warehouse, and recently another retail job at a blue competitor-target is actually the worst for neurodivergent people. too much pressure and then the ADA and even FMLA is hooped all to hell.also the 80% is only those looking for work, many of our band tend to give up after a few years and either aim for government assistance or just "reside to their fate" and get under someone's care-whether they help them or not is a issue.

That's why I'm so glad I'm basically by myself all night. I just know I'd say something wrong in front of a coworker eventually. I'm at my worst when I have no formula to abide by in conversation (guests are relatively easy to deal with because of that)--unless you're interested in my hobbies. Then I can talk your ear off.

Not sure what's wrong with me, but I sure as hell ain't normal.

I just assume I'm doing fine unless someone says something to me.

Same. I am believed to have asperger's (haven't had insurance or the ability to afford all the different types of doctors and referrals and specialists visits that are required in my state before you can be seen by the right type of doctor to 100% confirm it) but my primary care doctor is positive that I am.

I suck at interviews. I get off on tangents and then don't remember the original point I was trying to make. I'm actually surprised that I got a TL position at Target because so much is based on the interview process. The only thing I think that saved me is I had a good work history and had someone that believed that I had the capability to do the job, even if I kept bombing the interviews, because they had seen me work and complete tasks as they were given.

 

[Aredhel]

truth man, truth. i have aspergers which is considered "high functioning" but isnt really. interviews are the worst. from what i seen, working construction jobs, warehouse, and recently another retail job at a blue competitor-target is actually the worst for neurodivergent people. too much pressure and then the ADA and even FMLA is hooped all to hell.also the 80% is only those looking for work, many of our band tend to give up after a few years and either aim for government assistance or just "reside to their fate" and get under someone's care-whether they help them or not is a issue.

Neurodivergent. The best description I’ve heard.

 

[GozerZuul]

Neurodivergent. The best description I’ve heard.

most autistic groups refuse the title of "not normal" and use neurodivergent as a way of saying were not too different but we diverted from the norm at some point.

 

[Tessa120]

Blech. Feeding problems at birth for several weeks, refusing to feed if being touched (which a developmental pediatrician said was common in children later diagnosed with autism). Months old, if anyone tried to interact, turn face away. Very rarely make baby noises and very few letter sounds. Human touch leads to screaming. Seams in clothes causes screaming. Certain sounds, same. Toddler, never responds to name. Can't turn anything into a toy, it's just all lined up the exact same way every time, screaming if it's disrupted. Potty trained at five, saying one or two words a day at five. Sign language and augmentative devices an utter fail because the speech problems are tied to socialization, not a desire to communicate without the ability.

I'd love to know when they diverged from normal and how all that and more is just being different, not impaired. I dont get how people with autism can look at their past, how they can look at how very much they were locked in their own world to the point they couldn't feed themselves or go to the bathroom in the toilet rather than their pants, how they couldn't use the words to ask for help, and say that was an acceptable alternative way to live. How clothes, carpets, peanut butter, and birds singing was so much pain they'd scream out was a decent way to feel the world around them.

Even as adults there's significant impairment, even if it's not easily seen. Just because there's an adult ability to reason and mask doesn't mean there's no impact to daily life, and it doesn't start off in life as mild, there's a really deep well to climb up to get to it's not obvious.

I dont see how anyone could claim all that as different, or diverged from normal in utero.

 

[checklane01]

$15 an hour will be invoked heavily by leadership as the go-to response for everything.

This has already happened. My ETL commended us on the best BRLA in the district. Then continued to say the DTL (or whatever they’re called now) is telling stores since we’re paying more, there needs to be higher expectations.

 

[SprooseMoose]

Blech. Feeding problems at birth for several weeks, refusing to feed if being touched (which a developmental pediatrician said was common in children later diagnosed with autism). Months old, if anyone tried to interact, turn face away. Very rarely make baby noises and very few letter sounds. Human touch leads to screaming. Seams in clothes causes screaming. Certain sounds, same. Toddler, never responds to name. Can't turn anything into a toy, it's just all lined up the exact same way every time, screaming if it's disrupted. Potty trained at five, saying one or two words a day at five. Sign language and augmentative devices an utter fail because the speech problems are tied to socialization, not a desire to communicate without the ability.

I'd love to know when they diverged from normal and how all that and more is just being different, not impaired. I dont get how people with autism can look at their past, how they can look at how very much they were locked in their own world to the point they couldn't feed themselves or go to the bathroom in the toilet rather than their pants, how they couldn't use the words to ask for help, and say that was an acceptable alternative way to live. How clothes, carpets, peanut butter, and birds singing was so much pain they'd scream out was a decent way to feel the world around them.

Even as adults there's significant impairment, even if it's not easily seen. Just because there's an adult ability to reason and mask doesn't mean there's no impact to daily life, and it doesn't start off in life as mild, there's a really deep well to climb up to get to it's not obvious.

I dont see how anyone could claim all that as different, or diverged from normal in utero.

I mean, a lot of the stuff you are talking about is the very high end of the spectrum. And some of that behavior isn't exclusive to autistic people. I have a friend who didn't talk until she was 5. She was tested and not on the spectrum. She now has kids and one of them is taking after her, not talking. She's also been tested and isn't on it.

That being said, if someone does have some of those behaviors and is on the high end or even middle area of the spectrum, their brains work differently. They may not look at their pasts the same. Or at all. I've never known anyone on the high end personally, but I know 2 or 3 that are closer to middle than low end, and quite a few with what used to be referred to as aspergers.

As I said above for myself, it is believed that I fall into the aspergers category and hope to have it officially confirmed or denied whenever I can get doctors visits lined up with days off. But I have issues with daily life things, but am still a functional member of society. I suck at interviews. I cannot do eye contact very well. Socks sometimes don't go on the right way, have to take them off and start over or get a new pair. But growing up in the south, manners were a big thing, so that meant eye contact and many other things I am/was unable to do. So, I learned to mask issues or find ways to mimic behaviors without doing the behavior.

My SO finally noticed after 12 years together that I don't look them directly in the eye or if I do, it is briefly. Once they caught on they started noticing my minute eye movements and so now sometimes while we are talking they will ask what part of their face I am looking at. Usually it is an eyebrow, or rim of their glasses, sometimes to of nose or bridge of nose. Learned at a young age when being told to look people in the eye that the above generally worked when i otherwise couldn't look them in the eye. They asked recently why I never told them about any of the above and I simply said because I don't have a concrete answer yet. But it is obvious that our minds don't work the same way either.

This has already happened. My ETL commended us on the best BRLA in the district. Then continued to say the DTL (or whatever they’re called now) is telling stores since we’re paying more, there needs to be higher expectations.

This has happened to us as well. "We are paying more so you have more responsibilities now.

 

[can't touch this]

wow I sure do love working with people who come to work grouchy because they're being performanced out

I sure also love hearing some empty promise that I'll be sent help only for 2 hours to go by and find out the would-be help was sent home instead. That pattern though. I wonder if passively irritating me is their nice way of bamboozling me into quitting, instead of the meaner way with bullshit writeups. These days with my precarious juggling of two jobs, I'm getting around $120 from Target per week...it's kind of a question how much irritation I want to put up with. Some days it's almost too much but hell, that's bread. Even seeing the Target logo pisses me off, but on the other hand, my wallet has always got room for an extra 12 Andrew Jacksons every other Friday, you feel me?

Ewwww. Everybody has a sour attitude and that's making me have a sour attitude, and quitting by next week is quite tempting, but I shore hate to part with those greenbacks. The inner peace that would come with not working at Target vs. yearning for those earnings. Quite the dilemma here folks

 

[GozerZuul]

I mean, a lot of the stuff you are talking about is the very high end of the spectrum. And some of that behavior isn't exclusive to autistic people. I have a friend who didn't talk until she was 5. She was tested and not on the spectrum. She now has kids and one of them is taking after her, not talking. She's also been tested and isn't on it.

That being said, if someone does have some of those behaviors and is on the high end or even middle area of the spectrum, their brains work differently. They may not look at their pasts the same. Or at all. I've never known anyone on the high end personally, but I know 2 or 3 that are closer to middle than low end, and quite a few with what used to be referred to as aspergers.

As I said above for myself, it is believed that I fall into the aspergers category and hope to have it officially confirmed or denied whenever I can get doctors visits lined up with days off. But I have issues with daily life things, but am still a functional member of society. I suck at interviews. I cannot do eye contact very well. Socks sometimes don't go on the right way, have to take them off and start over or get a new pair. But growing up in the south, manners were a big thing, so that meant eye contact and many other things I am/was unable to do. So, I learned to mask issues or find ways to mimic behaviors without doing the behavior.

My SO finally noticed after 12 years together that I don't look them directly in the eye or if I do, it is briefly. Once they caught on they started noticing my minute eye movements and so now sometimes while we are talking they will ask what part of their face I am looking at. Usually it is an eyebrow, or rim of their glasses, sometimes to of nose or bridge of nose. Learned at a young age when being told to look people in the eye that the above generally worked when i otherwise couldn't look them in the eye. They asked recently why I never told them about any of the above and I simply said because I don't have a concrete answer yet. But it is obvious that our minds don't work the same way either.


This has happened to us as well. "We are paying more so you have more responsibilities now.

Same here. Manners we're a thing for us small town Yankees as well.i look at the bridge of the nose. As for "blech", your describing someone on the lower end of the spectrum who probably will grow up and do some things but may or may not ever fit into the norm. I don't think you get that autism is a spectrum and that we don't all have "can't be touched" or that. Autism is mostly based on a set of patterns in behaviour. Repetition is a big one along with no "theory of mind" setup where if you make a face at me I don't innately understand it. Even at my age and "training" I still occasionally misperceive things. E.g. go grab a coworker. To you it innately means to go find them and ask them. Ut to me I have to process it first in the literal terms and then search in my brain for what it means. It's more like learning to translate a foreign langauge than anything else. I don't like being touched but it's due to the pressure on my skin, or the heat,etc. And does vary from person to person. What your saying is how you feel and that's good but much of what you say boils down to " your pretending/it's not real". I'm not a woman but imagine if, because I wasn't, a woman told me of her period and then I said but I have seen other women and they don't act like you do.just think a minute.

 

[sfslackey]

Blech. Feeding problems at birth for several weeks, refusing to feed if being touched (which a developmental pediatrician said was common in children later diagnosed with autism). Months old, if anyone tried to interact, turn face away. Very rarely make baby noises and very few letter sounds. Human touch leads to screaming. Seams in clothes causes screaming. Certain sounds, same. Toddler, never responds to name. Can't turn anything into a toy, it's just all lined up the exact same way every time, screaming if it's disrupted. Potty trained at five, saying one or two words a day at five. Sign language and augmentative devices an utter fail because the speech problems are tied to socialization, not a desire to communicate without the ability.

I'd love to know when they diverged from normal and how all that and more is just being different, not impaired. I dont get how people with autism can look at their past, how they can look at how very much they were locked in their own world to the point they couldn't feed themselves or go to the bathroom in the toilet rather than their pants, how they couldn't use the words to ask for help, and say that was an acceptable alternative way to live. How clothes, carpets, peanut butter, and birds singing was so much pain they'd scream out was a decent way to feel the world around them.

Even as adults there's significant impairment, even if it's not easily seen. Just because there's an adult ability to reason and mask doesn't mean there's no impact to daily life, and it doesn't start off in life as mild, there's a really deep well to climb up to get to it's not obvious.

I dont see how anyone could claim all that as different, or diverged from normal in utero.

Are you suggesting that this was simply a result of their environment early on? I think there is no way they randomly diverged from normal that young without it being there since birth. I don't see how autism is any different from any other developmental disorder that obviously have a genetic component. You are clearly talking about people with severe autism who find it extremely hard to find any work whatsoever. People who are high functioning or have Asperger's are not going through those same problems and can be great workers. It can even be hard to tell they are on the spectrum.

 

[Antennae]

This has already happened. My ETL commended us on the best BRLA in the district. Then continued to say the DTL (or whatever they’re called now) is telling stores since we’re paying more, there needs to be higher expectations.

Funny, you figure there would be higher expectations for those making $50k+ a year yet here we are.

Not sure how the grind they expect for $15/hr will fair in CA. Good luck with that!

 

[Tessa120]

Nope, my daughter holds down a job that is high interactions with the public, has a boyfriend and several friends, and wants to become an astronomer. Because with early intervention kids actually increase their functioning.

Gasp, what a novel concept...except it was included as a footnote in the DSM the year she was born. This is the progression of autism, low functioning, therapies, high functioning. Does she still have trouble, yes. But the trouble is higher functioning stuff, like anxiety over phone calls and learning things like budgeting over a month, not just per payday.

And @sfslackey, I was arguing the opposite. Neurodivergent is not true because their brains never diverged from normal, they come out of the womb already struggling.

 

[sfslackey]

Nope, my daughter holds down a job that is high interactions with the public, has a boyfriend and several friends, and wants to become an astronomer. Because with early intervention kids actually increase their functioning.

Gasp, what a novel concept...except it was included as a footnote in the DSM the year she was born. This is the progression of autism, low functioning, therapies, high functioning. Does she still have trouble, yes. But the trouble is higher functioning stuff, like anxiety over phone calls and learning things like budgeting over a month, not just per payday.

And @sfslackey, I was arguing the opposite. Neurodivergent is not true because their brains never diverged from normal, they come out of the womb already struggling.

Thank you! That was exactly the type of insight I look for. I may have misunderstood your comment at first, but you clearly have more experience with this and I want to know the most I can about it. I knew some people (mainly with Asperger's) who were so awesome and only came across as a little weird at most. I was surprised when I learned they were on the spectrum honestly.

 

[BullseyeBabe]

So, I’ve been thinking about the TLs and what will happen when TMs go to $15.00 an hour. I’m pretty sure that that the $4.00 above TM’s pay grade will be history. Think about it. When the TLs all were promoted to pg 45 we didn’t get the pay bump. There’s no way we’ll all get bumped up to $4.00 over $15. I predict the TL pay will become $2.00 above TMs. What do you guys think? I hope I’m wrong, I really do.

 

[Not My Name]

So, I’ve been thinking about the TLs and what will happen when TMs go to $15.00 an hour. I’m pretty sure that that the $4.00 above TM’s pay grade will be history. Think about it. When the TLs all were promoted to pg 45 we didn’t get the pay bump. There’s no way we’ll all get bumped up to $4.00 over $15. I predict the TL pay will become $2.00 above TMs. What do you guys think? I hope I’m wrong, I really do.

I think that as a GSTL you should never leave that work center unless you’re beyond desperate to get promoted.

I also think the gap would still be more than $2 simply because the workload difference isn’t worth $2 and they’d start losing TMs who quit and come back with less stress and similar pay.

 

[Not My Name]

And I can sum up your entire problem is that you have to have people doing certain jobs and if you don’t give them enough time YOU will be taking up the slack and . you. won’t. like. it.

What? I quit Target 3 years ago, lol.

 

[jackandcat]

I actually think Target will be fine..... In reality, despite people spending less at a time this will result in more overall money for places like Target. It's one of the dirty little secrets of being poor in America. There's a hidden tax on the poor and broke. There have been studies on it. People with less money end up paying more overall for things that everyone has to buy repeatedly because they can't afford to buy in bulk and wait for sales. When you need toilet paper, you need toilet paper. If all you can afford is a four pack of cardboard Target brand, then you'll pay less now. But, end up paying more overtime than someone who buys a huge pack of Quilted Northern.

During the very nasty 2009-2014 Great Recession, uber-low-price stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General thrived and boomed. Basic household goods, cleaning supplies, basic groceries and snacks, and very-low-cost gift items and even greeting cards. Today, although those stores still ring up a fair chunk of sales, these stores aren't growing their sales increases at the same rates as during the Great Recession.

 

[jackandcat]

Another paradox is that some states, like Washington, are raising their state minimum wages. In Washington, on January 1, 2020 the statewide minimum jumps to $13.50. There will be a lot of job jumping and experienced workers will demand even higher wages because of the higher minimum. Some jobs will be eliminated particularly in rural areas and in small mom-and-pop businesses.

 

[happygoth]

During the very nasty 2009-2014 Great Recession, uber-low-price stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General thrived and boomed. Basic household goods, cleaning supplies, basic groceries and snacks, and very-low-cost gift items and even greeting cards. Today, although those stores still ring up a fair chunk of sales, these stores aren't growing their sales increases at the same rates as during the Great Recession.

That's because they carry crap. They are also dirty and messy. I just walked into a dollar store chain today (after my visit to a higher-end off-price retailer, and only to use the bathroom because I was at a different plaza, otherwise I would've used the other store's - yes I am a snob) and they looked awful, cages full of merchandise and cardboard everywhere. Plus, a lot of what they get is bad knock-offs or cheap versions of name brands, for instance they had boxes of Kleenex that looked like the kind you get at Target and grocery stores, but they only contained half the amount of tissue.

I have found more often than not that the old cliche is true - you get what you pay for.

 

[jackandcat]

Target's a better place to shop, and carries better merchandise, than "dollar stores". However, of all the various "dollar stores", IMHO the nicest stores are the Dollar Tree chain. At least in my area, Dollar Tree stores are very clean and well-organized. The merchandise mix includes major name brands, but often the $1 size contains a tiny portion size (ounces per dollar etc.) than what you find at Target. However, Dollar Tree is unbeatable for party favors and supplies, greeting cards, and birthday/holiday inflated balloons. YMMV.

 

[happygoth]

Target's a better place to shop, and carries better merchandise, than "dollar stores". However, of all the various "dollar stores", IMHO the nicest stores are the Dollar Tree chain. At least in my area, Dollar Tree stores are very clean and well-organized. The merchandise mix includes major name brands, but often the $1 size contains a tiny portion size (ounces per dollar etc.) than what you find at Target. However, Dollar Tree is unbeatable for party favors and supplies, greeting cards, and birthday/holiday inflated balloons. YMMV.

I agree, Dollar Tree is probably the best of the dollar stores. Also agree about greeting cards, balloons and party supplies, which are disposable - there's no need to spend a lot of money on stuff like that.

 

[Spot the doge]

The frustrating thing about that is there are a lot of people especially people with disabilities who want full time jobs but who can only get jobs in places like Target.
They need to make a living but are under employed and not being paid jack.
They need that $15.00 an hour.
We have people who are high functioning autism, who have gone to college but can't get past the interview stage and wind up with jobs well below what they have the skills for.
The unemployment rate for people with autism and a college education is 80%, so the idea of 'bettering yourself to move up is just mouth music.
And of those who are employed at least half are underemployed.

Paying a living wage is the least a company can do.
Giving decent hours is another.
Being aware of people who are neurodiverse and making the appropriate changes to your hiring practices would be the best thing.

This was me during my time at Spot. I asked for 2 years for additional training and constantly was asking for more responsibily. Instead I spent the 2 years running myself bare trying to meet time goals I had no dream of ever meeting and suffering as cashier, while playing schedule roulette, which made it impossible for my transportation to plan their own day. I even had to call from a Comicon panel room to call out once after they forgot to key in my month-ahead requested day off. I ultimately got pushed out at the time modernization started by means of asking me to complete a physical disability examination for /mental disablities/ after they lost my folder with my diagnosis papers.