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I need a better body for my job (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago by marin@beehaw.org to c/chat@beehaw.org

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I started working in a fast food kitchen 2 weeks ago and it’s physically stressful so far. I do a lot of meal prep which includes a lot of chopping, carrying, and cleaning. Being on my feet for ~7 hours a day is slowly taking a toll on me and I really want to take preventive measures for long term problems that come with it. My right thumb is numb as I type down this post at 1am because I somehow woke up before 4:30am.

For a little background, this is my first official job where I’m being paid actual money for my work. As per usual, I can’t quit because of finances and I like my coworkers and managers so far. I just want my body to cope with it better and I’m not sure how I should go with it. I was pretty sedentary before I started working. I wear comfortable non-slip shoes with orthotics to better support my arch. I also bought a muscle rolling stick to help massage my feet and leg muscles after work. I think the compression socks I recently got isn’t doing much so I’m going to invest in some Bombas socks soon. What else can I do to prevent breaking my body doing this job?

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[–] lemillionsocks@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

I dont know how old you are OP or in what good state of health you are, but assuming youre young and ablebodied it should get easier.

I worked fast food for years and while it was emotionally and physically draining to do more than 40 hours a week it became mostly second nature after a while.

I made friends and spent time with good people in my fastfood, including finding my future college roommate which admittedly helped change the trajectory of my life(I may not have gone to the uni I went to if I had to go alone). In a lot of ways I was the perfect age for it because a lot of my coworkers were people close to or around my age and it made the experience a bit more fun and the hard work of it all was a bonding experience that brought us together. Future jobs I would take didnt have that.

That said, get out as soon as you can. It's easy to let the fuzzy rose colored filter of time make it out to be good, but it was work. Long nights, long shifts, lots of angry mean customers, stupid workplace drama from people fighting for what little crumbs we got paid as shift and team leaders. It's unjust but I find that the more money that I make in progressively newer jobs the less I have to work. Believe me I understand leaving is easier said than done, and you only just started, but if you can get better reach for it and grab it.

I say this not to preach some bootstraps nonsense, but because fast food workers are underestimated. Good ones have to have strong customer service skills, thick skin, an ability to quickly learn and multitask, and the ability to quickly make and prep the food. I also mention this because it's easy, especially when youre tired from working your fast food hours, to get stuck. I myself worked that fast food for close to 5 years and I know others who are still working there all these years later.