#Teenemployment #Worklifebalance #Responsibleparenting
First of all, I want to commend your daughter for being responsible and mature enough to address her concerns with her employer. It’s not easy for a 16-year-old to stand up for themselves and prioritize their well-being and school schedule over work, so she definitely deserves a pat on the back for that.
Now, let’s talk about the situation. It’s clear that the movie theatre she was working at didn’t respect the initial agreement of scheduling her for a maximum of 16 hours per week. Not only did they exceed that limit, but they also disregarded her availability on weekends and piled up shifts during a busy time like Thanksgiving. This is definitely not acceptable, especially for a teenage employee who is also juggling school and other responsibilities.
As a parent, I completely understand your decision to support your daughter in resigning from that position. It’s crucial to prioritize her education and well-being over a job, especially at this stage of her life. I know how important it is for kids to learn responsibility and work ethics, but it should never come at the cost of their mental and physical health, or their academic performance.
To ensure that your daughter finds a better work environment, here are a few pointers to consider when looking for a new job:
1. Flexible Scheduling: Look for employers who are willing to accommodate her school schedule and can offer flexible shifts. It’s important for her to have a healthy work-life balance and not feel overwhelmed with her job.
2. Clear Expectations: When she interviews for a new job, it’s essential to clarify her availability and set clear expectations regarding the number of hours she is willing to work. This will help to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.
3. Supportive Management: Seek out workplaces with supportive and understanding managers who value their employees’ well-being. A good manager will listen to her concerns and work together to find a suitable schedule that works for both parties.
4. Positive Work Environment: Encourage her to look for a job in a positive and respectful work environment where she feels comfortable and appreciated. A supportive team and a friendly atmosphere can make all the difference in her work experience.
As for her resignation from the movie theatre, I want to assure you that it was the right decision. Your daughter’s well-being and education should always be the top priority. She has demonstrated maturity and responsibility in handling the situation, and I have no doubt that she will find a better job where she can thrive and grow.
Remember, this experience can also be a valuable lesson for her about setting boundaries and standing up for herself in the workplace. It’s an important skill that will serve her well in the future.
I wish your daughter the best of luck in finding a new job, and I’m confident that she will land in a work environment that respects her as both an employee and a student. If you have any further questions or need more advice, feel free to reach out. I’m here to support you and your daughter through this process. #Supportiveparenting #Teenemployment #Brightfuture
Sounds like a job/manager situation to avoid.
Feel disappointed that the situation went that way, but applaud your daughter for handling it well with communication of concern, and I applaud you for saying enough is enough as soon as it became clear the actions weren’t oversight or mistake.
I hope your daughter is with you on this – given you said she intended to look for another job I assume she is. Sounds like she could use a little break and get a few weekends back!
You should feel proud, damn proud that she stood up for herself and that you as her parents knew what should be priority in her life. This is important, the rest of her life companies will continue to try and take advantage of her at every opportunity. This shows her that it’s okay to say no, it’s okay to walk away, it’s okay to look for something that will appreciate not just her work but that she has a life outside of work that is more important than a job. We don’t live to work, especially for someone else’s profits.
Good lesson for her to learn. When a job shows you they don’t give a shit about you, let them know it’s mutual. Too many company’s take advantage of people, don’t let her get used to thinking that’s something to settle with. 🙂
I wish I would have done that with McDonald’s when I was her age. Awesome that she is learning now to stand up for herself.
You’d be surprised how many parents out there pressure their children not to quit because they want them to pay up rent early and learn to be responsible on their own. You did the right thing, being there for her when she was clearly about to be taken advantage of. As a parent, you are a very important support pillar for her.
You may want to look into your states child labor laws or even the company labor laws for minors. There’s many places that restrict how long of shifts or how many days a child can work. Some places can’t keep a kid past a certain hour so 4-12 is so odd to keep a kid at work for that long
Not wrong. I had similar experiences in highschool, including, yes, working in a movie theater. I was trying to be a good worker and prove myself, and on the weekdays I was working until midnight, and then coming in at 630 on the weekends. These places take advantage of kids like myself and your daughter, and my experience is that staying in these roles is far more harmful than good.
Just a personal annoyance: they didn’t gaslight her. Stating they are busiest on certain days and expecting employees to work those days isn’t gaslighting.
Gaslighting would be if they slowly tried to convince her that she never said she had to work around school and her hours were limited. And in fact they have it documented she requested those hours. And everyone there backs this up. She must be crazy. Look, if she doesn’t want to work, they’ll give those hours to someone who does. Okay? This will reflect poorly on her review because she can’t be trusted to follow through on her commitments.
That’s gaslighting.
Since 16 hours max were agreed upon up front, you should feel no guilt whatsoever.
Any corporation that hires a 16 year old is going to do this over and over and over and over.
My kids are older Gen Z, but I’m so proud of this generation for how they stand up for themselves. They’re willing to walk away from a bad situation if they’re being taken advantage of. So kudos to your daughter for having the guts to quit
I was fully 25 years old before bosses stopped trying to take advantage of my youth. And I fought back from day one. Yes, jobs are about learning responsibility and time management and commitment. But for the most part when you’re 16, they’re pretty much about making some extra pocket money. School, family, and especially your health including mental health, take precedence. My mom taught me that and I’m glad you’re teaching your daughter that.
I had a similar thing with McDonald’s when i was that age. Got a job there and agreed to a maximum of 16 hours per week, but over time, they started adding more shifts onto my rota and when I asked to drop a day so I could start learning to drive they tild me I would need to pick up a different day instead.
That place made me miserable and I was much happier to have no money as long as I wasn’t working there.
I’m glad she stood up for herself. Movie theaters DNGAF about schedules for their employees. We frequently would have our shift scheduled 6pm-2am, but the last show start time on big openings was 2:15 so we would be there until nearly 5am, with the expectation to be back the same morning at 7:30am for staff meeting and first show at 8am (yes, illegal, I know but that’s how it was). I slept at that place so many times even though I lived down the block.
Our crew was pretty awesome though, ride or die group of rag tags made that place bearable, probably the most “fun” job I’ll ever have.
Glad they went out of business during covid but sad that I no longer will get the class action settlement checks I got for many years after I had left.
You 100% did the right thing, you’re teaching her to stand up for herself, and not to take the BS companies will say/do.
I have been through this. Both my HS and college jobs demanded 30+ hours and I had to do it because my family needed it.
You definitely made the right choice. I often wished that if I could do it again, I wouldn’t work orvwork so little.
I would’ve just told them she wasn’t working those hours, gave them an ultimatum that you will only work on XYZ days, and force them to fire her if they still wanted for making a minor work till midnight on a school night.
Basically, get them to own up to being fucking idiots who don’t know what they’re doing.
Good on you for supporting her as she learns to stand up to her employers. I hate to say this, but learning when and how to stand up for yourself with supervisors/companies is likely the most transferrable skill she will take from that job. It stinks that it’s so crucial, but it is. Frankly, it’s a skill I’m still learning at 31.
This kind of crap is why a lot of businesses like these are whining about how they can’t get anyone to work these days. Absolute BS.
You did the right thing, and so did she. And keep in mind that quitting on the spot like this isn’t really “quitting on the spot” as most people think of it. She didn’t randomly decide to peace out and leave them hanging; she spoke to her manager, advocated for herself, presented a potential solution. That they refused to even entertain her request and continued to exploit her is on them. It’s also a perfectly justifiable reason to dip without additional notice.
You all did the right thing, and any job that repeatedly scheduled outside of her availability is the one in the wrong. They also are going to keep making everyone miserable and be in this revolving door situation. Until they get their act together, they aren’t going to keep any quality workers for long.
When I was a manager of a fast food place I let the teens work as much as they wanted and when they wanted (while following the law). They could leave early if we were dead on school nights or their ride could only come at a certain time.
For college kids they got the same flexibility with a bit more that they could leave early if they had papers, tests, and the like to study for. I told them that they needed to give more advanced notice than the day of is all. I wasn’t going to hold them back from getting out of the fast food industry lol.
It worked out well for everyone. The adults got their 40 hours, the young adults and kids got to work as much as they wanted, and we hired as needed to fill in the gaps.
During summer and winter holidays (busier season), we were good to go with all the staff being more available.
In the end, your daughter’s movie theater job values quick solutions and welcome mats instead of working their buns off to keep quality workers. If you have to pull 50-60 hour weeks just so the 16 hour a week high schooler sticks around, it’s worth it. Once the high schooler quits, you’re looking at 75 hour work weeks otherwise. It also sounds like the manager wasn’t making new schedules and was just copying the previous one with minor changes. Thanksgiving week was probably the first new schedule since October.
This is a flagship moment in her life, actually. A friend endured a shitty workplace culture at a fast food place. After a year, her mom told her, “you don’t have to work there you can quit anytime” and she was elated.
Its a healthy boundary.
Your daughter showed courage, maturity, and an understanding of her value as a worker and as a human. I’m so proud of her, and I hope she continues to be an advocate for herself. I hope you all have a fantastic thanksgiving.
Whilst the manager is correct that weekends are the busiest days for the theatre business, they are also an idiot. Because 16 year old’s are school students, and you can’t schedule them like an adult. They have other commitments.
Good parent.
Good that she is learning these lessons now and has you backing her up. This will help her have ZERO tolerance to any BS a manager tries to pull later on in life.
Also note, this was a red flag: *” She is the only person that was still working there from the group that started with her at the same time. “*
When there is high turnover, you know that there is dysfunction to be aware of.
>until mid-October as they lost many of their student staff and new people came on.
.
>but then her schedule came out today. They had her scheduled for Thursday 2-8pm, Friday 3-10pm, Saturday 4-midnight and then Sunday 4-midnight (yes, she has school the next day at 730am). So not only did they gaslight her weekend concerns, but they decided that as a 16 year old she should work 30 hours in 4 days without any break for Thanksgiving
I think you figured out why the other students quit.
America, the land of the fr…
…child labour and exploitation.
You taught her to not be taken advantage of. That’s a great lesson.
Now double down and take her to a movie this weekend as a “fuck you” to management!!
Ions ago, there used to be laws where minors still in hs couldn’t work past a certain time during the school year. My brother’s manager tried to schedule him past this my mom wouldn’t have it. She was willing to report them and they backed off immediately.
But the week after my brother graduated, they assigned him a schedule where he was going to be getting off at like 3am every night. Unbeknownst to them, he had putting applications into other places, suspecting this was going to happen. He went in and quit on the spot because he already had another job. The new assistant manager was livid because he had to work those shifts.
More people need to normalize this. Get out when your job mistreats you. Your daughter was gaslit and lied to. Quitting was the only option, don’t you dare question your actions.
Was this wrong?
What the theatre management did was wrong, and possibly illegal, depending on where you live.
Your response to the situation, however, was not wrong, it was spot on.
It’s great that you’re helping your daughter set healthy boundaries with her part time work. I didn’t have that kind of support growing up and it kinda stole my teenage years from me.
I started working in a grocery store at 14 and didn’t leave until I joined the military. The scheduling manager would routinely break child labor laws for 14-15 yos, scheduling me longer and more frequently than allowed. I didn’t know any better at the time. When I was 16+, he was scheduling me between 5-7 days per week, 6 hours on weekdays and 8 on weekends. I got threatened with a disciplinary action for not showing up on a scheduled Sunday when I had specifically said that I was not available.
I never had time to be a kid and hang out with friends or do my homework. You’re doing right by your daughter. There’s plenty of PT jobs for teenagers so the theater is only hurting themselves by not respecting your daughters schedule.
As a teacher, you are a fantastic fucking parent. I see this all the time with teenagers who get one shift but then it’s slowly ratcheted up to almost 40 hours. Then the grades drop. It’s abusive and exploitative.
Personally, thank you for giving a shit about your kid’s well being. Too many don’t.
She did great. Any manager that thinks it’s ok to use a teenager like that is a bastard. Especially after she explained herself.