Member-only story
Hire Love
Part 1: The Good
As I wrote here, early 2022 was a rough time. I’d been trying to cobble together a living through freelancing, independent contracting, a home business, etc. My main goal was to never have a boss again, and I stubbornly held out for as long as I could. It wasn’t working out, so it was back to the workplace for me. Thankfully, my best friend’s wife worked at a bakery chain which was hiring and she helped get me in.
I was nervous for a variety of reasons. Pandemic times were still upon us, and I wasn’t sure if my medical status was going to be questioned (it never was). Food service was something I hadn’t done since I was a teenager, and that was in a movie theater with just popcorn, pretzels and nachos (this was early ‘90s). Coming from more of a factory/warehouse/construction background, it was a much different environment. Plus most of my co-workers were less than half as old as me (some were a third my age), and 75% were women, so my normal level of anxiety was definitely heightened.
Fortunately, I had a friend there already, looking out for me. The company provided video courses prior to my first day, so I knew what to expect mostly and I’d been baking since I was 12 years old. It was just a matter of learning how they scaled up the process. My manager, assistant manager, and shift lead were all in their mid-30’s, and I got along with them pretty well. I…
