What a job! Sexism and harassment from male coworkers. Complained and coworker was given a “slap on the wrist.” Piles of dirty linen. Piles of dirty – sometimes pee stained and bloody linen — up to your knees. Housekeepers sometimes throw trash in the chute too – found slimy condoms and used tampons as i was sorting! Work is a fucking hamster wheel. Spend hours sorting washing and drying and all if the linen gets used up in a few minutes.
Worst part of the day is when the housekeepers finish their lunch. The “flight of the valkyries” is the perfect song to match the vibe. One by one, the housekeepers come, grabbing linen carts and stuffing them full of the linen I spent hours washing and folding. No matter how fast you work, no one is satisfied. My workspace is also the “hallway” between the office and the break room. Have to push a giant ass cart in front of the washers, only to have a coworker walk by, so I have to stop, move out of the way, and wait for everyone to pass by before I can finishing loading. Management doesn’t give a shit. The A/C keeps breaking down and it got up to 90 degrees in the laundry room. Took a week to “fix” it. Boss said “drink water.” Grease exhaust pipe leaked (pipe is located behind the washers). Smelled worse than sewage and made me and my coworker sick. Took almost 3 weeks of complaining before management took it seriously. Wet linen gets tangled in the washers, hurts your fingers to pull them out. Pushing and pulling carts overflowing with wet linen (easily 150 lbs). Excruciating back pain. Get blamed and praised for things out of my control. New washcloths on backorder for 3 weeks – my fault. Housekeepers are jaded and looking for a scapegoat. Often made fun or blamed if there is not enough clean linen. They will laugh saying i was sleeping. Or asking me “Que pasa?” My “favorite” housekeeper will march down all 8 floors just to shove a piece of linen in my face and show me the stain. Even though there is a night shift laundry attendant, and a morning attendant, I get the HONOR of taking the blame for every stain scratch or otherwise fault with the linen. I have three managers, and each wants the linen dried a different way – and each will get upset if you don’t do it their way. Manager 1 says “do x, y, and z”. Manager 2 comes and says, “why are you doing x, y, and z? Remember, we always do a, b and c”. Somehow, in there 3+ years of working together they’ve never realized that their instructions are in conflict. Any suggestions, comments, or frustrations are ignored by management. The first time I complained to my manager about harassment from a coworker she said “I’m sure he didn’t mean it.” I also complained about the blood stained linen my coworkers send down the chute [my coworkers were told multiple times this is bad, I don’t have an apron or hazmat suit, and the gloves only go up to my wrist, even my arms often come in contact with linen] and she said “now, now, if we start pointing fingers how can we get work done?” Another lovely thing the housekeeper do: when they run out of rags, they start using the good towels to clean. Then they complain that there are no clean towels. Every night, I go through their piles of rags and vigorously scrub the towel that don’t have holes. Then I wash and fold them, and set them out, only to have the housekeepers do the same thing the next day. Ever wondered how hotels keep their linen so white? A google search might tell you it’s the bleach – but that’s a lie. The correct answer is soap, tears, and a shit ton of elbow grease. Employee turnover is VERY high. How high? High enough that most new employees don’t last long enough to put in a “2 weeks” notice. At our hotel we are always understaffed. Machine breaks down? Another call out? Don’t let that stop you, you will be expected to work even faster, even harder, or get shunned by coworkers and some managers who don’t understand. And when thing do slow down and you finally get that mountain of linen under control – lucky you – another coworker will walk by and say “its so peaceful. I wish my job was as relaxing as yours”. Coworkers are jealous I get to wear headphones [only 1 earpiece, btw], but they don’t know I’m usually listening to anti anger meditations so I don’t go hulk and break the folding table. Upper management knows there is not enough linen in stock for a full occupancy – but they don’t care. Lower manager is a toxic, disorganized, adult child who “pushes” aka berates and yells at employees. Many people have cited her as the reason they quit. When i mentioned I didn’t appreciate her management style (she and HER supervisor were both present at the time) she said “I know I can be mean sometimes. Thats why we need to make it your job to figure out ahead of time what I’m want you to do and make sure you do it quickly so I don’t have to “push” you” [She said this in front of her supervisor, who nodded in agreement and later told me something along the lines of ‘I know some people could find her management style annoying, but thats why we all need to grow a thick skin’] Also, language fatigue is a real thing. My Spanish learning level went from nearly non-existent to intermediate in the first 2 months. Half of my coworkers speak no english and half speak no Spanish, at night, all the management staff goes home, and whenever there is a problem I am expected to translate. Told my boss, “it’s kinda frustrating because i am not fluent” she told me “don’t worry, thats not your job,” right before she went home and left me with the English only front desk staff and Spanish speaking engineer.
I feel better after ranting though.